Round Two

Here's our little Frosty trying to get toasty by the fire.

This one gets too toasty in bed and is essentially blanket-repellent in her sleep.

Last weekend we didn't have anything we had to do so we made the trek up to Kokomo to visit a Wallis family favorite whenever we're in Princeton - Rural King.  Time to test out some off-road vehicles AND eat some popcorn!

Checking out the bunnies.

And the chicks.  Hopefully we'll make it to Tractor Supply before the baby ducks are gone.

One more test drive and then we hit the road.

Sunday we went to church and ran a few errands and around 5:30 Maverick puked in the playroom.  Before bedtime, we'd both been covered in throw up so a great sense of doom set in...

I took Phoebe to school on Tuesday since one of her friends was having a party at school that afternoon.  We were just praying she'd stay puke-free through the party!  Sure enough, she had a blast and apparently now has no fears of clowns named "Cinnamon."  She even let her paint a unicorn on her cheek (Phoebe has always been adamant about not having her face painted).  She had a blast!

After one minor episode Monday morning, Maverick seemed to be on the mend so we headed back to school on Tuesday.  He had some mighty blow-outs both Tuesday and Wednesday but other than that and a less-than-stellar appetite, seemed ok, so we were surprised to get a call on Thursday saying he'd thrown up all over the table as they were sitting down to lunch.  Luckily, Ryan had just walked into my office so we could have a romantic Valentine's Day meal without the kiddos so he went and rescued Maverick instead.  Phoebe had a blast at her Valentine's Day party with her friends so it was good she got to stay through the afternoon.  Around 4:00, the school sent out a "sick policy" reminder which I'm pretty sure had "Attn: Wallis Family" in the subject line.  Needless to say, I stayed home with the kids on Friday just to give his teachers a break and to figure out what was going on with Mav.

Phoebe and I stopped on the way home and picked up some pro biotic powder and yogurt (per the pediatrician's suggestion) and started giving it to Maverick Friday morning.  I'm not sure it made a bit of difference but either way, we're well prepared for next time it hits.

Phoebe showed off her accessorizing skills before 9:00 in the morning.

We had no issues (up or down) on Friday but Maverick had become exceptionally clingy in the last week and demanded he be held at all times, even while eating.  The kid ate his weight in jell-o and organic yogurt (don't judge!) and I felt like we were finally on the mend.  After speaking with a co-worker (who has five children so I consider her an expert on all things kid-related) we've come to the conclusion that it was probably roto-virus.  A lovely bug that passes around from November - April, lasts 4-8 days and hits children under the age of 5.  Since Phoebe is ALMOST 5, we're assuming her immune system kicked it before it got ahold of her.  Turns out there were quite a few victims from Maverick's class that got it - I just felt horrible as we probably contributed to its spread.  He never had a fever, slept fine every night and other than one overnight blowout, we had no issues so we weren't sure if it had been food poisoning or teething.  It never crossed our minds it was a virus since no one else in the family got it.

We're getting neighbors across the street from us and Friday was our lucky day as a crane drove in to help get the roof up.  That's Mav's little head peeking out the window to watch.

We did stay in our pj's all day (well, Phoebe and I finally got dressed when Maverick went down for a nap at 2:30) and did lots of puzzles and played Fish!

Phoebe was in a pink mood and accessorized Ella to match!

We got goofy in the basement for a change of scenery, too!

And we'll leave you with a shot of how our daughter got ready for church Sunday morning.  Mommy picked out the outfit, Phoebe picked out her shoes and did her hair.  Her Sunday school teacher commented that she was "so 80s" when she walked into their room.

Praying we make it through the rest of this season without any more bugs!  We're definitely ready for Spring to arrive!

Fingers Crossed!

YiaYia came over for dinner on Wednesday and while we were busy in the kitchen, YiaYia helped decorate Phoebe's Valentine's mailbox for school.  Between the tissue-paper flowers and princess stickers, I'm sure Phoebe's is the fanciest in the bunch!

Maverick tried his hand at fancy too, with a round of Old Maid, Disney princess style.

Thursday, my office building offered Papa Murphy's pick-up and we took advantage of it.  The kids each got a Mini-Murph and got to make and decorate their own pizzas before we baked them.

Phoebe loved it!

Maverick loved it till it got on his hands...

Friday morning Phoebe and I headed to the dentist for our six-month check ups.   Last year when we went, she just did a happy visit where they showed her the tools they used and kept her at ease.  This was the real deal and I was convinced she'd have at least one cavity.  Low and behold she was cavity-free and even had two wiggly front teeth!  Luckily, they have a long way to go and may not disappear till school starts.  And if you run into me, please don't mention school.  Reality is fast approaching as we register mid-March for KINDERGARTEN.  Tears frequently come to surface as I think of just how fast time has passed.  She's still so little and yet SO big.

Although no tears were shed, it wasn't exactly what Phoebe would call "fun" so with a quick stop at Dunkin Donuts for some chocolate munchkins on the way home to make up for the lack of excitement, we picked up Maverick and headed to Conner Prairie.  It'd been a long while since we'd visited so we weren't sure what to expect when it was so cold outside.  We lucked out.  Even though all the outdoor activities were closed, it was fairly empty inside and lots of age-appropriate things for our almost-two and almost-five year old to do!



Maverick could have played in the blue foam all day long!  Phoebe got a bit more distracted. 

Rocket launchers!

Hot air balloons (and they were pink, too)!

We made it into the play center a time or two as well.  Milking the cow never gets old.

Nor does riding the tractor!

Choo choo!!!

 Maverick loved playing in the grocery store and kitchen just as much as Phoebe did!

We also made our way into the craft area.  And while I was taking THIS picture of Phoebe working on the loom, Maverick fell off a bench (don't ask because I wasn't watching and have NO idea what happened)...

...and got this shiner.  Ugh.

Fingers crossed, that's all the drama we'll have this week.  Two kids threw up in Phoebe's class at school today so I fully expect to be awoken in the middle of the night to deal with puke.  And we came home to a very lethargic Brutus who is not interested in eating and just isn't his normal dog-self.  Resting in the fact that God will see us through no matter what, just like He always does.