15 Months and counting...

Sorry it's been awhile since our last post - not much to report - we're still teething and still waiting on Pita to improve - she's been coming to the table whenever we eat which we thought was definitely a step in the right direction, but I fear she's not going to get any better. Yesterday she walked down our two front porch steps and fell on the bottom one and then didn't move and just started shaking. It could be that she had just been traumatized by Phoebe "loving" on her, but we've tried to protect her from Phoebe's rough hugs and tugs. Then today, she's thrown up the last two times she's eaten - I know we keep asking for prayers but our poor little girl just doesn't seem to be getting better.

On Friday, Phoebe had her 15 month check up - hard to believe, huh? She weighed in at 20 lbs. 12 oz. (30th percentile) and measured 30.5 inches long (60th percentile). Everything looked good but then our pediatrician asked if our house was older than 1975 and when we said it was, he said she'd need to be tested for lead. So, we ran to the lab next door and poor thing, had each arm poked and pricked before they finally suggested that we try really hydrating her and come back another day. She was a screaming, tearful mess by the time it was done, and I was pretty much in the same boat. We tried milk, watered down pear juice and then finally gave her straight cherry juice Saturday morning and by 11:30, they drew blood on their first attempt. We'll find out the results later this week and hope and pray we're in the clear.

It amazes me how little girls often become fascinated with girly things, even when we've kept things pretty neutral in our house. We were at YiaYia and Papou's and she just loved playing with the sparkly necklaces. Note Uncle Steve in the background...





We also found out that Uncle Steve accepted a job offer with a new company and started today. Unfortunately, this new job is in Chicago. Luckily for us, he has a townhouse in Broad Ripple to sell so we'll be seeing a bit more of him before his move is permanent. We all met at his house after church on Sunday for lunch. It seems like Uncle Steve's dusting techniques just might secure his bachelorhood...

It was also our first attempt at a ponytail. She won't sit still long enough to get pigtails or even a fun on-top do so I bought some mini-clips to see if I could sneak a fast one in on her. I think Auntie Kate finally nabbed most of her hair for a brief minute before she grabbed it out. She looks like such a big girl!

For those of you in the midwest, you know what unseasonably cool weather we've been having. We had a birthday party at a water park on Sunday and unfortunately, had to settle for watching the water. I can't believe our little girl can eat pizza and drink a capri sun - it just doesn't seem possible. (Does that make us bad parents?!)


And just because it was a mere 68 degrees outside didn't mean she didn't try to play IN the water!

Because she's past 30 inches now, we're definitely in the market for a convertible car seat. As Ryan would say, just one more excuse I didn't need to go shopping! Woohoo! And she's finally outgrown her baby bath towels so here's her first after-bath photo with her newest towel.

On a side note, I'm scheduled to have all four wisdom teeth out this coming Friday morning. Ryan understands if he posts any embarrassing videos of me while under the influence, he'll be in big trouble! The few people in my family who've had them removed have all had poor experiences so I'm trying not to think about it. Between Phoebe getting teeth and me having them removed, we praise the Lord for painkillers!

Happy 4th of July!

I think we love long weekends at the Wallis' house! We'd love them even more if the weather would cooperate when they come! Unfortunately, most of Indiana was in the 60s and had rain ALL day long on Saturday. So what's a family to do with a 14 1/2 month old?! We put our newly purchased membership to the Children's Museum to work! Phoebe has for the last week, been waking up between 5:45 and 6:30 a.m. - we're hoping the 7:30-8:30 routine returns soon - but on Saturday, it allowed us to get an early start and beat the crowd to the museum! She returned to the costumes and the mower right off the bat.



I think she's acting out her mealtime experience...luckily for us, it's starting to pay off at home. All of a sudden you give her peas or green beans and she eats them. I stand amazed that our picky eater is slowly branching out and making friends in the process...

And added bonus for Ryan - it was Star Wars day at the museum.

And since I didn't fare so well on the carousel last time, Ryan had the honors. I think this time around, Phoebe enjoyed dancing to the music more than the ride itself.

We also hit Holliday Park with Auntie Kate this weekend when the weather was nicer.


Couldn't you just eat her up?

We all took turns going down the big kids' slides with her. She is absolutely fearless and would go by herself if I wasn't traumatized from when I was a child and fell off the top of one.

We also took a short hike so Daddy could see the water. If only we'd parked closer, he'd have grabbed his fishing pole out of the back of his car! Phoebe has definitely taken after him in her love for the water!

YiaYia left for Camp Challenge in Bedford, Indiana on Sunday and Auntie Kate left for a work camp at Camp Challenge in Alaska today. We miss them both already! I had to include this video and apologize now for the singing - I know y'all think I'm the next American Idol but I've got a good thing going at work so I'm going to have to deny my inner Kelly Clarkson or Clay Aiken...ugh, you'll get the picture soon enough. Either way, she's got the song down we just opted not to post the long version!

And, on a side note, Pita is still with us. The vet opted to try Tetracycline but she's been on it since Friday and we've seen little improvement. We'll be chatting with the vet once more tomorrow to discuss our options and then do what's best for her. We appreciate all your prayers!

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!