Elle signing Witt's name

I can't find my kitchen table

I've always had hoarding like tendencies. I think it's genetic. I got most of my hoarding like tendencies from my grandmother. As one of my roommates from college told me the other day, "Lish - you border on hoarding and because you have it organized in a container from the Container Store - you think its ok." Ok - so it's true. The fact that I keep a lot of stuff might have a lot to do with why our house is the way it is. Perpetually messy. "Don't throw that piece of tissue paper out - I can use it to modge podge a picture frame." Lee probably hears that way more than he wishes. My problem is that I have waaayy too many projects going on at once. I start one, get distracted, start another one...and pretty soon...my kitchen table looks like this...

In my defense, we have a lot of home improvement projects going on right now gearing up for Elle's first birthday party. Hence, the massive dog kennels in the middle of the kitchen. You can kind of see the lap top way off in the corner of the table which is why I have been MIA from the blogging world for the past few days/weeks. What you can't see is that my sewing machine is on the ground because it couldn't fit on the table anymore...yet another project that I started and haven't finished yet! Not only is the kitchen table covered in projects, but so is the dining room table and all the counters in our kitchen! Last week, Lee started building built-ins on either side of our fireplace. He has both of them built and primed and 2 coats of paint on one of them. They should be finished by the end of this weekend! I am so proud of him for this project!! I have wanted these built ins for 4 years now!!!

Last weekend while Lee was busy working on the built ins - Elle and I had fun playing with all her toys in her room. She discovered her closet last weekend. I think our little lady might be a fashionista. Her eyes light up when she is in her closet! She found the tutu I made for her when we were in the hospital for her open heart surgery. It still fits! Just goes to show how badly she was retaining fluid after surgery and how puffy she was!

Elle discovering her closet for the first time

Elle in her tutu on February 27, 2010 and on October 3, 2009 (9 days post surgery)

Elle in her cool tie dye outfit - she was looking around me to watch Saturday morning cartoons!

I have so much more to catch up on but I need to get at least ONE of my projects finished tonight!! I just made my to do list for the weekend and my heart started to palpitate...that's never a good sign when there is so much to do I start stressing out before I even start on the list!!

11 months...WHAT?!

I can not believe that more than 11 months have past since our little Elle Belle joined our family. It just doesn't seem that at this point a year ago, I had my bags packed and Lee and I were just counting down the days until she arrived. I think it was also at this time last year that I started to stress out about my decision to not take child birth classes. I took the approach that ignorance is bliss - well that coupled with the fact that I knew my delivery wasn't going to be normal - so I really didn't want to know what "normal" was. It was very logical thinking in my mushy pregnant brain!

She was way too busy to have anything to do with our birthday photo shoot

So...what's going on in the life of our little eleven monther?

• She is weighing in at 18 pounds - probably plus a few ounces
• She can sit up un-assisted and most of the time does a controlled fall to get onto her tummy
• She is a great army crawler and can still roll around with the best of them! We see crawling in her not so distant future!
• She can push herself up into sit from lying on her back - but only from her right side - we're working on that left side!!
• She has started to pull herself up to stand - she works so hard at it - her little face gets so red and she grunts - but she does it!!
• She is SUPER smart and mimics everything we do!
• She is signing smart, girl, pretty, sometimes eat, daddy, and sometimes mommy
• When she sees someone or something she will wave and say "hi"
• She loves patty cake and peek a boo - if you say patty cake - she will clap her hands and then roll them up...too cute!
• She is a talker! She says hi, dada, mama, and we just heard her say "ba"...and we think she said granddaddy - she said it twice and it was pretty distinct because she was talking straight to Lee's grandfather!
• We're still working on eating - she puts everything in her mouth but isn't too interested in food! If it's plastic or metal or fabric - you can bet it will go straight in to Elle's mouth!
• She is a wiggle wiggle worm - there is no keeping that girl down!!
• She is keeping her hearing aids on for longer periods of time. Although, she is getting sneakier and sneakier about how she gets them out of her ears!
• She understands the word "no" and will look up at you and just smile when you say it. Her favorite thing to do right now is mess with her feeding tube button. Of course we tell her "no" so she will move her hand away and then slowly inch it back across her stomach until she is almost touching the button and then will wait for us to turn our heads before she grabs at it again. She is too smart!!
• She sleeps through the night - although we don't because she is a bed hog!
• She takes one morning nap around 9am and then is a go go getter for the rest of the day
• She is in physical therapy 2x a week, occupational therapy 1x a week (2x starting next week) and we just started audiological therapy..her weekly schedule is booked!

Every day I am amazed at the things she can do and how much she has grown. I was telling Le the other night that I don't even remember the first 2 months. I don't remember the 52 days in the hospital or sitting next to her bed for 16 hours a day - day in and day out just in case something happened. I don't remember anything but the good news we would receive after each surgery. Looking at her now, no one would have guessed at how far she has come. She's our little miracle baby! She is such a happy baby and we are so blessed by her little life!!

Picture Catch Up

It's been a few weeks since I downloaded the pictures from my camera onto the computer...so here are a few pictures from the past few weeks...

Animal Print Friday - February 5, 2010

Pre Surgery - February 11, 2010

Elle in her Valentine's Day present from me...a bike helmet! I got Lee the seat to put on his bike. Her helmet is yellow with chickens on it - ha!

Elle Belle walking in her walker on our back patio - pulling her Mardi Gras balloon along with her

Animal Print Friday - February 19, 2010

A Beautiful Day for A Beautiful Event

Today was the It's My Heart Walk/Run. We could not have asked for more beautiful weather and the turnout for the event was amazing. When we got to the park where the walk was, they were just starting the competitive run. I actually teared up seeing the overwhelming amount of people out to support It's My Heart and those affected by Congenital and Acquired Heart Disease. It really was an amazing sight - teams all sporting matching t-shirts ( we were Team WElle and Elle's shirt said "My Heart is WElle" - we sure were thinking about our precious Witt while we were out there today!) - one team with the COOLEST zebra print balloons...families and friends all brought together for such a worthy cause. We ran into a few of our heart friends and even some of our nurses and nurse practitioners from the hospital. It was awesome to see Team Colin! Colin and Elle were across from each other in the NICU and then they had their first heart surgeries on the same day. They even had their second heart surgeries 2 weeks apart from each other so our paths crossed again at TCH. It was truly an amazing experience to see Colin and his wonderful family OUTSIDE of the hospital!! We even met up with one of our blog friends who graciously walked with us - thank you Bonny!!! And a very special thank you to our friends Crystal and Cortney - thank you for coming out today and running!! I am go glad Elle got to meet so many amazing people today! After the walk there was an awards ceremony and then they had the entire park filled with bouncers, a rock wall and other fun stuff for the kiddos to play on. They even had a step show and a dj - it was so much fun! I got so pumped up for the event next year - you better believe that our team shirts will have animal print somewhere on them and I might even copy the balloon idea! I pray that next year we will have a huge team to support It's My Heart.

Elle and Colin meeting for the first time

Elle meeting Colin's big sister, Katherine

Elle, our friend Crystal and me

Post walk family pic (minus my dad who had just left) and ViVi and Elle having a laugh during the walk

Elle on the car ride home - still having fun from the morning with all her heart friends!

I guess this little morning was just so much fun for our little lady. She didn't sleep on the car ride home (this after waking up at 6:00am). I wasn't feeling too great once we got home (stuffy nose and all that crud) so Lee took Elle up to Lowe's for a quick daddy/daughter trip so I could take a nap. I was for certain that Elle would sleep the afternoon away so I could too...but nope! I guess she just had too much fun at the It's My Heart walk and was hoping we would be going back this afternoon! Instead we opted for a trip to Hobby Lobby and the Dollar Store! Now that the walk is over with - it's time to start concentrating on the next big event...Elle's first birthday!!

It's My Civic Duty

I don't get too wrapped up in politics. I say that with some hesitancy because I'm pretty adamant about my views. I have my views, I know what I feel is right and what I feel is wrong. More importantly, I side myself with what the Bible says is right and wrong. Lee and I pray for the leaders of our county, our state and our nation. While we might not necessarily agree with what they have to say or what stupid laws they put into action, we still respect them as the leaders...leaders chosen by our neighbors, our fellow Texans and the American people. I say all this because today as I was driving (more like madly rushing) to get Elle in to see her pediatrician, the county workers were putting up the early voting signs at the entrance to our neighborhood. I always early vote. I hate standing in lines for anything and early voting is definitely the way to go. Now, back to my comment about not being a very political person...I don't get into politics...I can't tell you what the latest discussion or hot topic is on Fox News or CNN, however, I do vote. I do get out there and support the people I feel would be best to lead us. I do try to do research on the candidates (mostly by reading what they have to offer on click2houston.com) and sometimes I lend my time and our money to help support their causes. I absolutely feel that voting is the only way that any of us have the right to complain about the people we have in office! If you don't get out there and vote - you absolutely have no right to complain about who is doing what. You didn't participate in the decision making process so keep your thoughts to yourself (and with absentee voting and early voting...there aren't too many excuse for not doing it)! And when there is a candidate that I know or that I fully trust would be the best person for a certain position, I back them with my full support. Since this blog is my outlet for all things from being the mother to a very special child, to learning to grow in Christ as a wife and mom to my dislike for companies that plaster their name on the side of their vehicles (and then drive like maniacs) I feel it is an appropriate outlet to show support for a candidate. If you live in Harris County, not only do I urge you to get out there and vote, but I urge you to vote for Sheri Y. Dean for Judge in the 309th Family Court. Early voting starts tomorrow, TUESDAY, February 16 and continues until the 26th. Then the regular voting session will be on MARCH 2ND. Another plus of early voting is that you can vote anywhere and not just at your specific voting location. But, if you wait and don't do early voting, you can go here to find your specific voting locations. All you will need to vote is your driver's license. This is the primary so you are voting to pick the candidates which will represent each party come November when the General Election takes place. There are 3 other Republican opponents for this bench and I fully believe Sheri Y. Dean is the best choice! CHECK OUT HER WEBSITE and learn more about Sheri and see her long list of respected endorsements and accomplishments.

While you are surfing around, learning more about Sheri and the other candidates, you might find it interesting to see what else is on the ballot...

Ballot Proposition #4: Public Acknowledgement of God The use of the word God, prayers, and the Ten Commandments should be allowed at public gatherings and public educational institutions, as well as be permitted on government buildings and property.

YES

NO

Ballot Proposition #5: Sonograms

The Texas Legislature should enact legislation requiring a sonogram to be performed and shown to each mother about to undergo a medically unnecessary, elective abortion.

YES

NO

If you have read my blog you already know where I stand on these issues. Yeah - there are other issues on the ballot about taxes and controlling government growth - but how can we have a government without GOD? If this isn't reason enough to get out and vote, I'm not sure what else is!

A Special Valentine

Tomorrow will be our first Valentine's Day with our precious little Elle. It has an even more special meaning because of Elle and her struggle and triumph with Congenital Heart Disease. The month of February is American Heart Month. We are so honored to be supporting It's My Heart on February 20, 2010 by walking in the It's My Heart Family Walk and Fun Run. It's not too late to sign up for this wonderful event! We would love to walk next to family, friends, blog friends, perfect strangers...all to support Elle, Witt, our heart friend Colin, our heart friend Sofia, our heart friend Isaac, our heart friend Olivia, and all the other babies we know and don't know and their families that are affected by this terrible disease. There is a great video on the It's My Heart website that shows the story behind Noah's Legacy. On February 20, 2010 - there will be 900 soliders, all serving overseas that will march in unison to raise awareness for CHD. If soliders overseas can walk - so can WE! I urge you to sign up to particpate in this wonderful event!