Lucky number 20!!!!

I took Dixie to the doctor yesterday and it turns out she has a double ear infection on top of snot, congestion, fever and a cough....oh yippie...bring on the new baby:) I am praying she will get better very soon. I can tell my sweet girl is miserable and I want to take her pain away. We are on operation get well in 5 days!!!!!

Anyway, I am always interested to see how much she weighs when we go to the doctor. Well, at 18 months, we finally hit 20 lbs. She was 20 lbs 5 oz. She is such a skinny minny! Hopefully she got her daddy's genes. She will be thankful for those when college hits.

Free Housecleaning

It's been so cold lately, which = no going outside. With a child who wants to always be doing something, that presents a challenge. On Evan's off day last week, he and Dixie decided to blow bubbles in the house. No big deal as long as they stayed on the rug....hey that's free rug cleaning:)

These particular bubbles are from Gymboree and are by far the coolest bubbles ever as you will see from the picture. My friend Lynds had them and I knew I had to get them for Dixie. They make hundreds of little mini bubbles. Turns out they didn't just stay in the living room. I had bubbles landing in the dinner on the stove that night....added a little extra flavoring.

These bubbles also stick and will stay in bubble form if you don't pop them, which makes for a Bubble World all over everything...totally fun! I caught a few pics of the bubble madness. I loved how they stuck to Dixie's hair (yes i said hair....there is a little bit there, for like an hour:)

I think we will be busting out the bubbles again today. My little bit is sick and we have been stuck inside for 3 days now. Gotta get her better before the new little bit arrives next week (hopefully).

Personalized Puzzle

Saw this idea on one of my fav craft blogs and decided to try to make one for Dixie for Christmas. She loves puzzles. Even though right now this one would be a little advanced for her, I had to try to make it. It turned out really cute, but I ran into one little problem with the picture sticking. If you try it, hopefully you can avoid my mistake.

To make:

Take one existing (not too many crazy edges or curves) puzzle and spray paint it. Use a flat spray paint. I used a gloss finish and my picture doesn't want to stay stuck to it very well. I will have to go back and glue down the picture with super glue around the edges of each piece. You will also need several coats of spray paint to cover the existing picture.

This puzzle is from Target and came in a pack for pretty cheap. It had a slick top, which may have also led to my picture not sticking as well. If you can find an old school wooden puzzle without a slick top and you use a flat spray paint, I bet you won't run into this problem.

Order the picture you want in an 8x10 size with a matte finish. Mod Podge the picture to the puzzle underneath the picture and then mod podge over the picture to seal it. You will have to do several coats over the top to give it a nice seal. Make sure to wait at least 15- 20 minutes in between coats or it gets thick and crumbly.

Once dried, use an xacto knife to re-cut along the outer rectangle edge of the puzzle. You will have to use some elbow grease on this part. Pop out the middle pieces, which will be in one big clump. Turn the puzzle over and using the xacto knife follow the lines of each piece until all of your pieces are cut out. You may have to file down some of the edges where the glue is real thick or your pieces will be very hard to get back into the puzzle.

Hopefully your picture stuck better than mine and now you have a personalized puzzled! How fun and easy.

Elf Yourself

I make these silly videos every year. I know what to expect, but every year I find myself rolling with laughter. I especially love to watch Dixie's baby head do the dance moves and Evan break it down. If only he danced like that in real life:) Oh wait..sometimes he does. Here is the link to our country elf dance:

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/MJqgpjGmYtumIo8b

Dixie's Chair

I have been so anxious to get Dixie a chair for her room. Several of her cousins have one, and I always find her sitting in them with a book in hand. My dream was to get an over sized Pottery Barn one, but when I looked at what I wanted, it was going to cost close to $200.... a little much. I continued to look at Big Lots, Wal-Mart and Target but some of them seemed too small and chinky or too big for her size.

Finally, Evan sent me a message one day saying that KidsWoot.com was running a deal on kid's recliners. They are called Dozy Dotes and the reviews on them were excellent. I am not exactly sure how much they normally sell for, but it was on sale for $89. It can recline and rock, although we took that part off of the chair to make it a little shorter so that Dixie can climb in on her own. We will put it back on once she is older. The chair can hold up to 100 pounds (guess mommy won't be sitting in it), so it can grow with her.

I questioned the pattern that I got after I ordered it, but once we got it in her room, I was in love. It adds color and is perfect for her. She is always climbing in it and I am glad that it is developing some independent play on her part in her room when I am not in there. She always says "Dixie's chair."

Good job Baby!

Good news: went to the doctor this morning and miraculously the baby has flipped head down. I was as shocked as the doc was. I had some painful movement last week that put me in tears that I thought could be it flipping, but I wasn't getting my hopes up. God is good, and I am relieved as of now to put a c-section out of my head and dream of a regular delivery.

My cervix is softening but I am not dilated yet. We will check again on Monday and if I am starting to dilate, he wants to induce at the end of next week in case this baby decides to flip again. It's a very active child. Either way, I am thrilled and thankful!!!

Reminded by my 1 1/2 year old

Last night my heart melted. Evan made grilled cheese and sweet potato fries for dinner. Since it was coming out in batches, first Dixie started eating, then I did and finally Evan sat down to eat when his was done. As soon as he sat down, Dixie stopped eating and said "pray." We try to remember to pray before every meal, but I have to admit, sometimes we forget. I was so thrilled that my 17 month old reminded us, even in the middle of her meal.

Evan and I always hold hands across the table and we place our hands on her highchair as she is usually still eating while we pray, but on her own, she grabbed each of our hands. We had our first family prayer all holding hands last night. She even sat quietly until daddy finished and said her usual "amen" once we were done. I was a proud momma! I said "It's sinking in!" Evan said she is doing it out of habit, which I know and I am grateful for. That is how they learn, but I can't help but hope that already at such a young age, the Holy Spirit is working on her and building up her love and respect for Jesus.

Last night as we prayed before bed, she grabbed both of our hands again and sat very respectfully as her daddy prayed, where as she is usually climbing all over the place. My little girl is growing up and it's in moments like these that I am in awe of God's precious creation of children.

On a funnier note, I let out a little burp after dinner (small mind you...by accident), when Dixie looks at me and says "scuse me." Yes..my child had to remind me to excuse myself. Wow...she is starting to pick up a lot! It's been fun watching her learn. I just hope she picks up more of the good habits than the not so good ones:)

Turn Baby Turn

Went to the doc yesterday for my 36 week appointment and to my dismay, found out the baby has flipped breech. I was shocked seeing as how last week the baby was head down and pushing on my cervix. I am totally bummed as my doc said that it is unlikely, but possible that the baby will turn head down this late in the game, which means in the next couple weeks we will start talking c-section.

They will do a full ultrasound next week to see if the baby has flipped and if not, if the baby is small enough to try to flip from the outside. I can tell you one thing...this baby is not small! So, I am praying for this baby to miraculously flip and get head down. Is a section the end of the world...no. However, I had a great vaginal delivery with Dixie and I want to redo it. It will also be a heck of a lot harder to care for a newborn and a 1 1/2 year old after having major surgery. I am scared of a section and scared that my husband will pass out before they make the cut.

I am trying not to get emotional over it, as I just want a healthy baby, but I am keeping my fingers crossed and my prayers flowing. Hopefully next Tuesday will bring some good news.