Wintering Through

Last week was lovely and almost 50 degrees - which was just a cruel joke now that it's back in the 20s for the high all week long! Phoebe wanted to wave at all the traffic driving by so me and my pink-eyed self waved away with her!





She was in a great mood - I think we all needed a little outdoor time!

Sunday YiaYia and Papou had plans after church so we headed home to make sure we had plenty of time before the 3:00 kick off. While Ryan rooted for the Colts, Phoebe busied herself with some coloring.

Or at least played with the crayons!

And then of course got the munchies during the game and relied on one of her FEW (and I do mean FEW) sources of vegetables - Veggie Sticks! I'm so thankful they've come out with veggie and fruit yogurt and veggie and fruit juice boxes. It's definitely a work in progress. We're going to work on her eating what we eat at meals the next few months. At least she's finally taking naps in her bed on Fridays...

Where in the world is SPRING???

So it's been awhile and really nothing new here at the Wallis house. Phoebe was home Monday because day care closed for MLK Day. By the end of the night, something was up because she just laid around and ended up having a low-grade fever. She had a barking cough so we decided to take her to the doctor and sure enough, he said croup was going around like crazy so he prescribed a 3-day steriod. Ryan and I have been sharing our days with Phoebe so we can both make it into the office. She's thrown up twice from coughing so hard and I think the steriod does NOT agree with her stomach because she's had no appetite for two days. She's been fever free so we're going to try day care tomorrow and see how she does in a different environment. The cough is pretty much gone and we're left with a runny nose so I wonder if it was only just a cold to begin with. I hate this time of year. We can't even get outside to get some fresh air and I think she was just as bored as we were sitting home today watching the millionth episode of Elmo's World!

Here are a few pics from the last couple of weeks. And don't judge - we still have Pita's crate out and Phoebe sometimes likes to fill it up and play. Ryan is ready for a new dog - but I think I can wait till spring when there's no melty snow on the ground to track in.



A couple Saturdays ago, we'd dressed her bear in this 4T shirt we got from Auntie Kate at Messiah College and she insisted on wearing it when she woke up.

Then she insisted on wearing it after she got dressed. And yes, we could have told her no, but it was a lazy Saturday, what do we care?

She's into absolutely everything. She climbs in the bathtub, water or not to play. The other day I was loading the car and came back in the house to hear "Mommy!" and walk into the room furthest from the garage to find my daughter standing on the computer desk with a big fat grin on her face. I'm just grateful she was scared enough not to try and get down and she sure was proud enough that she wanted to make sure I saw her achievement. Oh - she is crazy!

We celebrated Ryan's 33rd with Mom & Dad and he got his annual carrot cake - one year I'll attempt to make one for him. The last cake I made him from scratch was a two-layer 8-inch cake that must have weighed 5 lbs. easy - he was gracious enough to eat the entire piece - I'm sure the rest went in the trash. I don't know how he ever proposed when he knew up front what he was getting into! He got his very own membership to Sam's and it looks like we'll be making a trek to Bass Pro Shop sometime in the near future so he could cash in his gift card. Good thing he has a new radar detector so we can avoid all the speed traps...


Sunday afternoons are a hard time for Phoebe. We're typically at mom and dad's so she can get in her YiaYia and Papou time so it's not her own bed and church just puts us on a different schedule. She's definitely exhausted but fights napping to the end. YiaYia got a nap out of her a couple of weeks ago but it wasn't till 3:30 in the afternoon. She looked so cute after she woke up - I think here she is talking to Auntie Kate.

This past Sunday we just attempted to get her to nap in the car while we ran errands - she's always been a sleep-in-the-carseat kind of girl so we have made LOTS of drives specifically because it's nap time (again, don't judge - we're working on it!). But this Sunday, she fought even the carseat. Finally, at 5:21, this is what we turned around in the car to see...

She didn't even budge when we got home and brought her inside...

Pray we ALL get a good night's sleep - she's slept between us the last two nights (which means she's usually laying ON my face and I'm not sleeping) and that we're back on the road to recovery. Tonight we did what always works best for me when I have a cold - we lathered her up with some Vick's vaporub (on the chest AND the bottom of her feet for good measure). She's been asleep for over an hour and we haven't heard one cough yet so here's hoping.

The L-O-V-E in my life

Happy 33rd birthday to the man that makes our lives magical!!! Ryan is undoubtedly the man God intended for me and I am SO grateful that we found our way to each other seven years ago. He is my best friend, my protector, my comic relief - and the father of our child - who has brought us even further delight. Happy birthday, baby!

As for the other love in my life...here's what Phoebe likes to do on nights it's just too cold to play outside, here you go:

Better Late than Never!

Monday afternoon before Christmas, Phoebe came down with a 102 degree fever that lasted 3 days. No other symptoms - it just meant she couldn't be at daycare so I ended up with bit more of an extended vacation than I'd originally planned. We're thankful it wasn't the flu or the nasty stomach virus that many of our friends got to experience as a family over the holidays.

She was back to her normal, loving self by the weekend! She was SO excited to have Uncle Steve and Auntie Kate visiting from Chicago and Pennsylvania! Needless to say, we spent a LOT of time with my side of the family the last two weeks - Ryan was quite the trooper!

Phoebe had a terrible time staying out of the Christmas decorations. Whether it was ornaments on the tree (we didn't have ONE break) or things around the house - it was the donkey on our manger scene however, that required ear surgery after a minor drop early in the month...

And let's just say we ALL need to hit the gym and eat a few more veggies after the last few weeks. YiaYia is determined to pass along her love of marshmallows and REAL whipped cream to Phoebe. The marshmallows are a no-brainer, the whipped cream is going to take some perserverance - I think Phoebe isn't quite sure about the sound the can makes!

We haven't gotten a real substantial snow here yet in Indy (much to Ryan's disappointment) but we have gotten a couple of inches here and there - Ryan has been showing Phoebes how to throw a snowball (much to MY disappointment) as I'm usually the target! The lows are in the single digits for the next week or so - I made the comment just yesterday that I was ready for Spring!

Christmas Eve we went to church for the family service at 5:00 and were at YiaYia and Papou's by 6:00. We got to enjoy our traditional Greek dinner and then headed home to get a good night's sleep. We read Phoebe Christmas stories before bed the whole month to help her grasp the meaning of the season - still think she's a bit young (nevermind the fact that she's playing with Mr. Potato Head while I'm reading to her) ...but she loved all the animals and the baby...maybe next year!

We were back at YiaYia and Papou's by 10:30 Christmas morning for breakfast and gifts. We had a fabulous time and are working on creating new traditions as well as including old ones.

Phoebe didn't really enjoy opening gifts - rather was content playing with new toys or just the packaging. We're lucky she enjoys the simple things in life...

Then we headed to Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Newell's home in Anderson. It was so fun to hang out with cousins that were gracious enough to play with Phoebe. She thoroughly enjoyed her new baby doll and stroller (although the stroller is already in need of YiaYia's sewing skills (as I have none) - once Phoebe discovered she could "fit" in it, it was just a matter of time...

One of my favorite parts of Christmas in Anderson is seeing Grandma open gifts from Grandpa. He always has these "clues" and calls her names like "Snowball." Love to see them in love, even at age 84!

New Year's Eve, YiaYia and Papou watched Phoebe. Ryan and I were so excited to just be out, we ended up being boring and just grabbed dinner and a movie and were home by 10:00. It was nice to have no distractions and just be with my husband - we don't do that often enough! New Year's Day, as tradition goes in the Wallis' home, we headed to Shapiro's Deli downtown and took YiaYia with us.

We didn't do much the rest of the weekend. The long holidays certainly did spoil us. We let Phoebe play at Chick-fil-a after breakfast Saturday morning (do not judge us - we love their chicken minis and hardly ever go!). We were the only ones there with a kid young enough to play so we had the entire playground to ourselves - she had a great time and didn't want to leave!

And we spent the evening with Auntie Kate as she left this morning for Messiah College. Phoebe loves her time with Auntie and had a blast with Uncle Steve when he was in town, too.

May your year be full of love and laughter, good health and unexpected joys. Here's to a happy 2010!