Gender Confusion

What is one to do when Dad is still out shopping when Mom and sister return to the house, WITHOUT a house key? Why, you go to Grandma's where she happens to have a spare set of jammies. Then you TRY not to cry as everyone laughs.

Suzy Snowflake?

I think you mean Bertha Blizzard. :)

Ellie had her dance recital Monday night. She did great, and she looked super cute (toddlers and tiaras cute!).

Rhys also looked quite dapper in his jammies...

He was loving the recital for about the first ten minutes, he was dancing with the music and singing. Apparently it got old pretty fast, but he was still such a good baby.

Ellie danced her little heart out, and I don't care if you think I am biased...she's the best little dancer EVER!! Here she is dancing to Suzy Snowflake.

Ellie's amazing dancing resulted in a SNOW DAY on Tuesday...it has been 40 years since our school district has had a snow day. Ellie cried. She wanted to go to Merlene's just like every other day. It was also Elf day for her class, so she was sad to miss it. I admit I feel a little guilty for cheering while she was crying, but I think she has since forgiven me. :)

I'm slightly interested in Santa,

and that great beard, but doesn't that lady with the multi-colored duster know I have a fear of cleaning?

Love those kids...

Rhys has become awfully cuddly lately, which means, Ellie has too.

Let's Get Physical

This is what happens when Uncle Benny babysits. Rhys is wearing a headband, and his shirt is stuffed with two mandarin oranges.

That's enough incriminating evidence...we don't need these pictures to hit the tabloids!

My Kids are the Cutest (at least in picture form)...

If you aren't convinced, check out these photos!! Chellese of CBCG photography captured these for me, and I LOVE them!! I continually go back and admire them, especially when they are crying or throwing fits...ugh.


I love Ellie's scrunched nose in this picture...


Gotta have the Halloween shots (Halloween is my FAVORITE holiday)!


This is SO Rhys!! I love this picture, and it makes me laugh every time I see it.


I like this picture, but at the same time it makes me sad...she looks so grown up!

These are only a few of the fun pictures Chellese edited and gave to me on a disk. She is seriously awesome, and I would suggest her to anyone. :)

Oh, and have no fear, blogger is cutting off the sides of the pictures, but I'm too lazy to change it.

Good Little Students

I smile because they are so dedicated to their school work, and I laugh because I'm glad it isn't me!!

Fall Mango

Ellie loves kindergarten, especially show and tell. For kindergarten show and tell, you bring an object that starts with the letter of the week. This week it was the letter 'F'. Ellie decided to bring a Frankenstein decoration we have. We came up with the clues together.

1. He is shaped like a human.
2. His favorite holiday is Halloween.
3. He's scary.

After school, I asked Ellie how show and tell went, here's how it went:

Ellie: Well, one kid guessed what my show and tell was...

Me: What did everyone else bring for show and tell?

Ellie: Well, two people brought the same thing today.

Me: What was it?

Ellie: A fall mango.

Me: A fall mango? (at this point, I was thinking...fall mango? I love mangos and I've never had one of those)

Ellie: You know, a fall mango...they're pink?

Me: Pink? (I've never seen a pink mango) Oh, wait...you mean flamingo?

Ellie: Yeah, that.

Femurgency

Well, you've got to document the good things with the bad, right?

A little over two weeks ago, I dropped Rhys off at the babysitter's. I nursed him and then put him down for his nap. I can remember that he was super tired, and fell asleep pretty quick.

When I returned to pick him up (3 1/2 hours later), he was red in the face and screaming. The sitter was trying to shove a banana in his mouth (because if you've seen him recently, you'd notice food is his kind of thing). Normally when he sees me, he'll smile and reach for me...not that day.

I got him home, and it seemed like I couldn't do anything to calm him down. He wouldn't nurse and wasn't interested in anything really. I put him on the floor, only to have him scream. He wouldn't scoot around like he normally does. He would cry out in pain, and his little lips would quiver.

I knew something was wrong, but I called my mom to come over to check him out. Upon seeing his reactions, she said she thought something was wrong too. I called the sitter, and asked if anything happened while he was at her house. She said no, and claimed he had just been fussy all day.

I made an appointment with the doctor. We couldn't get him in until 8 pm. I bathed him, and put him down to sleep. He was exhausted and his little eyes were puffy and red. I ended up waking him up to go to his doctor's appointment. The doctor had Dan gradually move up his leg from the ankle to see if he could get a reaction from Rhys. Sure enough, Dan got just above his knee when Rhys screamed in pain, and his poor lips started quivering again.

We were sent to get some x-rays, and it was confirmed...Rhys had a broken femur. I immediately started crying, and asked the doctor how a baby could break a femur. He explained that it was not a "malicious break", but a break that would have happened if someone fell or jumped on him, or if something very heavy had fallen on him.

You see, femurs are very hard to break, even harder to break for babies. He said it was a bad break, but not a bad break. From what he could see in the xrays, the break had just missed his growth plates.

The doctor said he didn't need a cast, because he wasn't walking. He said to be extra careful with him, and that Rhys would not use that leg if it hurt. He also said it would take 4-6 weeks to fully heal.

I immediately called the sitter, told her what happened, and she texted me back...that was annoying. She once again claimed that he was just fussy that day for her, and not crawling around like he normally would.

She texted me (if you can't tell yet, I'm totally unimpressed with text messaging :P ), and asked how he was doing the next day. I told her he was still in pain, and that I was taking the rest of the week off, and that he would not be coming back to her for at least a month. THEN, she called and asked all sorts of questions. I asked her again if she knew what or when it happened. She denied anything happened in her care.

Thursday I received a text from her stating that she would no longer be able to watch my baby. Apparently her three year old was struggling with her watching so many kids (three babies total). I cried, AGAIN. It was SO hard finding someone to watch a baby in the first place, and although I didn't want to take him to her, I didn't think I had any other choice. She had his playpen and some of his belongings still at her house, and she said she would bring them by. I had some papers for her to sign and she also owed me some money (I prepaid at the beginning of the month). I told her I would stop by her house, and get everything.

Well, Rhys woke up early Friday morning, and we were downstairs as Dan was leaving for work (6:30 am). He opened the door and ALL of our stuff was on the doorstep. I was LIVID!! I had been so diplomatic in all of this mess, and I felt that the least she could do was drop off his stuff while I was home or better yet, awake!!

It also didn't help that due to small town gossip, word got back to me that not only did she know when it happened, but she knew how it happened, and she let my baby suffer to cover her butt. All this time, I had felt bad for her. I would have felt awful if a child had been injured at my house on my watch, and it wasn't until Friday that I actually started feeling sorry for my baby. It turns out that her 3 year old was jumping on the furniture, and jumped on Rhys' leg and broke it.

She came by my house Friday evening, and I gave her one last chance to be honest. She flat out lied to me again. I called her on it. I told her that our town is a small town, and that if she was going to lie to me, she needed to lie to everyone. I also told her that she'd be getting Rhys' bills, and that she better pay them. Honestly did she think it wouldn't get back to me, I'm the only mom in my town to have a 7 1/2 month old with a broken femur!!?

Personality wise, I am an avoider, and let me tell you...that confrontation was SO not me. However, I realized I needed to be an advocate for my child. How long did he have to suffer so that she could try to put the blame on me? He is a baby, and sadly what happened would have never gotten back to me if it wasn't for a friend of mine who heard what had happened from the sitter's neighbor. It has seriously made me sick to even think about.

Rhys is doing much better. He is finally starting to move his right leg again, and he really never let it slow him down. We have also found a new babysitter, and can I just tell you it is so refreshing to find a happy baby in her arms. He is the only child in her care, and Rhys is just eating up...

Moral of the Story: When telling a lie: 1) Remember who you've told 2)When a lie involves a broken bone of a baby...it is just best to stick to the same story. 3) Lying makes you look like a heartless ass instead of a dumbass.

Hooray!! Boo!!

Hooray for tight-fitting pajamas that show off big guts and diaper butts (especially in matching themes)!!



Boo to OshKosh closing at Draper Pointe!! Now I have to go to Park City for my OshKosh deals!!

Special Delivery

Ellie has been playing hospital. She is a doctor and recenlty delivered a whopping 19 lber...I feel sorry for that mom.

Isn't that the most alert newborn you've ever seen? I'm sensing he comes from a musically inclined family...he's already rocking the tamborine.

First Day of Kindergarten

*sniff*

Yep, she REALLY is that big!!

Ellie started kindergarten last week. I decided to have her come to school with me, which sadly means that, yes, I am back at work too. :( Ellie loves school!! During her kindergarten assessment, her teacher asked her to count as high as she could, and Ellie kept going and going...finally her teacher stopped her once she got to 100. Miss Harris can thank Grandpa for her mad math skills.

Rhysky had a rough day at the babysitter's without his big sister. Apparently Ellie rushes to him when he makes any kind of sound. He loves that big sister of his. He was so happy to see us when we picked him up that day.

Ellie just outside her classroom. Notice, she isn't in her brand, new school clothes. As a teacher, it cracks me up to see kids show up to school on the first day wearing their long sleeve shirts, jeans, and tennis shoes in 85-90 degree weather. I've done my fair share of school clothes shopping, and I honestly can't wait to get her skinny jeans and ballet flats out...maybe a couple more weeks...

Ellie has been going by Elisabeth for the past week. It has been stressing her out, because she doesn't know how to spell Elisabeth. She told me she didn't know where to hang her backpack...darn grandma and her encouragement of giving her a "grown up name".

Open the Garage...

Here comes the car.

Tuckered Out

A month ago we had our Jessen family reunion at the farm. Dad and Mom got us all a hotel room, because I don't camp. My camping is a cheap motel. Dan did a 10k (10k at 10k) Saturday morning. He said it was one of the hardest he has raced (steep incline at the beginning of the race). He did great, and I'm only slightly jealous that I haven't gotten back into running yet (five more months!!).

I got a few of Ellie and Lucy after the barrel racing. Our team won, although Bryce did put in a good effort.




We really were roughing it at that hotel. As you can see from the two kiddos fast asleep in their carseats.

Ellie's POV

Occasionally, Ellie will run off with the camera. After going through the 50+ pictures she has taken, I usually save a few. I love seeing her feet in the shot, and the inside of my nostrils (it isn't often that I get a good examination of those).

As she was snapping away photos, Dan happened to pull up in his work truck. Lucky day for a photo op.

Ellie has also mastered the self timer. ;)

Ellie's Last Day of Swim Blessings

I thought I better update in at least a few areas. Ellie did awesome in swim lessons this year. She is a great swimmer! She doesn't really enjoy floating on her back (she gets nervous), but she does it. She is pretty impressive.

Going Private

So, this is for realsies for the time being. I've decided to take toxic people out of my life, but at the same time take the loves and joys of my life out of it. Stalkers, who cares about stalkers? I'd take them over family any day. Leave a comment with your email address, and I'll be sure to add you. I'm closing out at the end of the week. :)

Grateful

It has been a rough couple of days, days I didn't really ask for, but happened anyway. Hello, where is the off switch!!? Although, life can be a drama blur at times, I'm happy to just stay around my highly entertaining family.

Rhys is bound and determined to figure out how to get out of every baby restraint. He is constantly fiddling with his carseat and high chair buckle. However, his buddah belly gets in the way. I think it is about time Dan and I teach him the "truffle shuffle".

Dan's been working a bit more (which financially is better than less). He actually picked Ellie up the other day, and gave her a ride in his truck. She was in Heaven. If, she lowers her standards and wants to be a truck driver instead of a doctor that delivers babies...you won't see many happy posts about him anymore. ;)

And that Ellie girl of mine...how do I get her to stop saying OMG? I claim majority of the abundance of colorful language that comes out of her mouth, but that is definitely not one of them. TV gets the blame for that one.

I realize some are not as fortunate as me, and that makes me sad, but never should someone's happiness and joy be someone else's source of belittlement and anger. It just isn't right.

Swim Blessings

Lucy and Ellie finished their first week of survival swimming this week. Ellie LOVES it, and Lucy wants to love it. They both worked really hard today, and did some pretty amazing things. In fact, Dan and I took Ellie to the pool today only to have her jump in without either one of us in the pool, and then she swam back to the side...awesomeness.




Don't mind the pantless baby...

Awww...he's "cute"

And you wonder why I don't believe you when you say my baby is cute, family.

"He looks like Larry H. Miller."

"He looks like the Clown on Spawn." That one was particularly hurtful. :P

Age Progression

Phew...I'm glad that is over!!

Ellie had her first friend birthday party this year (and fingers crossed, I'm hoping her last). The party was bug themed. We made antennae headbands, had a bug hunt, made dirt cups, opened presents, and broke a pinata.

One of the many presents from her friends. This one is from our cute, new neighbor Kaylee. Ellie loved it!

The pinata, and a couple of action shots.

And then what do you do when your party ideas end 45 minutes before pick up time? Panic followed by Improvising. We played I had a little Buggy (think I had a little Doggy), followed by musical leaves, and then when all improvised ideas were out, we put in a Bug's Life.

Dan took a two hour nap, we went out to eat, and then Dan took Ellie to the pool with our friends while Rhys and I took a nap. I'm so glad the friend party is over!!

Take Five

We celebrated Ellie's birthday with family on her actual birthday. Dan pumped up Ellie's new pool all night long, just so she could swim in it the moment she woke up in the morning. She loved it, and stayed in her swimsuit all day long. Well, until it was time for the family party.

Dan told her she could wear whatever she wanted. She chose this:

Doesn't this picture look questionable?

Her cake looked like this (don't be jealous over my cake making skills):

Her favorite present was a pillow pet. Ellie is a walking infomercial, and now everyone on our street has a pillow pet. You're welcome neighbors. :)