Busy busy busy!

We had another full weekend that left us (almost) ready for Monday! We started the weekend with a package from Nana - a new stool! Phoebe had discovered the stool Mom made for me when I turned one. Not sure it's as safe now as it was back then...so we were in the market for a new stool and Nana had this one on hand. Phoebe loves it, picks it up and carries it around. She is SO full of adventure!

Friday we took our weekly walk with Amanda but it was so darn hot, we called it quits early and instead of heading to the zoo with Auntie Kate, we opted for the Children's Museum instead. AND we're now proud members, much to Ryan's chagrin! It's amazing how much comes back to you from your own childhood once you get there.

We came the day before the King Tut exhibit opened so we'll have to go back and take Daddy. We were there less than 3 hours and it about did our little girl in.

Saturday we got up and headed to YiaYia and Papou's to redeem a "Work Day" that we'd given for Mother's Day. Auntie Kate and Uncle Steve were there too - it was a long, hot day and I didn't even get pictures of the finished product, but the back and front yards both look lovely and if we never see mulch again, it'll be too soon! Phoebe, on the other hand, would be content to have a work day every weekend! She got to play in the pool, play in the mud, hang out with YiaYia and eat whatever Papou put on the grill. Now that's a day that's hard to beat!

We ended the day belatedly celebrating Father's Day for my dad. Phoebe stole the show by getting on the table and proceeding to mimick everything Uncle Steve did. Sunday we went stroller shopping after church. It's amazing how you think you need a stroller for every kind of occasion. We opted for a nice umbrella stroller that should see her through the next 25 lbs. so next on our list will be the car seat. Unfortunately, that's a much more expensive purchase! And we're watching our $$ these days. The blood work came back for Pita and they insist on doing a joint tap procedure before going any further with ANY medication. Unfortunately, the next procedure costs $700 and there aren't any guarantees that this procedure will lead the doctors to a better conclusion of what's ailing little Pita. We are so conflicted on where to go from here. At what point do you stop investing into your pet? Any wisdom from our fellow dog lovers would be much appreciated!


Well, I'm off to go spend some quiet time with my husband before we call it a day - I just wanted to get up the photos from the weekend. We're not sure what to do for the long weekend, but we're excited for it all the same!

Happy Father's Day!

What another whirlwind weekend we had! On Friday we spent 2 1/2 hours in an internal medicine specialist's office for Pita and I think only spent 15 minutes with an actual live person. All that only to find out that they have to do MORE bloodwork to determine any further ideas for what could be ailing Pita. So...another $200 later, we're back in the holding pattern till we hear back from the results (we should get a call by Thursday). Nana and Papa arrived just after midnight so we spent most of Saturday at a wedding. It was at Valle Vista Golf Club at 12:30 on Saturday. Smack dab in the middle of Phoebe's naptime. So...that explains the sleepy eyes in most of the pictures...

It was an outdoor wedding - a fact we discovered AFTER we arrived. June has been crazy warm here with the heat index lingering around 100 degrees. At least the ceremony was covered! And there were horses involved so Phoebe was highly entertained.

When we went inside for the reception we were surprised to find this:

You know you've made it when your 14 month old gets her own placecard!

Sunday we waved good bye to Nana and Papa at 8:00 in the morning. Ryan and I slept horribly the night before - I think there was a total of 5 hours between the two of us and Phoebe got up at about 3:30 a.m. - just to keep us company (or perhaps because she's teething - again!). When she fell asleep on our way to church, we spent the entire service sitting in the car waiting to see if she'd wake up - she'd had horrible naps all weekend and we knew if we tried to carry her in in her carseat, she'd have woken up (yes, she's STILL in a pumpkin seat). Not to say we didn't celebrate Ryan for Father's Day! It's hard to believe it's his second one already! He's the best daddy a girl could ask for. My heart just melts to watch him read her bedtime stories. I have a feeling we've got a daddy's girl in the making! Thanks for being such a great dad to our girl, honey. We love you so!

We knew we had to let her sleep because Granddaddy was coming for a visit from Virginia around 2:00. Last time he saw Phoebe was at Aunt Carrie's wedding in Florida and she's grown so much since then. It was a fun visit! I know it's a bit belated, but Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there. I know I was lucky enough to have one of the best ones ever!

Saturday night with Auntie Kate & Uncle Steve

Ryan and I got a rare treat Saturday night - babysitters! In exchange for a chance to see a movie, we bought dinner for Auntie Kate and Uncle Steve. It didn't take much pleading because little Phoebe is a dream. However, I think they both witnessed at dinner what we believe is just a preview to the terrible twos still to come. Phew.

Here's a picture of our adorably rotten child - probably pooping. It was at this moment that Uncle Steve declared himself the official photographer for the evening and claimed he did not "do" dirty diapers. Or any diapers for that matter.


So they did the next natural thing, gave Phoebe a bath. Leave it to my siblings to get creative with her hair in the tub. She seems to have an aversion to barrettes and bows so for the meantime, we have to settle for bubbles!

After bath time is over, we've created the habit of playing on our bed before getting pjs on. Don't mind the quilt - it's one Ryan's grandma made and we cherish deeply - it's just not usually on our bed. Pita peed on our quilt the night of the bad storms last week - which went through our quilt, sheets, mattress pad and pillow top - which is really another story in and of itself (we spent the majority of the weekend mattress shopping...) - by the way, she goes back to the vet on Tuesday for more review as the xanax hasn't worked and the pred seems to be only temporary in "fixing" her. Please keep us in your prayers in that situation. But I digress...back to playtime.

Once the pjs are on, it's time for stories and some milk before heading back upstairs to brush teeth and say our prayers.

Uncle Steve graciously stepped in once he was assured there would be no diapers to change. He's a sucker for her cute face, but who wouldn't be?! She's working on pointing out certain body parts - the one she's had nailed down for awhile now is her belly.

She loves books, just like Uncle Steve!

And for the first time in a long time, she slept through the night when someone other than mom or dad put her to sleep. We are SO grateful to have family in town who sacrifice their own social calendar so Ryan & I can keep our sanity. And Phoebe is SO lucky to have them BOTH close till Auntie Kate heads to Messiah in August. Yeah for the summer!

A whole lot of nothing

Not much has been happening in the Wallis' home and we're ok with that. However, that means there's not been much to blog about either and I've not done a good job taking pictures of us doing nothing - hence the mini-hiatus. But I got some pictures on Saturday so I wanted to post them before we had any withdrawl symptoms...

Daddy got up early to go fishing with some of his buddies so Phoebe and I had the morning to ourselves. I suggested we hit a few garage sales but she wasn't too thrilled with the idea.


However, we went and only ended up with a couple of books for a dollar. At least it wasn't a complete waste of time.

Once Phoebe woke up from her three hour nap (which trust me, she rarely does) we headed out to do a little house hunting and find a park to play at. She didn't care much for looking at houses but had a fabulous time at the park!

Here she's not completely sure of this rocking thing-a-ma-jig - I think she'll appreciate it more when her feet touch the ground!

She loves the swing!

We took a loaf of bread with us in case we found any ducks. By the time we were through, I think we had about ten ducks and a mean looking goose - Phoebe had a ball!

I think my favorite part of the weekend (and Ryan's too) was when we were walking back from the ducks to the swings and Phoebe reached out for Ryan's hand. It melted both our hearts.

How can you not love that face?!

And here's a little update for those of you who don't get to interact with Phoebe on a regular basis. She's become a little chatterbox. Of course, once the camera was rolling she wasn't nearly as chatty as she'd been beforehand, but you still get the idea. Recently, she'll pick up a book and just start "reading." She's absolutely delightful!