No pictures, no videos.

Just a lot of snot, quite a bit of vomit, an ear infection and a little thing called an eruption cyst. That's why I have no pictures and no videos. Because we were taking care of all of that. Good times.

I don't even know where to begin... Allie has had a cough and runny nose since sometime in January-she has basically had cold upon cold with no relief in between. We went to see a pulmonologist on Feb 2 and he told us he is pretty sure she has asthma, which we kinda already figured given her track record of illnesses the past year and the fact that Russell had it when he was a baby. He sent us off with instructions to keep doing breathing treatments twice a day. Great. We were already doing that and it doesn't help. At all. However, he did take an x-ray of her throat to look at her adenoids and tonsils to see if they are enlarged and sure enough, they are. So now we are going back to the ENT doctor this monday to talk about that. And I assume, possibly get them removed. Which I am actually happy about that (well, you know, not happy happy....) b/c I have heard parents' tell me how much it helped their kids when they had their adenoids removed. We will keep you posted on that. Oh, and Marissa had an ear infection last week. But she is a tough little girl, it didn't slow her down one bit.
OK, on to the vomit. First, let me set the scene. Russell and I decided to take a trip up to North Carolina to see my parents this weekend. We loaded up the girls and Texas (our 90 lb chocolate lab) and hit the road. I was actually really excited because we were planning to go and surprise my dad at work! He had no idea we were coming! So we show up and he is completely shocked! And, of course, completely excited to see Marissa and Allie! It was great:) That is, until about 4:00 on Saturday afternoon. That was when it began and it didn't end until the next morning. Allie woke up from her nap, I gave her lunch, we were playing and having a great time. Then all of a sudden, everything from lunch came right back up. Yuck. We didn't really think much of it to be honest. Until it happened 3 more times in the next 12 hours. Poor thing. Then about 1:30 AM on Sunday Morning, I hear Marissa coughing and the light is on in my parent's bedroom. Yep. It was officially a stomach bug. She threw up 3 times within about 3 hours (once directly on my mom....way to take one for the team, NeeNee.) Needless to say, it was a veeerrrryyy long night. Sunday went fairly well, they obviously didn't eat much but we did our best to keep them hydrated and happy. We made it home safe and sound. And went straight to bed.
And last but certainly not least...have any of you moms out there ever heard of an eruption cyst? No? Well, neither had I, until last night. I noticed a week or so ago that Allie was getting one of her molars in and it looked awful. It did not look like any tooth coming in that I had seen in the past 2 1/2 years. I didn't think too much of it until yesterday when I finally pinned her down long enough to get a good look (and yes, I mean literally pinned.her.down. She is strong and feisty for a 1 year old..she did not want me looking in her mouth) it was gross. I had no idea who to call. I didn't know what it was. So, I called my pediatrician. Their office was closed until the next day. So, I called the local pediatric dentist. I tell her I need to make an appointment for my 1 year old and she says, "OK, how does tomorrow (tuesday) at 10am sound?" Perfect. I then explain to her what is going on and she says, "Oh, so you need an exam?" Uh, sure. "Ok, how about Thursday at 10am?" Well, I think Tuesday would be better since it's sooner. "Oh, well, Tuesday is for a cleaning and you need an exam and Thursday is the earliest availability." At this point, I am doing my best to hold back crying my eyes out b/c I am completely exhausted from the weekend (when I'm tired, I cry....), I am getting very concerned about this thing that is in Allie's mouth and I don't understand what difference it makes the type of appointment it is, I just want someone to look in her mouth and help.me. Anyway, I give the lady my info and we are scheduled to go in Thursday. In the meantime, I remember that our neighbor across the street is a dentist (he is actually a dental professor in Birmingham, they moved in a few months ago and are very, very sweet.) So I call his wife and tell her about Allie and she says bring her over around 7, he won't mind at all to take a look and see what's going on. I was so incredibly grateful. Allie and I head over that night, he takes a peek in her mouth and says, "Yea, that's an eruption cyst." Huh? It's a what? He then goes on to tell me about it, he googles it for me and shows me pictures, (I won't post any b/c it is GROSS but feel free to take a look for yourself, especially you mommies out there, just in case one of your little ones has this problem.) and lastly, he tells me not to worry at all. It doesn't hurt her, it will eventually pop and the tooth will come through as normal. Ouch. Sounds awful, huh? But, supposedly, it's no big deal. And, much to my relief, Allie has been 100% happy and playful and sweet all day long. She slept great last night, took 2 great naps today and seems to be mostly back to normal.
As for Russell and me, we are almost over our colds (did I mention we have both been fighting a cold the past week...) and are having so much fun with our little girls. Despite all the above mentioned junk, we still manage to have such a wonderful time with them and they keep us constantly entertained:) For now, they are both in bed, asleep and Russell and I are enjoying our time together. Life is good.

A little something for the grandparents.

I know I've been a little video-crazy lately, but everytime I talk to my parents or Russell's parents they tell me how much they love the videos and watch them over and over and since they are all so far away:( I try to put up as many as I can. A few nights ago at dinner, I caught Marissa in a chatty mood and this is what she had to say...

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Oh, and just a little side note, I'm not sure who "Matthew" is but the noise and face she makes after she says his name is hilarious. I'm not sure if it's good or bad, but it cracks me up every time I watch it:)