I had one of those days yesterday...the kind you don't want to repeat. It started out relatively fine, except that Elise just seemed very off, and exceptionally crabby. I had a dentist appointment (4th visit in 3 weeks) to try to figure out why I was having sensitivity on a tooth that was re-filled 3 weeks ago. My dentist is wonderful, but it's such a hassle to keep visiting the office. John was gracious enough to stay home a few hours with Elise, since I didn't know if she was sick or teething & didn't want to get other kids sick. The afternoon was OK. I decided to take Elise out of the house, thinking that maybe she was tired of looking at the same walls - so we headed to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things & the outing seemed to help. Once home again, she was still quite whiny. Well, after attempting to feed her dinner, which she only ate a few bites, we went up to take a bath. John was working late, to make up for his missed hours that morning. After bathing, I was drying Elise off on a towel, and as toddlers frequently are, she was squirming & bumped her mouth on the edge of the bathtub. She cried really hard & I looked at her lip, thinking that she bit down on it - and to my dismay, she had, but worse than that, she also chipped off a portion of her front tooth! After a minute or so, she calmed down & I got her dressed, but I was horrified! I also felt so guilty, because I was right there & still this all happened! I'm also running through all the thoughts that she'll have to live with this chipped front tooth until she's 5 or 6!! I think I shed more tears as this realization hit me - and John came home to find me crying over her as I was blow-drying her hair.
Well, after a nights' rest & a visit this morning to the pediatric dentist - I'm feeling a little better.
He put a coating over the tooth to help with any sensitivity, and said we will monitor it every 3 months & that once she turns 2, he can use medicine in the office to relax her & can put a filling on the tooth to cosmetically make it look whole. This makes me feel much better knowing all our options. He assured me that this happens all the time with kids - but I didn't really want it to happen to my kid!! I know she's healthy & suprisingly, it doesn't seem to bother her. So, when you all get our Christmas card this year - it'll be one to remember all those bumps in life that take you unexpectedly. Here's a quick picture I snapped of Elise and her chipped tooth. As John told her last night, no matter the shape of her tooth, we still love her & think she's a beautiful little girl.
Last weekend we hosted a Christmas party with friends & had such a fun time. It was nice to get together before all the frenzy of this busy season was upon us & everyone started scattering to see their families for Christmas. John and I feel so blessed to have this wonderful group of friends. We love you all - Have a Merry Christmas!
This year we had a nice relaxing Thanksgiving at our house with my sister, Jodi & brother, Curt.
Everyone helped - Curt even assembled a yummy punch for the day!
Elise is still very enamored with Bailey each time she visits - and Bailey is still very tolerant of all her attention.
Jodi assembled the "be-all, end-all" perfect cranberry salad - and it was so good!
John & I getting together the last few things before sitting down to dinner.
Thanksgiving dinner table 2008.
And finally, a little Thanksgiving walk through the neighborhood to get our blood flowing after filling up with great food!
We enjoyed such beautiful colors this Fall! Here's a quick snap of the maple in our front yard. Not a lot to share, we're just staying busy with life. I'm involved with our choir production at church & we're busy rehearsing for the performances...so you can hear Christmas music in the house and in the car. John is staying busy at BG and has several freelance projects he's working on as well. Elise has been especially fussy this past week, and a bad eater. We're just trying to keep her happy & fed, at least a few bites here and there. We're gearing up for Thanksgiving & excited to have John's parents join us the weekend before & after Thanksgiving for a few days.
I was just having fun with John's camera yesterday & took a few close ups to share.
I love this look - such wonder....
We have a little gecko that has decided to take up residence in a lantern outside our front door. Kinda silly, but we keep checking to see if he is still there & most days he does hang around. I'm sure once the cooler winter comes along he'll go find a warmer spot? Elise likes to peer through the front window to check in on him every once in awhile...so I thought I'd post a snapshot.
It was a balmy November day (upper 70's) in Charlotte for Curt's birthday. He came over this evening for a little celebration with the family here in town. We had salmon on the grill with Jasmine rice & peas, and of course chocolate on chocolate birthday cake. He turns 26 today, and I told him that I moved to Charlotte when I was 26....where has all the time gone by? We're grateful to have him here. I'll also post a quick clip of our celebration. Happy Birthday, Curt!
On Friday we had a beautiful Fall day here in Charlotte & Elise loved to play outside that afternoon. The most exciting thing was pushing & carrying around these little pumpkins!
Our little Pumpkin Pusher!
Then, it was time to get dressed up & visit a few neighbors to go Trick or Treating for a little candy.
Kaylie (22 months) & Elise (16 months) getting ready with their buckets.
Our first stop next door. Thanks Ricardo!
After a few visits to the doors, Elise got the hang of this...."Where to next?"
Getting so big!
On Sunday afternoon, our neighborhood had its Fall Festival at our common area. The kids dressed up and enjoyed face painting & some fun blow up slides & bouncers.
Michelle & Kaylie were there to enjoy the fun.
Waiting our turn for the face painting.
Lovely lashes for the little ladybug.
Cute!
Elise enjoyed bouncing around the Crayon Land bouncer.
Elise & Kaylie had so much fun sliding this last week! Here's a fun action shot.
Busy reading in her chair.
A fun party at Ali & Chrissie Slacks' last week Thursday. All the kids got dressed up and got a chance to practice their "Trick or Treating" by stopping at each bag.
This ladybug found her pumpkin!
Playing in the playhouse! Elise was so excited to open and close the door and windows all by herself.
Bag lady! This is one of her favorite activities. Carrying around her little bags & filling them with things, or finding my bags and filling and emptying them, too. I'll attach a little video of her from last week.
Paul & Jodi came for a visit this past weekend. Elise and Bailey played so well together again.
While they were here - they helped us out. John had a brainstorming session for a freelance project to come up with a name for a start-up accounting firm & Paul washed and vacuumed his car as well as our Jeep.
It seems that anytime we get together, a sewing project also comes up. We went to MaryJo's fabric store & Paul was introduced to the warehouse of fabric! In this picture below we were working on some pajama pants for John & Paul.
Paul & Bailey just relaxing....
Make a wish! Paul was here to celebrate his birthday with us - and we enjoyed some filet on the grill, along with a salad & sweet potato fries.
Happy Birthday!
