So, the morning after my last post Brayden woke up with a fever of 105. When I took him into the doctor I found out he had a double ear infection. My poor little man. On top of which I gave him a couple bites of the egg and he has a touch of food poisoning, too.

Here's everyone's warning to be careful how long you leave your Easter eggs out of the refridgerator. Because I left mine out a bit too long. So when I ate them yesterday (out of the fridge), I got violently ill with food poisoning. So ill, in fact, that I vomited, which anyone who knows me well knows I NEVER do. If I had found someone to come sit with the baby, I was going to have Eli drive me to the hospital. I have never been so miserable in my whole life. It's been over 24 hours, and I'm still ill. I'm so fortunate to have good friends! Shirley, to whom I haven't spoken in months, came over this morning after I texted her asking for help. She looked after Brayden while I slept. She even cleaned my kitchen! I mean, cleaned, as in cleaner than it's been in months. She took him with her when she went to pick her son up from school and they went back to her house. Eli picked him up on the way home. There just aren't words to express how grateful I am.

104.8

That was my son's fever when he woke up this morning! That follows a steady climb over the last two days. I have been giving him Tylenol and Motrin simultaneously (thanks for the tip, Erin!) and it brings his fever down to negligible, but if the medicine wears off it just comes back stronger. It's so frusterating! I guess I'm going to start waking him up to give him medicine in the night. He's just waking up too hot. At least he seems to be feeling better today. He's more active and happy and has an appetite. Maybe it's a sign that the fever will break soon. I sure hope so. Because if I see the thermometer hit 105 I think I'll have a heart attack!

So, I'm finally here to do my Easter post. I know, I know, it's been over a week. But we've all been sick (in fact, we're all still sick) and I just haven't had the energy to upload pictures and clean them up so I could make a post. But I got all my (very minimal) editing done this morning and I'm ready to roll.

To start off the weekend, on Friday afternoon we headed over to Eli's parents house for the night. It was so nice to get to visit with them. They live just far enough away that we don't get over there but every so often. Saturday was Markus' first birthday and the party was in the front yard. I was really cute. It was nautical themed and Erin did really well with the decorations. She had the cutest little touches that I would have never come up with. I wish I had gotten some pictures, but I was videoing instead. The birthday boy looked like he had tons of fun digging into his cake. And Helen helped Markus open his presents. Actually, she opened most of his presents without him, but it was cute. After the guests left and we got everything cleaned up, Eli's Dad set up the studio and we did pictures. We haven't had pictures of all three of us since Brayden was tiny. I'm really excited to see how they look.

We headed back to Mobile that evening and went to my mother's to dye Easter eggs. It was tons of fun! We had six dozen eggs. Yes, six dozen. We only lost a few. We had six kinds of dye. We combined a couple to get stronger dye, gave Brayden a couple cups of his own, and we had stuff to make them glitter, tie dye, and egg stencils. It was quite a spread. Little man was so covered in dye by the end of it! I wasn't able to get it all off for Easter the next morning. Here's some highlights.








Brayden's Corner (the blue and green egg on the far side of the egg carton are Brayden's very own works of art)


Our finished products

Sunday morning we got up and headed to church in time to see the butterflys released. It's an Easter tradition that every year Ms Candy gets caterpillars and puts them on display several weeks before Easter. It lets the kids watch them as they transform and then they release them on Easter morning. This year they were housed in individual boxes so each child could release a butterfly. Daddy helped Brayden set a butterfly free while I got some cute shots. Brayden was more interested in the wrapping than what was inside.











I wish I had gotten a good shot of Brayden in his little outfit, but it was too cold and by the time church was over, he was so tired. I suppose now that it's warmer I'll get him dressed and go to the church to get a few pictures.

After Brayden's nap Mom, Clint, and Michelle came over to do a little Easter egg hunt (one for Brayden, and one for the older kids) and watch Brayden open his basket. He racked up this year. He was totally more into the chocolate than the toys. Now I have to get Eli into the front yard one Saturday to build a frame to hang his new swing from. Brayden's just loved his new bath toys. He thinks the fishing set is just hilarious.







Well, that's about it. We've been working on getting over this virus and I've been planning my Aunt Sharon's baby shower. I'm really having a lot of fun. I'll give you all the details later.

~Liz

Happy Easter!

Just wanted to say Happy Easter to you all and post this picture. We went to the mall last night and had Brayden's picture taken with the Easter Bunny. I'll post again tomorrow and tell you all about our very fun Easter weekend.

So much is happening...I think

I feel like the older Brayden gets, the more it feels like so much is going on, when really I'm just cataloging all the neat and wonderful things he does. Like he has a new face he makes where he scrunches up one side of his mouth and starts to talk. It's just so adorable. And I love that he's now old enough that when I look at him and he grins at me, I can tell there's a feeling of love behind his eyes. It just melts my heart every time. He's growing closer to his Daddy and I just love watching them together and seeing how much Brayden clearly adores Eli. It's really done a lot for Eli. It was hard for him in the beginning while Brayden was so clearly attached to me. Now Brayden is such a Daddy's boy.

We got our tax return recently, so we've been having a lot of fun spending some of the money. Eli went out a bought a PS2 and all the stuff for us to play Guitar Hero III together. It's been a blast hanging out together the past few days. Eli has finally given up on World of Warcraft. (Duck! I think the sky is coming down!!) I know, I never thought I would see the day either. But he's really been unhappy with it as of late and just hasn't found another hobby to immerse himself in. Well, I told him he could go splurge on a PS2. It's so wonderful to spend time with him doing something we both really enjoy. It's done wonders for our marriage just in the three days we've had it. I didn't realize how much I missed spending time together - or that we weren't before.

I went out today and bought Brayden one of those little buggys that look like cars and have a handle so Mom or Dad can push baby around the neighborhood. I got it at a consignment shop for $24. I was looking for an Easter outfit, but I that search continues. I guess I'll just go to Sears and get one of those little outfits that has dress pants, and button up shirt, and a sweater vest. Some of them are cute enough and there's several in nice springtime colors. I'm ordering Brayden some new shoes tomorrow. We went to a store that carries them in Fairhope today to make sure they would fit, but the store didn't have any of the styles I want. I'm getting these to match his outfit for Markus' birthday party. I'm also getting these. I was going to get a little pair of white sandals for Easter, but if I'm buying him a little pants ensemble instead of a dressy outfit like a jumper, then I'll wait until closer to summer.

I went to WalMart the other day to get some things (like my Swiffer Wet Jet...YAY!) and bought Brayden a little original Swiffer. I was using my Sweep & Vac the other day and Brayden was having a blast trying to help me vacuum. So I brought the Swiffer home and only put together two parts of the handle and gave it to him for a toy. He loves it! He's been walking around all over the house pushing it around. Eli was excited about the free slave labor! I got a couple cute shots.





Brayden has started posing when I pull out my camera and start clicking away. He's going to me a ham, I can see it now.

I really wanted to buy the little Classic Pooh diaper bag from Target I've been drooling over...I mean eyeing...since, oh, this time last year. But when I went over there last wekk, it wasn't there! I have searched everywhere online including eBay and have decided that I just waited too long. I'm pretty sure they don't make it anymore. I know they had it around December. I was supposed to get it for Christmas, but didn't. I guess now I'll never have it. I really feel such a sense of loss. It was sso cute and I really, really wanted it. They have a new one that's similar, but the design just isn't as cute as the one I wanted. Oh well.

My sister's birthday was Tuesday. My mom took her out to breakfast and lunch and to have her colors done and get her first round of makeup. We got to tag along. It was a really fun day. We gave her a Caboodle to put it all in and I finished her scarf and gave it to her. You can see a picture of it on my FO Gallery.

I guess I've rambled on enough for one night. It's late and I'm tired. Everything else I have to say will have to wait for my next post. Night all!

~Liz

What kind of yarn are you?

According to this neat little quiz one of the girls posted on KH, I'm merino wool. The description is so me. Here, check it out.

What kind of yarn are you?

You are Merino Wool.You are very easygoing and sweet. People like to keep you close because you are so softhearted. You love to be comfortable and warm from your head to your toes.
Take this quiz!








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Photo Fest

So, I've got lots to share. Firstly, last week I decided to let the kids fingerpaint. I didn't want paint in clothes or on my walls, so instead I added food coloring to tapioca pudding. Then if they stuck their fingers in their mouth I wouldn't have to worry about toxicity. I bought Andrew some Magic Sand and he played with that instead. Here's a couple good shots.



















On another note, the nursery is in a temporary state of finished. I still need to sand and stain the dresser and get a twin bed and hang pictures. But here it is for now.





Brayden's sleeping so well on his own and it's so lovely to get a full night's sleep for the first time since I got pregnant.

On another note, Brayden is learning how to throw and catch a ball. Mom has a little stuffed football at her house and we've been practicing when we go visit. He loves it. He's really obsessed with balls and the word ball. In fact, he's now signing it and trying hard to say it. He gets the "ba" part out, but he's still timid about saying it. I think he's still feeling it out in his mouth. On the signing note, he's also signing "more" and he responds to "kiss". If you ask for a kiss while signing it, he'll give you a kiss.

We went over to my mother's last night and I gave Brayden's hair a trim. His bangs were down in his eyes. I didn't want to give him a full haircut. I won't do that until there's enough hair for me to get a keepsake curl. But I had to trim the front. He hated it. He fought pretty good. My mom had to hold his hands with one hand and steady his head with the other. All things considered, I didn't do such a bad job. And it'll have a couple weeks to grow out a little before Easter. Look at my little man!









Well, that's all for now. I'll check back in later.

~Liz