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.