My Gypsy Girl

These pics are over a month old.  They're from Valentine's Day.  Andrew was working late and my friend Christel came over for dinner with her son Eli.  It was Autumn's first Valentine's Day date.  She was dressed like a gypsy with a funky flower hat on and an apron that Grandma had given her for Valentine's.  She enjoyed pouring Ms. Christel some tea and chewing on the remote for the TV. 

Daddy also surprised both Autumn and I with some beautiful roses.


Autumn's roses in her room.

My roses.

I figure it's better late than never in posting these fun pics.

Princess Autumn

This morning, like most mornings, Daddy dressed Autumn for school.  Daddy has morning duty most days since he doesn't have to be into work very early and usually works later and I take care of Autumn in the evenings.  This morning Daddy must have been in a fun mood, because he dressed Autumn up as a cowgirl princess.  She came into my room after she was all dressed to show off her tutu and boots.  She was so excited about her outfit.  I think Daddy secretly likes it that all of the ladies at school tell him that Autumn is always dressed so cute.

iPhone Dump

Here are a few pics from lately.



Hanging out at the Town Sqaure with Grandma.





Autumn likes to use a lot of toilet paper. 
Don't worry we're not potty training yet. 
I'm just trying to get her used to the idea of a potty.



Papa bought Daddy and Tio funny St. Paddy's Day hats from the dollar section at Target. 
Warning!!  Apparently these hats are chick magnets.



Baby girl was out!



Checking out some Vera purses on St. Patrick's Day.

Last night we took dinner over to Nana and Pops.  Autumn saw a banana on the counter and she asked for it by name.  It was pretty close sounding to banana.  She also started saying Nana to Nana.  She was excited that she knew who she was and could say her name.  We would ask her where's Dada or where's Mama or Pops and she would point to each of us and smile.  She also knows where her nose is, foot, hand,, mouth, etc.  She is so smart and growing up so fast!

A to Z

I thought this looked like fun!

A is for age: 29
B is for breakfast today: One chocolate iced donut and one strawberry iced donut courtesy of our auditors at work.  No judging please!
C is for currently craving: Nothing at the moment.  I just finished eating lunch.
D is for dinner tonight: Escalante's with family. 
E is for favorite type of exercise: Running
F is for an irrational fear: Frogs.  I can't stand them.  Andrew used to chase me with them and throw them at me (when I say Andrew I mean husband Andrew, not brother Andrew - can you believe my own husband was that mean to me!)
G is for gross food: Mushrooms.  I can't stand the texture.  I used to hate onions too, but I am getting much better about eating them.
H is for hometown: Sugar Land
I is for something important: My Family
J is for current favorite jam: Blackberry
K is for kids: Autumn Elizabeth, 17 months, that's it for now . . .
L is for current location: Work
M is for the most recent way you spent money: I bought a Diet Dr. Pepper from McDonald's on my lunch break.  It is one of my guilty pleasures.  And yes, I have officially broken Lent (not going out to eat).
N is for something you need: More time with my husband (can't wait for April 17th).
O is for occupation: Accountant at Kelsey Seybold.  I love my job!
P is for pet peeve: People who don't respond to e-mails.
Q is for a quote : "The only worthy religion in the world is an examined religion." I came across this quote a few weeks ago and I really like it, although I don't know who said it.
R is for random fact about you: I am married to my high school sweetheart.  We started dating in 1998 (almost 14 years ago!).
S is for favorite healthy snack: Carrots and hummus.
T is for favorite treat: Skinny Caramel Macchiato from Starbucks or cake pops.
U is for something that makes you unique: My red hair.  I used to hate it when I was younger, but I like that it makes me unique.  I also love that Autumn has my hair too.
V is for favorite vegetable: Squash, any kind.
W is for today’s workout: Nothing yet, which probably means nothing at all today.
X is for X-rays you’ve had: Teeth, foot
Y is for yesterday’s highlight: Chasing a naked and laughing Autumn around the house while she tried to avoid a bath (bath equals almost bedtime and she was not ready for bed).
Z is for your time zone: Central

Ear Tubes

Autumn has had an ear infection pretty much non-stop since Christmas.  She's been on four rounds of antibiotics, but her ears never really cleared up.  So, after talking with her pediatrician, the family docs (Papa and Tio) and visiting with an ENT we decided to go ahead and have ear tubes put in.  This is a very minor procedure, but it requires general anaesthesia, which is always a little scary for babies.

Her surgery was scheduled for Thursday, March 8th at Texas Children's Hospital.  She was not allowed to have anything to eat after midnight and nothing at all after 5:15am.  Clear liquids were okay between midnight and 5:15, but honestly who is awake during those hours - not me and certainly not Baby Bottom.  I kept Autumn up late (until 10 or 11) the night before and pushed extra fluids and food on her, so she wouldn't be quite so grumpy and hungry in the morning.  We woke up late - around 6:20.  I had wanted to leave the house by 6:30.  We ended up leaving around 6:50 and got the the hospital by 7:40 (only 25 minutes late). 

We let Autumn keep her pacifier all morning.  This seemed to keep her calm.  She never fussed about not having food or anything to drink.  She kept looking at us like "do they know I still have my paci?"  She usually is only allowed to have it for naps and bedtime.  Autumn was sleepy on the way to the hospital, but once we got in the waiting room all she wanted to do was play, and there were lots of toys for her to play with. 

Around 9am we got called back to the holding room where we met with the doctors before the surgery.  Papa had put in a call to one of his friends at Texas Children's to ensure she got the best anaesthesiologist possible.  Dr. Glass was very nice and she helped to make us feel at ease.  When it came time for surgery Autumn chose to ride back to the OR in a toddler car (see picture below).  She was enjoying all of the toys.  Dr. Glass said Autumn was way too easy.  She just rocked her to sleep (with the help of a gas mask full of anaesthesia of course).  The procedure lasted all of 15 minutes.  I barely sat down between leaving the holding room and having the doctor come in to say we could go back to the recovery room.

Once in the recovery room we got to hold sweet sleepy Autumn.  She was so lifeless for a minute and then came the apple juice.  She chugged two cups of apple juice and got fussy when we had to refill the sippy cup.  We didn't have to stay in the recovery room too long before we were able to head home and put Autumn down for a long nap.  Grandma, Grandpa, Grandma T and PapPap had all come to the hospital to see sweet Autumn.  Grandma T had brought her a new doll too.

When we got home Autumn slept until 1:30PM.  She woke up ate some mac n cheese and then proceeded to totally freak me out.  She was eating and then she just starting staring off into space and getting really white.  She threw up and then ate some more and then got really white again.  Her head was nodding off too, like she was about to pass out.  She then stared into space and stuck her tongue between her lips and made a farting noise.  In hindsight I am 100% convinced that all of this behavior indicates that she was just loopy from her anaesthesia, but it scared me at the time.  I even texted the ENT who had assured us that texting him was the best way to reach him if we had any questions.  Autumn eased back into normal again and by the evening she was wired.  She even climbed up onto the second shelf on my kitchen cabinet.  I tried to get a picture, but she got out too fast.

The verdict is still out as to whether the tubes are helping or not.  We probably won't know for at least a few more weeks, but in theory they should prevent further ear infections in the future.

Weekend at POC

This weekend we went to the beach house in Port O'Connor.  Papa had invited us down to spend some time relaxing and eating good food.  I had hoped that Andrew would be able to join us, but I wasn't holding my breath.  He's been super busy lately at work.  Most nights he hasn't been home until well after midnight.  Anyways, Friday night after a lovely dinner (Morton's Mac n Cheese, Meatloaf and Sauteed Spinach), Andrew surprised me by saying he could join us for the weekend. 

We ended up heading down around 10PM on Friday night.  Autumn slept the whole way.  I always try to plan travel around her sleep.  She woke up a little when we got there, but eventually went back to sleep. 

Saturday we played with the toys at the beach house, watched The Little Mermaid (while Autumn rearranged the DVDs and magazines), took a stroll on the beach and took a nap with Daddy.  We didn't spend too much time outside on Saturday because it was very very windy.  In the afternoon we played with the toys outside on the deck, went to the park and pier with our POC neighbor Vera and did some more DVD and magazine rearranging.  For some reason Autumn loves to rearrange things.  She took all of the DVDs out of the cabinet and moved them to the other side.  She also took all of the magazines out of the magazine holder and put them on two ottomans.  Saturday evening we enjoyed a lovely dinner of pea soup, spinach salad, sauteed veggies, rice and fish. The guys smoked cigars late into the evening and then Andrew and I stayed up all night tending to a very fussy baby.  Autumn was just not herself Saturday night.  She cried almost all night long. 

Sunday morning Tia took Autumn off our hands for an hour or two so we could catch a few zzz's.  Thanks Tia!  Sunday was a beautiful day outside.  Low winds, blue skies and blue waters.  Sunday morning Daddy and Tio played with their Christmas presents (remote control helicopters). Sadly, Andrew's died a horrible death after flying too high and then crashing into the beach.  Late Sunday morning we took Autumn's very first boat ride.  She did well for about 5 minutes before the huge life vest that made her look like a giant marshmallow and the cold wind became too much for her to handle.  We turned the boat around and she cried the whole way back to the marina.  After the devastating boat ride we had a quesadilla and pea soup lunch and then headed home. 

Sunday night Autumn and I went to Babies R Us with Grandma Clarke and then ate Mexican food with Grandma and Grandpa while Daddy caught up on some work that he missed while we were playing this weekend.  All in all it was a great weekend.  Sorry, no pics.  I always forget to take pictures when we're having a good time.

Lately . . .

Autumn is growing up so fast!  She moved up to the Toddler 1 class this week, so she is no longer a baby :-(  In the Toddler 1 class they eat at a table (no more highchairs) and they take naps on mats (no more cribs).  Autumn is also talking a lot more.  I think she is saying "cat", "ball", "bubba" (aka Cooper) and "mom".  It's kinda hard to make out what she is saying, but I am trying to understand her.  She can easily point to things and people in books, like if you ask her where is the dog, she will point to the dog.  The other night she had on an Abby Cadabby shirt and her Abby shoes.  I asked her where Abby was and she immediately pointed to her shirt and then bent down and pointed to her shoes too.  So cute!  She is also mimicking a lot more lately too.  She is so fun to be around.  Here are some recent pics and videos.  These include the zoo, her first taste of cake pops, meeting Elmo, Sesame Street Live and Go Texan Day.



First cake pops!


YUM!








Meeting Elmo at Chick-fil-A.  She was a little timied at first,
but she kept waving at him later.




In awe at Sesame Street Live!




All decked out for Go Texan Day.




What are you looking at?




Hanging out with Grandma and the elephants.




With Mommy at the zoo.




Showing Tia that 2 babies can go grocery shopping,
see the extra space next to Autumn.