Choot Em!

 Ok, so you know how my favorite show on TV is Swamp People? What . . . you didn't know that about me? 

yeah, huh, well . . . it is. 

I know, right, you totally never would have guessed that about me, but it's true. 

It's OK, you can laugh a little. 

It's kinda funny. 

Well it's not that funny - you don't need to laugh like that. 

Whatever, I'm moving on with my story. 

So back to the Swampage - I love it. 

CANNOT get enough of watching people shoot (choot) alligators. You know it's going to be the same people in the same swamp 

(in the same clothing every episode - weird) 

shooting alligators but it doesn't get old.

I thought no one understood the awesomeness of this but me. So when I heard that The Landrys 

(look them up, they are kind of like Swamp Royalty) 

were going to be at the Cabela's opening, I went a little loopy. I could not wait to get my picture taken and dork out over meeting Mr. Choot 'Em 

(again, look this up - you are going to have to know about this). 

HOWEVER, I had to beg and plead for someone to take me. 

No one in my family wanted to be a part of this phenomenon with me. In the end, it was my dad 

(NOT my husband, take note) 

who loved me enough to drive me 25 miles on a Saturday afternoon during March Madness to take my picture with two of the greatest alligator hunters on the bayou. 

When we got there, my heart broke a little. 

The line was over a quarter mile long. 

It wound through the store and into the parking lot. 

There was no way he was going to wait in THAT line, even for his favorite child. 

So we did the next best thing.

 I wiped the single teardrop from my eye, trudged into the store, and elbowed as close to the autograph table as I could without being bitten (gummed) by the toothless gawkers who also share my affinity for Swamp People. 

One of these things just doesn't belong . . . it's me! 

I didn't get to meet them, but as I was wending my way through the racks of camo bikinis I realized that I was able to be within 10 feet (about the size of a 900 pound gator) of them. 

Not too bad, this, not too bad. 

Choot Em!

Well this should be entertaining

Lexi is playing soccer with 

some of the other girls from her preschool. 

Adorable. 

Hilarious. 

Chaos. 

Their first practice was last Tuesday and Lexi was OUT OF CONTROL excited. She sort of got the hang of it. 

 

The first thing their coach asked was, "What do you know about soccer?" and my Lulu responds: "You gotta get dirt in the skirt!" (I'll take responsibility for that one - I'm big on quoting 'A League of Their Own').

 

 Later, when he told the girls they were going to practice dribbling the soccer ball, Lexi picked up her purple soccer ball, and started bouncing it around like a basketball. 

And wouldn't stop. 

Gonna be a great season!

Are you feeling lucky?

 

Happy St. Patrick's Day 

I-Rish you were here. 

XOXO, 

Emma 

 

And now, Lexi would like to show you how to Sham-Rock! 

More of Nana's Birthday!

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Sleep is for the Weak

So you can't tell it by these happy, smiley photos but our dear Emma has had a rough couple of weeks. 

On Friday February 16th, I took Emma in for her 9 month checkup. Which meant that we were in the doctor's office, exposed to the germs of many children. 

I'm a germ-a-phobe. 

I hate going to the doctor's office because of the potential for germs. 

Anyways, I'm sure she picked something up while we were there, because by Sunday her nose was running like a faucet. 

Nice visual, huh? 

 I'm sure Paul is to blame for that fact that Em has food ALL OVER her face in this pic.

So, because she was so miserable with the congestion, she slept not a wink Saturday or Sunday night. We caved and let her sleep in the bed with us after a couple hours of screaming each night. It's the only thing that soothes her.

By Monday, things were even worse. 

Apparently, when babies swallow their own snot, it can upset their stomach and make them puke. 

Twice. 

All over themselves. 

And the bed. 

And me. 

 When I called the doctor they said to put a humidifier in her room, give her lots of water, and a basic diet. 

That stopped the vomiting, but not the screaming. 

By Wednesday, I knew things were not right, so I left work to take her to the doctor. 

She had a temp of 102. 

An hour and a half before she had been normal. 

I was told to watch her closely for seizures, because with her temperature changing so drastically, she would probably seize. Thank goodness, she did not. I was a mess for 48 hours though - seizure watch is not my idea of a good time. 

After a check in Emma's ears, the doctor told me, "No wonder she's been throwing up and screaming - her right ear has a pretty nasty infection."

A week of antibiotics, a lot of pain and fever meds, and tears from both of us later - she's mending. 

Not sleeping well yet, but we'll get there. 

I'm sleep-training her for the 3rd time this weekend. Because Momma can't live on 4 hours a night. 

Lexi's Dance Party

 We are big fans of Dance Party here in the Holding House. 

Most nights find us rocking out in the living room to a variety of songs. 

Lexi's current favorites are: 

"I'm Elmo and I know it"

 a hilarious parody on LMFAO's "I'm Sexy and I know it"

It's way more appropriate for a 3 year old too. 

"All the Single Ladies" 

by the Chippettes is a big deal here too:

Our video camera wasn't charged, so here are some stills from our latest dance party:

 my favorite:

Rock on, people. Rock on.

9 months old, baby!

Emma, I can hardly believe that you are nine months old! That means that your 1st birthday is just around the corner, and then you won't be a baby anymore. sad. 

Emma is still sweet and happy as can be. Well, she's sweet as long as she is being held by Mommy or Daddy. Emma has a major case of stranger danger. Even if we are still in the room, no one else can hold her - she just screams and cries until Paul or I pick her up. 

It's sweet, in a way. 

She is an inconsistent sleeper. 

Every couple of weeks we have to RE-sleep train her. 

Sometimes it sticks for a couple weeks, sometimes it doesn't. Currently she pretty much takes a series of night-time naps: 

7:30 - 10:30, 11 - 12:30, 2 - 6. 

It is not so fun. 

Not at all. 

We have just started giving her table food instead of baby food purees. She is not a fan. We'll keep trying, because I tell ya what - baby food can get expensive!

She crawls everywhere and loves to pull up on things. She will probably walk in the next 2 months. 

We just bought her 1st pair of shoes. 

Em loves to snuggle. 

She loves her sister. 

She still relies on a pacifier to sleep. 

Her eyes are still blue. 

Her smile is precious. 

Her laughs make me happy.

9 Month Stats:

height: 27 inches - 25th percentile

weight: 20 lbs -76th percentile

Head Circumference: 17 3/4 inches - 85th percentile

Wordless Wednesday - Love, Lexi and Emma

game set match

 From the moment I found out we were having a second little girl - the thought of being able to dress them in matching outfits consumed me! 

I love love LOVE matching outfits. 

They will hate hate HATE it when they are 

old enough to know how dorky they look. 

but I can't help myself. I think it's awesome. 

So on Friday, I dressed them in matching tops and brown ruffled leggings. 

And it was precious. 

Paul would like everyone to know that he wishes to not be associated with this matchy-matchy ridiculousness.