March Madness

It was pointed out to me that I had not published a post in awhile, so I made an effort this weekend to upload pictures and video and try to get some communication out of this house.
The last two weekends in February Madison had dance competitions. The first one was a disaster because the show was running an hour and half EARLY! This meant that friends and family had not arrived in time to see her. She was really upset and disappointed.
The following weekend her competition was in Ft. Worth. She and I drove down on Friday night. We arrived at the auditorium earlier than we needed to be (1:30pm) because we couldn’t stay in the hotel after 11am. We hung out with another friend of hers and her mom and watched all of the other dancers and then got the girls ready. During a dance competition music is playing all of the time. During breaks and intermissions we moms decided that we should embarrass our children by singing and chair dancing to great 80’s tunes. It was hilarious and the more they hid on the floor, the more we found ways to horrify them. Isn’t the whole point of being a parent is to be able to completely humiliate your children in public? The day ended VERY late (9:30pm) and we headed to IHOP for some much needed food and coffee. We drove home the next day and we BOTH chair danced and sang in the car all the way home!

Spencer finally had his 6 month check up the last weekend in February, so he was really 6 ½ months old. His stats were 16 ½ pounds (25 percentile) and 26 ¾ inches long (50 percentile). He FINALLY was over the ear infections and I am happy to announce on NO MORE MEDICATIONS! He is off of all antibiotics and all of his GERD medications! He loves his food and has tried a few table foods such as mashed potatoes, bread and cheese biscuits. He is sitting up and loves to spin on his butt and can scoot forward and backwards on his belly.

He absolutely loves the stroller. It has been plenty warm here to go out, but the wind is almost always horrible, so we have not been out in the stroller for any walks. The beginning of March was great with some 80 degree days and low winds. We finally got outside to enjoy the few nice days, it was great.

Madison continues to be a huge help at home and she loves playing with Spencer. His face continues to light up when he sees her. If she isn’t around he will look and search for her if he hears her voice.

We were also able to get a few pictures taken. I am not totally impressed with the studio, but the pictures were inexpensive. I guess we got what we paid for. I am just really bummed that they cut off the top of his head in all the close-ups and you can't see his funky hair.

Justin and Madison enjoyed this past week with no school, thanks to spring break. This semester is very tough on Justin and we have to continue to look at the end reward. Tomorrow starts our grueling routine again and we can now just count the days until school is over. Madison has one last dance competition this weekend, so we are hoping for the best!

Spencer was tired and was relaxing on our bed. Madison was goofing off with him and they ended up making a game out of it.

25 Random Things

25 Random Things About Me

by Spencer

1. I am 6 months old.

2. I have lots of blond hair that sticks straight up, even in mama brushes it down.

3. I have to have a blanket to sleep with or I won't sleep.

4. I weigh about 15 1/2 pounds.

5. I have had an ear infection for a month and went through three antibiotics.

6. I have eaten a wide variety of foods and I am now trying Stage 2 foods. I love Apple Blueberries.

I am able to lean, but not quite sit on my own.

7. I have several nicknames which include: Little Man (from mama), bubby (from my sister), Doc (from Back to the Future because my hair sticks straight up), Jack Jack (from daycare) and Snert (from Shyla).

8. I have a sister who is 10 years older than me.

9. My pediatrician always wears bow ties.

10. My daddy tickles me and makes me have belly laughs.

11. I don't like my mama to change my diaper in the middle of the night because her hands are really cold.

I have cool hair.

12. I drink 7 oz bottles with rice cereal mixed in them.

13. I like to sit in my highchair and play.

14. I REALLY want to pet our dog Harley, but for some reason he doesn't get close enough to me.

15. I don't like socks. I kick them off. I usually have one sock on and one sock off. My mama doesn't like that because the socks disappear and she can find them.

I have fun in my highchair.

16. My room has airplanes in it.

17. I have a best friend, he doesn't have a name, but he sleeps in my crib and he is a seahorse with a glowing personality. Did I mention he plays music?

18. I like to watch my other family members eat.

19. I go to sleep easily as long as I have a pacifier, my blankey, I am held on my right side with my back patted until I fall asleep.

20. I took a drink of mommy's water and liked it.

I really want to touch the camera.

21. I am learning sign language for "finished," "more" and "milk."

22. I do not like being woke up.

23. I like to wake up every morning at about 5am.

24. I get out of my crib at 6:30am EVERY day.

25. I get very happy after I have dirty my pants, but I don't like them to stay dirty.

Notice the one sock on and one sock off.

And the Winner Is.....

Madison competed in her first dance competition yesterday and it was very stressful and exciting. Her call time (time to be completely ready to go) was 8:30am and her performance time was 9:50m. We started off with a rough morning because I couldn't get her hair done the way it was supposed to be styled. It took me four tries and we finally just put enough gel and hairspray in it that it was like concrete! Her makeup was easy, except for the fake eyelashes (hate them). SO - be warned the pictures of her are with full stage makeup on!

We arrived on time (don't know how we accomplished that) and the dressing room was a mad house. She met with her group and they began to warm up. Everything happened so fast I don't think she had time to be nervous.
There performance went well. She did fantastic! She dances hip hop and she had tons of attitude!
The competition lasts the entire day and evening, but they have 4 award ceremonies based on the age/level. Her award ceremony was only about 10 minutes after their performance, so we didn't have to wait long. The dances are based on a point system, so they compete against a point status and not necessarily against each other.
And the winner is......

There dance received enough points to place a "1st Overall" - the highest they could earn. They then give a trophy for the highest points received for the specific style/age and they also won that. The judges hand out three special awards and they received the award for the "High Energy." Needless to say, she did great, along with the other girls. They put in extra practices and worked hard over the last 5 months. The best thing is after the highly stressful morning, she had a ton of fun. Our next competition is in two weeks, so we hope for the best; we learned that we need at least two hours to get ready and out the door!

Madison holding the High Point Award for Large Group Hip Hop

The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread

My dear friend Rae gave Spencer this shirt and it was warm enough for him to wear it. The shirt absolutely cracks me up because Justin says, "It's the best thing since sliced bread" all of the time. Love the shirt!

He Adores Her

Madison likes to play with her little brother, sometimes. If she is zoned out with Nintendo's Mario Kart and Spencer is fussing, she will pick him up. He loves to chill on her lap.

After he eats, we like to let him sit in the highchair for a bit to let his stomach settle. Last night Madison decided to entertain him after his meal. If you listen close to the video you can hear him laugh. You can also tell when she stops bouncing the block because Spencer's smile fades away. It returns if she starts bouncing again. He simply adores her!

What is sleep?

Sorry, there are now cute photos or updated pictures on this post, just rambling of a very tired and worn out mom. I actually have pictures, but I'm too tired to get them off of the camera and upload them. The past week has been going non stop and I would like to get off the roller coaster sometime soon.
It started last Thursday with a phone call from daycare that Spencer had pink eye. We had one person on vacation at work and if I left that would only leave one person in the lab. Justin wasn't available, so I left to get Spencer, knowing I would have to go back in to work later that evening. Justin and I worked out a plan that he would work from home on Friday and stay with Spencer. I went home and waited until Justin came home and headed back to work.

Friday:
Justin is SICK, very sick. He wasn't going anywhere or taking care of anyone but himself. I called my boss, who graciously agreed to let me bring Spencer to work with me for a couple of hours until I could take him to daycare. He would be allowed to go to day care if his eye was not discharging any goop. Spencer did great and slept for about an 1 1/2. Once he woke up, he said hi to the ladies in the office and we left for daycare. I went back to work (only a 1/2 drive each way) and finished up until early evening. Once I got home, I had to prepare for a baby shower that I was co-hosting the next day. Off to Wally World for a few groceries and to purchase makeup for Madison's dance dress rehearsal on Monday.

Saturday: Justin is better, but still not great. Spencer now had a barking cough and BOTH eyes were now red, goopy and sealed shut! I was off to host a baby shower for my dear friend Christina and returned about 5pm. We did the usual stuff, dinner, dishes, wash laundry, fold laundry, put laundry away, make bottles, and prep medicines. Spencer was up multiple times during the night fussing.

Sunday: Spencer was very fussy and his eyes still have goop in them. He is coughing and not eating well or taking a bottle. Madison has dance practice from 2-3pm and I was able to pick up all of the remaining items I needed for her dress rehearsal the next day. I went back to pick her up and we are given 288 more rhinestones (I had already been given 144 rhinestones earlier in the week) that have to be glued to her costume. We got home and Spencer was still being really fussy, he ended up sleeping on me for about an hour. We got dinner and dishes completed and decided to put in a movie. I was going to glue rhinestones during the movie. THREE hours later I had accomplished the task. It was 10pm and I was so sore from focusing on the tiny rhinestones. I have pictures, I will post them later. Spencer cried for almost 2 hours straight later that night; he was miserable. He only slept for about a 1/2 hour or so at a time. I don't think I got 3 hours of sleep that night.

Monday: Justin is still sick and Spencer went to the doctor. After the visit with the doctor it was determined that he had pink eye in both eyes, a virus and an ear infection in his left ear. Justin headed to the pharmacy to load up on prescriptions and went home. I came straight home after work (home at 6pm) to get Madison prepared for her dress rehearsal which was at 7:30pm. Her hair was a pain in the butt because it is supposed to be in a 1/2 pony tail and her hair is just too short. LOTS of bobby pins and hairspray. Her make up wasn't so bad, but the fake eyelashes (yes, I said fake eyelashes) were a bit tricky. We learned later on that I need to use more glue. Off to the dance studio and kudos from her teacher with my gluing expertise with rhinestones. By the end of the night it was decided that their costumes still didn't have enough sparkle, thus we have to add an additional 216 rhinestones to the front of the costume! Happy gluing.

Tuesday: Spencer's eyes look much better and he headed off to day care. He fussed and puked up a lot of mucus during the day. Justin stayed home and made a doctor's appointment to find out what the heck is wrong with him. He has been off and on sick for about a month. He needs to get better because school starts up again on Tuesday. I fed Spencer and tried to put him in pajamas. I went through three pairs of pajamas until I found a pair that fit him. He is getting so long. He only weighs 15 pounds, but I'm afraid we are going to have to break out the 6-9 month clothes because of the length. The poor little guy has jeans that will fit his legs, but he has no tummy or butt to hold them up. They just slide right off! I went through his 6-9 month clothes and took tags off the items that he received for Christmas. Thus, more laundry.

Wednesday: I worked late while Justin picked up Spencer and Madison to take her to the district science fair. The projects had to be set up today by 7pm. Spencer is doing better, but still coughing and he has lots of mucus. He is also eating better. Dinner was Chinese take out and it is amazing how good food tastes when you don't have to cook it.

Tomorrow Justin and Madison have dentists appointments and we have to pick up the science fair project. Friday is supposed to be a girls night at Chili's with my friends from Girl Scouts. Saturday is a two hour dance meeting, haircuts and more laundry. Sunday and Monday is dance practice again.

I'm tired, goodnight.

Holiday Break

I am finally getting around to posting Christmas pictures. We went to Iowa to spend Christmas with my family. The weather wasn't best, but we have driven in a lot worse. My new van was great. We had an absurd amount of stuff and the DVD player was very handy for Madison. The cool LED lights made it really easy for her to read at night as well. Spencer did great, slept almost the entire way.


On Christmas Eve we set out the cookies and milk and Carly (my niece who is 3) went to bed excited to see what Santa would leave for her. This is a picture of what the tree looked like after Santa had visited. We all settled down to sleep until Spencer decided to wake up at 3:30am to eat. Justin and myself were sleeping upstairs and Spencer was in his pack n play in our room. Justin went down ahead of me to get his medicine and bottle ready. I got Spencer and headed down the stairs and then....
panic as I held onto Spencer with both arms, I felt myself slipping and falling down the stairs. I landed with a huge thud, waking my brother and Madison up. Justin hurried back around to us. Spencer was fine and Justin took him and then the adrenaline wore off and the pain in my toe and foot began. Madison came down the stairs to help me while Justin fed Spencer. Madison was such a help in getting me an ice pack and staying with me. I stayed in the chair with an ice pack until early morning. My brother got up to make breakfast for everyone and got me a new ice pack.
The rest of the household got up and we enjoyed watching the kids open presents and Spencer played with the bows.
My brother had been fighting a stuffy nose and cold when we arrived and by the end of the night, I to was stuffy and beginning to get sick. The next day I was still stuffy, but took lots of OTC medicine and it kept the worst of it at bay. Saturday came and my head cold was gone, but my stomach was queasy. I spent all of Saturday either in bed or in the bathroom with a stomach bug. Pepto bismol was my best friend. We were supposed to leave on Sunday, but once again, I spent it in bed. I was able to eat by the end of the night and felt well enough to go home on Monday. Needless to say, I WON'T forget this Christmas, but I can say I've had better! The pictures are in no order, just a recap of the week in Iowa.



Spencer asleep in Grandma Connie's arms holding tight to her finger.

Madison on Christmas morning, showing off a new electronic toy.

Spencer in his "Little Man" shirt for Christmas day.

Spencer playing and talking with his new friend, a stuffed bear.

Carly watching Madison play with her Nintendo DS.

Spencer talking with Great Grandma Colleen.

Madison, Carly and Spencer on Christmas morning.

Spencer playing with the ribbons and bows of his packages.

In short, we had a good trip. It was long and a little odd, but it was with family. I hope everyone had a good holiday. It is now Monday and we all have to get back into the swing of things. Let the organized chaos begin once again.