14 Months Old

Here we are again. I cannot believe that another month has passed us by. Laura Elizabeth continues to amaze us.

As some of you know, I use this blog to keep some of her biggest accomplishments. I then import this blog into her baby book...so here I go with my monthly update.

LeLe can say almost any word...whether you want her to or not. She will repeat anything on command. She hates riding in her car seat. Okay, hate may be a little harsh but she definitely isn't a pleasant rider. She loves speaking to every stranger especially if they don't acknowledge her first. She definitely is considered an active child. Even her teachers a school comment on how much she likes to play. She loves watching other children and trying to duplicate what they do. She continues to love her baby dolls and that huge bear that I got so mad at Matt for buying. She likes playing hide and seek, chase, and any rough housing that you want to do for her. She likes hanging out in her closet and the pantry because there is so many interesting things to play with...or drag out. She cannot stand wearing shoes and every time that we get in the car proceeds to take them off and throw them. She is finally starting to keep a hair bow in her hair. I am not sure if it is because her hair is finally getting long enough or if she is finally catching up with bow training. She has a fettish for glasses and loves pointing them out to you if someone else is wearing them. This past week, she learned how to blow her nose which is a HUGE accomplishment for mommy. She also taught herself how to spin in circles which is very funny to watch. After she spins a couple of times, she gets dizzy and has a hard time walking. She likes feeding herself with a fork and seems very independent. She continues to be a good sleeper and has to be woken up most days. She still doesn't like milk and loves sweet tea! She also likes loading the washing machine...if I could only teach her how to sort the clothes!

As you can see, our little angel is growing up so fast. Everyone always told me that this would happen so fast but I didn't imagine that it would be this fast. Matt and I continue to enjoy every minute that we get to share with LeLe and love being parents.

Happy 14th Month Birthday!

Visit from Bobo, Pappy and Hoss

Tonight, Mother, Dad and Hoss (the puppy) came over to celebrate mother's birthday (which was last weekend). Matt grilled steaks from Mr. P's deli. They were great! LeLe wasn't into the dinner though. She was too busy playing with her dolls and with "Hossy".

When mother and dad left, LeLe was again playing while we cleaned up the kitchen. The next thing I know, she is standing on top of the dog food container helping herself to the donuts!

Happy Birthday PawPaw!

Matt's PawPaw turned 81 on Wednesday. We met all of Matt's cousins from Atlanta in Anniston to celebrate PawPaw's birthday! It is the first time that we have all met together since I can remember. I am not sure that LongHorns was ready for us....all 24 of us. There were so many children but everyone of us enjoyed seeing each other. For some, it was the first time meeting "the Hurricane". After 2 hours in a restaurant, they now definitely understand how she got that nickname. LeLe enjoyed playing with the other children. Claire and Olivia even read her a book. Happy Birthday PawPaw! We love you!

Visit to the Zoo & Happy Birthday BoBo!

Today, Matt and I volunteered to keep Kate's kids while she and Steven went to the hospital to visit Baby Sam. Sam is doing much better and as soon as he can come off of the bili light, will be headed home. Please continue to pray for him.

Kate dropped Sara Kate and Jason off at the house around 11:00. Matt had the big idea for us all to head to the zoo. As you guys know, I am not much for hanging out so it sounded like a plan to me. We had originally planned on having mother a birthday party today but the plans changed. Luckily, Lauren was able to come over anyway and play with all of the children. We got all of the car seats loaded up and headed to the zoo. On the way, we gave Aunt Hollie and Cousin Alex a call and they met us there! It was a big children family reunion at the zoo.

Jason and Alex loved playing with each other. It is amazing how Jason wants to do everything that Alex does. Sara Kate was so content and only let out a big "MEOW" when we saw the tigers. LeLe, in her hurricane fashion, made a big hit with all of the animals. She decided to say "Hey" to almost everyone of them. She also loved the ostrich and let out a big belly laugh at him. I guess an ostrich is pretty funny looking. She also loved stealing the sippy cups from Jason and Sara Kate. It is amazing that the child will not drink anything out of her cup but will steal anyone elses and top it off.

Hollie and Lauren were God Sends as they helped us keep up with all of the children. Luckily, we had a 1 to 1 ratio and needed it! The kids were absolutely adorable and really made our day special.

To my mother - Mom, thank you so very much for being so good to us. I hate that we missed your birthday and hope that you had a wonderful HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! We love you!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Sending Love Your Way

Happy Valentine's Day! Matt, LeLe and I spent the day running errands. Matt asked me what I wanted for Valentines...and I chose for him to do his least favorite thing....go to Costco and to Wal-Mart! We also ended up going by Mark's Outdoors. As some of you know, Matt worked at Marks for several years and still has a lot of friends there. They were amazed at how much LeLe favors her daddy and could not believe how blonde her hair is. LeLe fell in love with the stuffed wolf that is on display. She kept giving him kisses and petting him. At one point, she was even pointing to his tongue. I am sure that Matt's friends were glad to see us go though because she had almost every item pulled off of the shelf. She loved carrying the shopping basket around too and placing items in it. She got so much stuff in there she couldn't even carry it! Of course, baby was in there too.

Happy Valentine's Everyone! I hope that you had a fantastic day with your love ones.

Introducing and Praying for Our New Nephew Samuel Robert Allen

Kate and Steven had a precious baby boy on Tuesday, February 10th at 1:19 pm. Samuel Robert Allen weighed in at 8 lbs and 14oz and was 21 inches long. Kate has some complications after the delivery but is now doing very well.

In the early morning on Wednesday, the nurses brought Baby Samuel into the room and explained to Kate that his breathing was significantly fast. They wanted to draw some blood. After the blood was drawn, they decided to keep Baby Samuel in NICU until he resumed a normal breathing pattern. At one point, he was breathing as much as 110 times per minute. They also refrained him from eating so that there was no chance that he would aspirate. He was hooked up on glucose to help with his sugar levels. They determined that his white blood count is elevated. At one point, they were concerned about his heart but luckily, a cardiologist came and his heart checked out to be normal for an infant. He remained in the NICU overnight where his breathing slowed down but still remained faster than normal. Kate visited the ICU every time the doors were open.

We actually got to see Baby Samuel during the 8:00-9:00pm visiting hours. He is an absolutely precious baby and reminds me a lot of Jason. He has the tiniest feet and hands. I cannot believe how little he looks compared to Hurricane.

Thursday, Feburary 12th
Samuel remains in the NICU. Today, they placed a feeding tube down his throat to provide him with some nutrients. His bilirubin count has risen so they decided to also place him on a "bili" bed. However, his breathing has become a little more stable. At this point, they are thinking that pneumonia has set in and started some antibiotics today. According to my conversation with Kate a few minutes ago, they are going to keep Samuel anywhere from 3 to 7 days to continue giving him the antibiotics. We are praying that Baby Samuel will come home on Saturday. More than likely, Kate will be released tomorrow, February 13th.

Although Kate and Samuel have had several bumps in the road, we are all VERY thankful for the support and care that they have received from the staff at St. V's and from all of Kate's friends and loved ones. Please continue to pray for this precious family and Samuel's quick recovery.

Love,
Aunt Katie

Missing LeLe

As some of you know, I work at Blue Cross on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. So, on Mondays and Fridays, LeLe and I do all kinds of fun stuff. I am not sure whether or not I have mentioned that LeLe has learned to open the door to let the dogs inside. She finds it very funny when they are soaking wet from the rain. So, last week, she let the dogs in....of course, they were soaking wet. So, I sat her in her room while I cleaned up water that was all over the floor from 2 soaking wet golden retrievers. While she was in her room, she taught herself a new trick: removing plug covers. To say the least, she walked into the kitchen saying "this" "this" and then held out her hands where she had 6 plug covers.

So, in an effort to keep LeLe confined to the house, this past weekend, Matt changed the door knobs so that she won't be able to escape. Little did I know, that she would realize that she can open ALL doors..including her favorite room, the pantry.

Since I am home alone on Mondays and Fridays, I pretty much have to trust LeLe to behave while I take a shower. On Monday, when I came out of the shower, I could not find her. Finally, I found her sitting in front of the window watching her doggies and eating her goldfish....she did leave the pantry open. I was just glad that she chose the goldfish over the dog food!

Oh! One more funny thing...LeLe got in her first fight at school. Some big boy was trying to steal her baby!! Little did he know not to mess with the Hurricane!! She didn't give up dolly though. The teacher had to go get the little boy a new one. Oh me...we have our hands full!

Super Bowl Sunday

We headed to the Welborns to celebrate Super Bowl Sunday! Of course, LeLe had a ball playing with Adison and Hall. She loves imitating them so very much. She will let Adison and Hall carry her anywhere without hesitation. She also lets the feed her. She will even drink milk for them!! We had a fantastic time at the Welborns as always.