The Alamo

Okay, so Chris is gone for about the next 4 months, so I've decided to take the kiddos out and explore around the area as much as possible to keep away the "I miss daddy" blues. I was born in Texas (Austin), and went to elementary school in a town about an hour away (San Marcos). I remember learning all about the Alamo and the heros that fought there as a kid, so I decided to try to instill that love in Ethan. We went down to the Alamo with a friend who has a little boy that Ethan is friends with. He watched a little video about the Alamo and got to see guns shot by Davy Crocket and knives used by James Bowie. I think he had fun.

The Alamo. Many Texans still believe in their hearts that Texas should still be its own independent country. I'm not kidding! I see bumper stickers everywhere showing the Texas flag with the caption "Secede!" I'm not that fanatical, but I do think Texas has a history that is interesting. I mean where else do you find a group of about 200 poorly supplied men who refuse to surrender and instead decided to take a stance against a well armed army of 6000 soldiers from Mexico? While they didn't win, they did at least hold out for 13 days! Pretty impressive, I think!

Addy wasn't too impressed, but she's still got time!

Ethan and his friend, Austin

In front of the Alamo.

While we were there, we looked across the street and saw the Menger Hotel. It doesn't look like much, but it's got quite a history. Teddy Roosevelt recruited his "Rough Riders" here and Babe Ruth and other famous people have stayed here. It's also supposedly home to the ghost of a rancher who owned The King Ranch, which was about 250 million acres. He died here and (for some reason I don't understand) they still have that bed in the room for guests to stay in! (I don't believe in ghosts, obviously, but it was fun to see a place that had been on TV!)

Wow It's been awhile!

Okay, so it's been pretty crazy lately, and getting on the computer has been ridiculously hard! We are starting to get into a little rhythm though, and while life it busy, it's a lot of fun! Addyson is growing up so quickly. In fact, I swear that time goes by quicker with her than it did when Ethan was a baby. She is such a sweet baby, and Ethan already goes around saying "Addy's my best friend."

I'm not quite sure I'm ready to put Ethan in preschool yet, so we've been doing our own homeschool curriculum for now. (Made up by yours truly!) We've learned about space, and turned a diaper box into a space ship for him to fly to the different planets in.

We also learned about birds, and then made pinecone bird feeders.

Ethan also got his first official haircut (by someone other than mommy)! He's growing up so fast!

You'll Shoot Your Eye Out, Kid!

Ethan's new favorite store is Bass Pro Shops. He and Chris love going in and playing the game where you "shoot" the rattle snakes, skunks, bear, and other targets. Personally, I thought he was a little young to learn all about guns, but he and Chris evidently decided otherwise.

For Christmas, they have a special set up where kids can try out nerf crossbows and a laser version of the Red Ryder BB gun. (Gee..nothing says "Peace on Earth, Goodwill to men" like kids practicing their shooting skills, huh?)

Dad giving him a few pointers before letting him shoot on his own.

The gun's as big as he is! (Maybe bigger!)

Oops...the arrow wasn't supposed to go that way, was it? (Good thing it's Nerf!)

"I got it, Dad!"

Getting Ready for Christmas

For the past two Christmas seasons, I've wanted to make a gingerbread house with Ethan, but thought he was too young to really be able to do much. This year, though, I decided we were going for it! I totally cheated and bought a kit, rather than make the gingerbread myself. (Hey, I'm lucky if I find time to take a shower by noon everyday, I wasn't going to spend my ten free minutes a day trying to bake gingerbread this year!) It was perfect! Ethan thought it was great fun to stick the candy on the house, although I think he stuck one piece in his mouth for every piece that went on the house.

Juggling

A good friend once told me that when you add a new child in your family, it's like learning to juggle. Well, let's just say it's a very good thing that I never decided to join a carnival, because I still am learning one month after Addyson joined us! Fortunately, Chris was home for the first 10 days after she came home from the NICU, and then my mom and brothers were here for a week. This past Wednesday was my first day alone with both kiddos. My biggest accomplishment was being able to make it to the post office that day. (I started with that goal around 9am, and we made it just before it closed at 4:30!) We've gotten a little better since then, but we're still finding our rhythm.

Ethan sharing his favorite pirate hat with baby Addy.

It was so great having my family here to help!!

The little angel!

GRRRR....

Okay, so Chris and I have been told since Friday morning that Baby Addyson tested positive for GBS and Staph A. So the doctors put her in the NICU and it has been, obviously, very hard since then. Starting Monday morning, I became very frustrated because it seemed that I was always getting a different story from each nurse or doctor that I talked to. The doctors had always told us she'd be able to come home after 7 days, but yesterday they changed it to 10 days, and couldn't really give me a reason why. I got the feeling they were talking more about a science experiment than my little girl. Last night I'd about had it, and told Chris that we were going to get answers. So this morning, we went in and he sort of pushed the doctor for some answers.

The result: She never had GBS. She never, ever tested positive for that. I must have been told at least a dozen different times that she definitely had that. Also, he admitted that there has never been any outward sign of Staph A, and that the blood work now looks completely normal. He admitted to having a meeting with the other senior doctors who determined it would "not be beneficial" for them to determine whether or not the blood work became contaminated. He basically told Chris it probably was contaminated and that she likely never had it. But, since they aren't admitting it outright, they are going to finish treating her for the 7 days. He said it was never his plan to keep her 10 days, but his intern had wanted to and told me that without checking with him.

So this morning, we walked in the NICU to see our little baby girl with an IV sticking out of her head, because the vein in her arm gave out because the oxacillin was too strong. I'm sure any mom can appreciate how unbearably hard that was to see. My only consolation is that she is coming home is less than 48 hours! (And then we're switching dr's asap!)

Baby Addyson is here...just not home yet!

Well, here are the first pictures of the newest addition to the family. "Baby Sister" was finally given a name: Addyson Lawren Baldwin. She was born Thursday, November 5th at 12:54. She was 7 lbs, 1 ounce and 20.5 inches long. (And absolutely beautiful, as every mom thinks their child is!)

She came super fast...I started having regular contractions around 11:30, and by 12:54 we were holding her! So, needless to say, I did not have time to get any pain meds. The doctors also did not have time to give me a shot of antibiotics that I needed before she was born, and she contracted Group B Strep and Staph A. She has to stay in the NICU for 10 days, so she'll be coming home Sunday evening. It was hard to leave her there when I was discharged, and it's still really hard to leave her after I visit every day. Poor Ethan just keeps asking when "baby Addyson" is coming home and why he can't see her in the hospital. (Because of Swine Flu concerns, they aren't allowing any children in the NICU, even siblings right now.) But, her daily blood work shows that the GBS is going down, and they haven't seen any more signs of Staph A. So all is going as well as it can be. As hard as it is to leave her every day, I do feel blessed that she is not there for more serious health concerns, and that we will be able to bring her home soon.

HELP!! Decorating for Dummies didn't work for me!

Okay, so I know that a lot of my great friends have a natural flair for decorating, and you all know I'm envious of the great way you can make your homes look. When the book "Decorating for Dummies" doesn't even help me, you know I'm in trouble! I've come to the realization that it's so much better to ask for help from all of you, than to waste the next three years trying to figure out what color curtains I should pick, or what in the world I should put on the walls.

I've sort of tried to start the process, and think I actually have a few colors that I like. Here's the pics of what I've got so far, and I'd LOVE (okay, I need!!) any help/suggestions I can get!

The ceiling fan Chris put in the living room.

The living room.

The entry way with the door to the study off to the left and the hall to the bedrooms off to the right.

The living room again, taken from behind the couch in the first picture.

The view from the living room into the kitchen.

View from the kitchen into the living room.
Dining area/eat in kitchen.

Kitchen.

Close-up of the pieces framing the window in the living room.

Close-up of the clock over the doors to the study.

As you can see, there's a LOT of room for improvement here! I do have to admit that the little entry way is the best arrangement of pics that I've come up with so far.

I have no idea what colors I should use for curtains. In the living room, we have a kelly green color couch and stuffed chair, dark & light brown carpet, and rust red on the shelves and in the accent pieces. We also have a little bit of wrought iron. The kitchen curtains are another question--I have a light green table cloth and tan place mats with dark brown accented in the pinecones and the lazy susan. Do I match the color of the curtains in the living room since you can see straight into the dining area from the front door? Do I get another color? HELP!!

Trick or Treating at Sea World

This year, Chris has to work on Halloween night, so we decided to take Ethan to Sea World for their Hallowscream events. We went fairly early in the evening, before it got too scary. As it was, Ethan was pretty scared when he saw a skeleton in the coffin in the haunted forest.

Ethan and Daddy in the pumpkin patch part of the Haunted Forest.

Ethan waiting anxiously for Elmo to appear on stage.

Ethan was so wrapped up in the "Countdown to Halloween" Sesame Street play! He talked about it for days afterwards!

Ethan loved the penguins that were dressed up in costume!

They had a fun little undersea themed area where kiddos could blow bubbles and interact with people dressed up as clown fish, frogs, flamingoes, and much more.

The trick-or-treating part was obviously his favorite. Our normally very shy little boy transformed into a scary dinosaur and was running up to everyone in sight and growling at them.

"ROOOAARR!!!"

Decorating Pumpkins

All holidays are so much more fun the older Ethan gets. He's really excited about Halloween this year! We went to Michael's the other day for one of their family activities and he got to decorate a craft pumpkin with Chris and I. I'm not sure who had more fun, Ethan or Chris!

Last year he was pretty scared of the Jack-o-Lantern Chris carved--I still remember the nightmares he had, waking up in the middle of the night because of the "pumpkin." This year he's all into the jack-o-lanterns and pumpkins, but terribly afraid of skeletons and ghosts.