The Dowells

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-13T22:49:00.003-06:00

I made the kids' Valentines for their class parties tomorrow- and I'm so excited about how they came out! I got most of the ideas off of Pinterest.

And, can I say, I'm loving Photoshop? I'm still a little slow-poke at it, but adore it nonetheless.

Attached to a cute baggie of gummy bears for the 3 year olds.

Attached to a cute baggie of teddy grahams, for the babes.

Attached to gift cards to the-best-place-on-Earth for Ada's teachers.

Also attached to Starbucks gift cards for Dax's teachers.

And this one is for YOU! Happy Valentine's Day, from Us! We love you all!

Fall 2011 School Pictures

2012-02-05T13:39:00.003-06:00

I just broke the cardinal rule of "professional photography"- I scanned in the kids' school pictures from this past fall without consent. And you can plainly see why I HAD to do it- I want to have these for my viewing pleasure for many years past what the cheap prints last!! They are to die for:

Ada- 3

Dax- 6 months {The photographer requested that the kids wear a cute hat or large bow. I sent this one on purpose, but they told me the photog almost didn't use it out of fear I'd be mad! I guess some people don't get me...}

Sweet Sister and Adorable Brother

{These were taken at the end of September- I am just now getting around to scanning them in, because I am just now getting around to learning how to scan things in in our new printer!}

Undressing and Undressed

2012-02-03T20:19:00.003-06:00

Your eyes do not deceive you- Dax's daily report card does, in fact, say his mood today was "silly and happy. Dax had a great day today, and enjoyed taking his pants off."

His teachers said at nap time Dax kept pulling his pants down over his diaper, shimmying them off, and tossing them in his friends Zane's and Sam's cribs next to his. And cracking himself up in the process!

Speaking of no pants-

I'm dying over this chubby tush! I can't decide if "the camera doesn't lie" or "the camera adds 15 lbs"- because he doesn't seem THIS chubby to me in real life!

Speaking of bathtime-

He kept putting his face in the bubbles tonight and giving himself a Santa beard. He'd already wiped a lot of it off by the time we got out and got the camera, but you get the idea! He thought he was pret-ty clever.

Ummmmm. I love you.

And yet another leftover play scenario of Ada's. Ha!

Toy Machine

2012-01-30T21:47:00.004-06:00

Me: Ada, why did you dump out all of your toys??? Your room is a wreck!

Ada: I needed the toy boxes. I made a machine.

Me: What kind of a machine is it it?

Ada: It is a machine that spews out toys!

She Plays Hard...

2012-01-27T20:44:00.002-06:00

Today's Adaism(s):

{Preface: I nurse Dax in the car after school most days}

Ada: Can you wait to buckle me in my carseat until after you finish eating Dax?

---------------

Me: I'm going to go put Dax to bed, baby- are you OK in here watching TV for a little bit?

Ada: Fine. Go. You just go.

---------------

Ada has been drawing her face just about daily lately:

With glittery "Hello Kitty" pen.

With letter stamps.

With black {THANKFULLY} washable marker.
She's less proud in this one, because this is where I stop thinking it's cute, and begin getting perturbed.

And I realized after going through my phone pictures this week, it's likely it stemmed from our most recent trip to Chick-Fil-A on "Family Night"- where they have a clown making balloons and painting faces.

I also mentioned in my last post that I wanted to take a few pictures of Ada's abandoned play scenarios. I came upon this first scene at bedtime one night, and decided to stage the other recent ones I've stumbled upon lately that have made me chuckle-

All of her doll house toys in a large gang guarding their house. Even the cars and furniture are in on the action. I love how they're all facing the same direction- watching some approaching danger?

One of these things doesn't belong here....

A pony stand-off.

Barbie and penguin riding into the sunset. Do you think this was in LA or Antarctica?

And, lastly- Murphy's moved back indoors! The house is just an absolute disgusting wreck (in my opinion) with or without him inside these days... so we decided to go ahead and let him realize his dream of becoming an indoor dog once again. He was, after all, our first child! He'll be NINE this year!

He's adopted Ada's baby comforter.

iLove

2012-01-23T22:05:00.000-06:00

Me: Ada, don't color on your face, baby. That can make your skin hurt.

Ada: NO, MOM! I don't have skin! Kids don't even need skin. Only SKELETONS NEED SKIN.

{There ya have it.}

Ada is completely resistant to doing any sort of learning related activity at home with me. Which is sort of problematic, since we are considering stay-at-home-mom options for next year- you don't really want to yank your pre-schooler out of pre-school just 2 years before Kindergarten if she refuses to let you educate her!

But, I think we may have found a solution. Technology. Who knew that you could use Technology to engage young children, and trick them into learning things?! {Sarcasm}

Confession: I've been avoiding it. I used to kind of secretly judge moms who utilized these resources. Thinking to myself: children these days are so dependent on computers, apps, internet, TV. They should be playing, exploring, reading, learning. Churning butter. Milking cows. Building life-sized, livable homes with plumbing out of Lincoln Logs.

I downloaded an app in a moment of weakness on my phone this past weekend {after 5,001 different approaches to help Ada remember to quit skipping from 14-18 when counting to 20.} She sat, for over an hour, correctly identifying letters and sounds that we had no idea she knew. She whipped through 26 letter puzzles. She happily discussed things related to learning.

She still skipped 15, 16, & 17 when counting.

So, we rushed out and ~~foolishly dropped $600 on~~ happily purchased an iPad. And this girl is obsessed! And I am now one of "those" mothers. Oh well!

Speaking of technology, I've been ~~wasting even more money~~ utilizing my Sweetish Baby profits to purchase some more geeky things! I purchased a subscription to a website for my Sweetish Baby stuff. I'm not ready to advertise the domain just yet- I want to develop it a little more before I bear my soul! :) It's not going to be just Sweetish Baby.

I describe the website as:

a "platform" for the boutique. It'll be one of several different sections of a webpage where I will post craft tutorials, health/nutrition, & budget tips {all centered around all things domestic- easy healthy recipes, eating healthy on a budget, inexpensive entertainment for your child- probably won't blog about that impulsive iPad moment!- etc} Eventually, I'm operating under the assumption that the goal will be to generate enough traffic that I will be able to "monetize" it. {Allow/attract advertisements.}

And, worst case scenario: if it flops, I only lost a week's profits from the monograms and bows! :)

And, I also purchased PhotoShop Elements. {One of my pseudo new year's resolution was to begin taking better photographs of the kids and Sweetish Baby merchandise/website posts- so this was a business investment!} Here are some " doctored up" pictures of Dax's awesome afternoon in the swing on Sunday-

I love these KIDS!

Videos: Defying Authority & A Dance Party

2012-01-20T21:54:00.001-06:00

(Those lucky 10 family members that receive these updates via email, remember you need to go to our actual blog site, The Daily Dowell, to view these videos!)

This is what Dax thinks of being told "no"-

This is Dax's version of a Dance Party-

Luuuuurrrrrvvve this boy so much!

Dax- 10 months

2012-01-19T20:33:00.003-06:00

My DaxyBear is 10 months old! He is just about the most adorable thing EVER- he and Ada are pretty much tied for "Cutest Baby Ever To Crawl This Earth", in my opinion. :)

He accidentally took a step a few days ago- he was scaling the living room (that kid runs circles around the perimeter of the room- with one hand on furniture, a wall, or windowsill at all times!), took his hand off, but continued walking. He scared himself a little, so immediately dropped to the floor and crawled the rest of the way.

He says "Ada"- especially in the backseat of the car when they have nothing to do but stare at each other and make faces. He babbles all kinds of other important messages, too. He signs "more" and "all done" and "eat", and is learning "drink" now the he *finally* learned how to actually drink from a sippy cup. For some reason, he could not figure that one out!

He's sort of becoming a biter. :( He's been biting me (my shoulder, ankle, boob) since he was about 4-5 months old. Then it turned into occasional daddy bites, and then Ada bites, and now 2 days in a row at school he's bitten friends. He's had to have the "Teeth Are Not For Biting" book read to him by his teachers, like, 6 times now. I am *hoping* he's teething, and that is the explanation for the sudden increase. His teachers say its never out of malice- that he gets this look in his eyes that says "Oh, you look chubby and tasty!" and then goes in for the kill. Poor victims.

If Ada is going to be my artsy-fartsy, creative, quirky free spirit- Dax is going to be my engineer. This kid LOVES to spend his time making things fit, taking things apart, and solving the mysteries of the world. (Last weekend at dinner he devised a way to keep Casey's palm open so he could snatch Cheerios out of it without Casey closing his hand back.)

He still loves bath time and hates getting out. He is fascinated by the washing of Ada's hair, and now constantly tries to take her rinsing cup and dump it out on her head after watching me do it to her for 10 months.

I adore this little boy, and can't believe there is only one more monster photo shoot before he turns 1. (For which I am in the midst of planning a MONSTER BASH for!) Here are our pictures from this month's photo shoot- it's becoming virtually impossible to maintain that consistent black background! Plus, we accidentally gave Murphy the larger black blanket, so I'm working with scraps, here. :)

Look at those sweet puppy eyes!

I adore this one.

Lately, in Phone Pix...

2012-01-15T20:55:00.001-06:00

I am so bad these days about taking quality pictures of the kids. One of my many pseudo-New Year's resolutions was to begin doing so- in fact, I am about to purchase PhotoShop with my recent Sweetish Baby profits! Which I think will be some motivation to get out the "real" camera. But for now, you'll have to survive on my phone snapshots!

Before we get to those, though- I have more Adaisms. They all happened today, and I want to write them down before I forget them- because she had Casey and I ROLLING! All of these happen either on a car ride, or about to begin one:

Casey: What's the name of that hospital in Katy? St. Joseph? St. Jude?

Me: St. Christus?

Ada (from the backseat): SAY CHEEEEESE!

Ada: Daddy, I want my jacket- I'm so very cold.

Casey: It's in the trunk, honey.

Me: No, I've got it- here you go, Ada.

Ada: DADDY- IT WAS NOT IN THE TRUNK. You said it was in the trunk, and it wasn't.

Casey: I'm sorry, Ada- I really thought it was in the trunk. But you've got it now, so it doesn't matter.

Ada: Anyway, cars do NOT have trunks. Only elephants can have trunks.

Casey & I, having a conversation...

Ada: DOTTIE! (Her pet dragon) You POOPED in your PANTS! Oh my goodness. Here, wipe with this. And put these on. Oh my goodness...

While getting everyone and everything back into the car after a family trip to the mall, I turn around to find Ada letting her cup of pineapple juice (from dinner) loosely hang over onto Dax's side of the stroller, and he was sucking at it FURIOUSLY.

And now, here are some cute pictures I've taken lately of random happenings---

I nurse Dax in the car everyday after school, and he figured out which contraption turned the windshield wipers on last week. I couldn't keep him focused because he wanted to keep playing with them. High, low, off, ultra-high. Repeat!

I found Ada had unwrapped every piece of gum in a new package, and constructed a "sidewalk" on the counter....

I usually carry Dax in the papoose when we grocery shop, but recently purchased a fancy new one (that helps support his hefty weight better than the old one!), but doesn't let him face forward. So he gets bored... so he got his first taste of the "car cart" at HEB! (He used to refuse to ride in the shopping cart, which is why I papoose him in the first place)....

...And he LOVED IT! He sounded like a fire engine barreling through HEB with all of this squeals of joy!!

SQUUEEEAAALLL!! And look at Sweet Ada, she is such a wonderful sister. Love them both so so much!!!

My Student Council Kiddos

2012-01-12T19:34:00.002-06:00

Totally random, but this is a picture of my Student Council kids. This is actually only about half of them- there was a big Calculus test today, so being the stellar students that they are, many of them utilized today's "Enrichment" period to prepare for that instead of coming for the Yearbook photo! :) Love them.

This is the actual photo I submitted for the yearbook...

... but THIS is the picture that does our club a bit better justice!

She makes me laugh!

2012-01-09T12:41:00.001-06:00

Ada is seriously hysterical. I know kids are just notoriously random and funny- but the things that come flying out of my 3 year old's mouth seem to be ultra-ridiculous, sometimes! Here are some recent ones off of the top of my head (while I pump on my lunch break)-

Ada: "Lord, thank you for our food, for our cozy bed, for our friends..."
Me: "Ada, are you saying your prayers, sweet girl!?"
Ada: "NO MOM! I'M TUCKING MY RATS IN! LEAVE US ALONE!"

As we looked at a human anatomy book smack dab in the middle of Barnes and Noble, Ada shouts "YOU EAT FOOD AND POOP IT OUT YOUR HINEY, AND YOU DRINK DRINKS AND TEETEE IT OUT OF YOUR VAGINA!" (She loooves the human body, BTW!)

(I can't remember if I've posted this next one:)
Ada: "I'm a princess mom, you're not. There can only be one."
Me: "That's fine- because I'm the QUEEN!"
Ada: "Yes. I'm a princess, you're a queen, and Dax is a ... GOOFBALL!"

After attempting 3 times for write the letter A (each time accidentally making an H- which she can't technically write, either) she says "Welp. Can't do it. I want some pizza now."

Ada (at least twice a day): "HEY MOM! COME CHECK THIS OUT!" {insert some hysterical scenario she's placed her stuffed animals in or something. Yesterday the entire toy box was out on the ground, and everyone was facing forward in rows "watching a movie." Sometimes she takes the DVDs out of the drawer and organizes them in some sort of maze. Once, she took out an entire box of organic wipes and constructed a trail around her room.)

Speaking of playing- I always find little remnants of a good, hard play around the house- animals in precarious situations (usually a group stand off or timeout). Barbies in the barbie car with their hand in a wave, and a penguin in the passenger seat. An entire grocery store sporatically set up around her room. I really should snap a picture next time, because it makes me smile!

Ada: MOMMY!! I'M SCARED IN MY BED!"
Me: "What is it!?"
Ada: "I saw a WORRRMM on my PIILLLLLOOOWWW!"
{insert very genuine tears, it was actually heartbreaking!}

Ada: "Look at the picture I colored on my {car} window, Mom!"
Me: "OMG."

Ada: {insert some snotty statement}
Me: "Ada, don't you talk to your mother that way!"
Ada: "YOU! ARE NOT! MY MOTHER!!!!!!!! AND I! AM NOT! YOUR MOTHER!"

Ada (playing drive-thru in her new play house): "Whatchu want, Momma?"
Me: "I'll take McGriddle cakes, please!"
Ada: "Nope, I'm out."
Me: "OK, I'll have a smoothie."
Ada: "I don't have any smoothies, today."
Me: "Um, how about a Frappacino?"
Ada: "Nope."
Me: "What do you have?"
Ada: {insert something random that she then furiously prepares for me}

There are thousands, millions more! I love her SO darn much!

Jackie's Story

2012-01-03T11:25:00.000-06:00

In this gift bag is approximately $2300-

It is for one of the most beautiful, kind, intelligent, wonderful, DESERVING girls I have ever had the privilege to know. I first met Jackeline Reyes at the beginning of last year in Chemistry- I knew immediately I was going to fall madly in love with her {which I did!}. She is so sweet and quiet, yet has this underlying spunk that you can't help but notice and adore. She ended up being one of the smartest kids I've ever taught, and hands down the best student I had last year {possibly ever???}

I was beyond thrilled to see her sweet face in my 2nd period Anatomy class the first day of school this year- although I could tell she was feeling... off. I couldn't place it. Was she sad? Was is it her health? A few days into school, Jackie stayed after class to let me know that she'd be missing a little school. It was all of the above. It was cancer. It was Stage 3 Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

She immediately began aggressive chemotherapy several times a week. She lost her beautiful hair. She underwent chemo treatments for months- feeling ill, feeling down, yet continuing her Senior year on the "homebound program." Never ceasing to amaze me with her high As on Anatomy assignments, tests, and projects that she did 100% on her own.

I mean, this is bad enough, right!??!?! It gets even more heartbreaking. I ran into Jackie and her mother after school one day while they were at Katy HS ironing out some homebound details. After questioning them a little with what was meant to be small-talk, I realized "struggling" was probably an understatement. Gloria Reyes cleans homes for a living- yet Jackie's treatments are all downtown and take a huge chunk of time. Add to that fighting Houston traffic to and from the med-center... ick.

I found out that Jackie's father is not in the picture. Not because they are divorced, or he ran off- because he passed away from Pancreatic cancer when Jackie was a toddler. It is just Jackie and her mother, trying to survive this horrific tragedy, in the wake of their already-tragic-loss a decade ago.

So another teacher (Jen Blair) and I decided to take action. We sent an email to the staff explaining her situation- hoping to raise a few hundred dollars to help the Reyes girls out during the holiday season- pay a bill, purchase a few Christmas gifts, etc. The response was astounding. Hundreds of dollars began pouring in. People were writing checks for $100. Putting wads of anonymous $20s and $50s in my box. Teachers who I KNOW are also suffering from cancer and the treatment's effects donated. People that I KNOW are struggling financially donated. I reached out to Casey's company, Aerotek- and received an outrageous donation from them, too.

I have to recognize two donors. LizAnn Wheeler (who works with Casey) gave $250, and Hunter & Ashleigh Gaulke donated $350. I. Was. Floored. The blessings that these people were giving was beyond my wildest dreams.

Jen and I met at Jackie's house at the beginning of the holiday break to give this generous gift to Jackie- only to find out that she and her mother were in a car accident the day before on their drive home from radiation. Totaling their only car. This gift couldn't have come at a better time for them.

Jackie occasionally blogs at My Cancer Journey. Her reasoning behind sparse posts is that she gets "lazy" and "procrastinates" ... that shows you right there how little this girl complains. She just amazes me, and I cannot wait until she returns this semester with a clean bill of health so I can love on her every day!

Christmas Break

2012-01-01T19:10:00.001-06:00

Christmas Break is over as of tomorrow morning at 5:30am. I'm more depressed than usual- I just love these kids SO much, and could just hang out with them all day, every day. OK- maybe not ALL day, EVERY day- but that's what nap time is for! Here is a sweet video I shot the other day:

I just have to make it about 6 weeks, and then Casey's company is sending us on an all-expense paid vacay to Mexico (even our day trips and spa days and golf are covered, yay!)- since he's so kick a$$. I can do that! (Then Spring Break. Then Good Friday. Then Finals. Then SUMMER!)

Santa Came!

2011-12-26T22:48:00.000-06:00

We must have been good boys and girls this year- because Santa Clause came and left us some AWESOME gifts! At first, we saw presents in their usual spot (since we don't have a mantle, Santa prefers the bar area)- and those were awesome enough! And, then....

Santa ate the snack we left him, and even left Ada a NOTE!

This caught Ada's eye from the living room!!!!! It's a HUGE playhouse! It was raining Christmas, so Santa put it together indoors, and we've been playing with it in this spot ever since. It. Is. AWESOME. A school room. A drive-thru window. A gas station with a gas pump. A basketball goal (in the back). A soccer net. A grocery store. This thing has it ALL. We have had so much fun with it that we are considering keeping it inside until the weather is consistently nicer before moving it outside (yes, it'll be easy to disassemble and take to the backyard!). Both kids are obsessed.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-26T22:26:00.001-06:00

We had an amazing Christmas this year- we are so blessed with so many wonderful family members that we love so very much- and they even love us in return! I will post a separate post about our little Dowell Christmas, but these are photos (and hopefully a few videos, if they upload!) from our Christmases with The Dowell Fam, The Purdy (& Anderson) Gang, and The Mobley Clan. They kind of go in reverse order than the actual events.

I didn't get any pictures from my mom's house because I had a near-migraine headache, and operating a camera might have pushed me over the edge. I also didn't get any from MorMor's house, so I pirated all of hers off of Facebook!!! :) I managed to get a few with Grams and Papa.

Uncle Christian is fighting some esophagus issues (stupidest organ of the body), so he wasn't able to make Christmas this year. :( But, we still received his lottery tickets, and I *almost* won $500!!

This "Elephant Sweater" was actually hand- knitted by MorMor for our family Christmas in 1987!!! That means I had just turned 5- I *think* this is my cousin Ricky's sweater, instead of mine (he'd have been 2). I need to scrape up some pictures from that Christmas- the ENTIRE family wore one. And I mean EVERYONE!

Dax in his annual "money hat!" MorMor hand knitted everyone's.

This is when I realized after shouting "I WON $500!!", I had, in fact, NOT won $500. Bahahahahahaa!

Daxy

Me and the babes

Ada's money hat

The entire Mobley clan!
Back (left to right): Donny, Colleen, Andrew, Rick, Mary, Steve, James
Front Row: Ricky, Ada, Casey, MorMor, Alicia, Dax, Eric, Audrey, Andi
Not pictured in the center: Christian. :( Or Stacy.

Murm got his own tree and lights for his house!

Uncle Luis!

With Grandpa and his decorated gift box wrapped box.

Murphy's lights at night.

Daddy and Daxy

And these videos are mostly from Grams and Papa's night- I'm sorry everyone else for being lazy! I was just enjoying your company too much to worry about filming! :)

Dax- 9 months

2011-12-25T21:43:00.000-06:00

UPDATED: I added a video at the bottom! :)

Well, he's 9 months, and my heart bursts at the seem a little more each day for this little guy! He has got quite the personality we are learning. He WILL get your attention with grunts and squeals if it's what he wants... or he will elude your watchful eye as he inspects and tastes and explores everything in his path if that is his desire. He's completely taken with sister Ada (that sounds like a nun!)- and finds her utterly captivating, hilarious, interesting, and a tad scary all in one. Right up his alley.

He's closer to walking, but won't be there anytime soon (knock on wood). He's OBSESSED with walking along with his lawnmower walker- and has begun to realize that turning it is in fact in his power. So he's independently working on that one (thus spending extended periods of time stuck facing corners while he inches it back around). I have a video of him actually realizing his bipedal-ism for the first time on this walker- I will post it eventually. Now he can walk across the house on it (with a few interrupted rests on his knees!)

He has an internal honing device for anything electronic- phones, remotes, computers, cords. He. Will. Have. Them. (in his mouth!)

He's still loving bathtime- especially if sister's in the tub, too. Of which I also have videos and need to post. ~Crap~

He will wave hello and good-bye (when he feels like it!)- and invented his own clap.

He has become more demanding with his "mama"s and I love every syllable of them. He's got a pseudo-sign for "more" and "all done" that I understand, but no other human being would. However- last night he SAID "ah-duh" TWICE in a row for "all done!" Could've been a coincidence, since I squealed with delight when he did it the first time (in conjunction with the sign, so I had SOME basis for excitement!)...and he has been known to love a reaction out of me.

Just today he began playing an adorable version of peek-a-boo with his Sweetish Baby taggie blanket. If he initiates the game, he just thrusts the blankie up and down too fast to even say "peek-a-boo" ... but if you say "GO HIDE, DAX!" he'll hold the blankie over his face for a few seconds and then THRUST it down and smile at you (me), waiting for the exaggerated "PEEK-A-BOOOOOO!" (Those of you that watch Up All Night- have y'all seen the Children's Gym episode? Bahaha!)

He'll eat just about anything- I'm almost at the point where I'd feel comfortable just feeding him small pieces of our dinner (and do on occasion offer small bites)- except I'm so psycho about their first year's nutrition I him to maintain the ridiculous amounts of fruits and vegetables he is currently consuming, so I will continue steaming and pureeing organic foods for his pure little body. Oh, and I also forgot to mention my insane phobia of food allergies. Particularly egg and nut- and adult food sources are too untrustworthy to risk giving him doses of little scary proteins!

I think that's the bulk of the month's updates. Yes, I'm posting this on Christmas Day (night). Yes, I'm on Christmas break. Yes, Grams and Papa were here for 2.5 weeks. Yes, we re-did the office. But before any of those posts, it's time for the Montster Photoshoot-->

My heart is putty in your hands, little boy!

Squawking- per usual!

UPDATED: Here is the peek-a-boo video I promised! :)

Santa: 4th Time's A Charm!

2011-12-05T22:24:00.000-06:00

Well, the first three attempts at a small chat with Santa were ~~a disaster~~ not picture perfect. (For a visual reminder, read THIS post!)

But THIS year was THE year!!! Ada was enamored. Her mind went totally blank when Ol' Saint Nick asked her what she'd like for Christmas- she forgot to ask him for barbies, kitchen "food" toys, a car, and princess dolls. All that she could manage out of her mouth was a meek "presents."

When he asked her if she'd been a good little girl, her large almond-shaped eyes became more like walnuts. Maybe even brazil nuts. And she nodded ever-so-slightly.

When he lifted her up to place her on his lap for the obligatory photo-op, her body went limp with disbelief. He plopped her on his knee, and then plopped Dax on his other knee. (Dax was also enamored- but more with the beard than anything. This was one of the few pictures that Dax was looking in the vicinity of the camera- most of the time he was turned completely around staring at the white fuzz.)

Ada was deep in thought. Her mind was not in this world- she was pondering the North Pole. Reindeer. Elves. Presents. Presents. Presents. And cookies. Finally, she came to. To us saying "Ada! Smile! Smile for the camera, honey!" And this is what she squeezed out before slipping back into her Christmas fantasy:

I would deem 2012 the year of the SANTA SUCCESS!! I'm obsessed with this picture, and it may not be stashed away with the rest of the holiday decor come January 1st- I just don't think I'll be able to part with it for an entire year!

Halloween- Long Overdue

2011-12-05T22:07:00.000-06:00

Halloween was months ago. In fact, we're even long past Thanksgiving (which I failed to get ONE picture of- we went to Pop and Honey's, and had a nice time!). But I want to post our Santa picture, and feel the need to cross the Halloween blog post off of my eternal to-do list before advancing into the current holiday season! :)

We kicked off the weekend with a Halloween Party at the kids' school, Kids-R-Kids!

Then we met up with friends to celebrate and trick-or-treat at the Klemach's. This is the girls eating their self-decorated cupcakes... and Dax wanting in on the action!

About to take my monster and indian trick-or-treating! (So I can eat their candy once they go to bed!)

To. Die. For.

I love this girl so much.

Hitting the streets with her friends, Olivia and Rory! Ada got some serious candy-age.

Glam Girl Gift Sets @ Sweetish Baby!

2011-11-30T15:18:00.001-06:00

Visit Sweetish Baby's latest blog post about our newest gift set- for the Glam Baby Girl! Here's a little sneak peak-

The bow socks are just killing me. To die for!!

Jungle Animal Gift-In-A-Bag

2011-11-28T15:00:00.001-06:00

Check out the boy version of the Sweetish Baby baby shower gift set! You can read about it HERE, on Sweetish Baby's blog. :)

Dax- 8 months

2011-11-21T20:47:00.001-06:00

Dax turned 8 months old on November 16 - I cannot believe it! He's crawling a million miles a minute, getting into EVERYTHING (I caught him tangled up in the bars of the side table the other day), and scaling around on the furniture.

He's saying "mamamamamamamamamamama" and "dadadadadadadadada" and "bababababababababa" ... sometimes intentionally at the correct person. ;) And sometimes we SWEAR he mimics the number of syllabals we are using. (Typically three. And it's typically "I love you." Coincidence? I'm going to pretend not!)

I think he believes he knows the sign for "more"- although he's actually just banging both hands on his highchair tray (as opposed to tapping his fingertips together for the actual sign). He's eating tons of solids- sweet potatoes are still his fave.

I always pick him up first from school (because big siblings aren't allowed in the baby rooms)- and then we go together to get Ada. His face totally lights up when he finds her in the classroom- it melts my heart.

I know I always say it, but he's growing up way too fast! Here are the shots from our sick-boy monster photo shoot this Sunday-

Been a while...

2011-11-21T20:16:00.001-06:00

It's been a while since a meaty post. It's funny how that goes- the more going on, the more you want to blog about, but the less time you have to do so. Now that I'm taking the time to sit at the computer and write one, I can't remember everything I've been storing away in my frontal lobe.

I'll just blabber about the last 5 days. Would you ever guess these adorable kids weren't feeling well?

They're totally sick. Dax's teachers had been telling me for days they thought he was under the weather, but I wasn't seeing it. He finally woke up about 3am on Thursday morning running a MILD fever, so I decided to go ahead and get him checked out by the doctor. Lo-and-behold: double ear infection (one of which is severe), and nasty upper respiratory infection. So nasty, in fact, that he has to have breathing treatments of albuterol. :(

Dax taking his albuterol.

The good thing? I got to miss 2 days of work and snuggle, snuggle, snuggle him!!!

Dax's began at 3am on Thursday... Ada's began at 4am on Saturday. Casey and I wake up with her crying at the side of our bed "I just had a dream about creepy shadows... and I throwed up in my beeeeeddddd." It was so sad, and such a mess. She felt icky all weekend, too.

Snuggling on the pallette with her "Rat Princess" that Aunt Andi sent her from NYC!

Daddy built her a BOMB fort that she lounged in all day Saturday and Sunday and watched movies.

Everyone is seemingly on the mend. Dax has been on antibiotics for 5 days, though, and his ears are still bothering him. He's also still sounding really rattle-y in the chest- tack on the email that I got from daycare today saying one of his friends in his classroom has RSV (a baby lung virus)- we are going back to the doctor tomorrow for a re-evaluation. And then we're off for Thanksgiving break, yay!

And, something super random, but made my entire weekend: Dax discovered the property of "elasticity." He realized he could "pop" my elastic headband- and he sat there and popped it like a slingshot for a good ten minutes. (Such a boy!)

He'd pop it. Look at me. Wait for my reaction (which was totally ridiculous in between shots with camera phone!). Smile and giggle. Then pop it again. And again. And again.

This was one of the pictures I'd captured in the midst of all the popping!! I cannot get enough of it! This boy makes me smile so hard.

McDonald's Strawberry Banana Smoothie Recipe Uncovered...

2011-11-18T08:44:00.001-06:00

I know I have a TON of things I need to update the blog about. Halloween. Family Pictures. Dax's 8 month monster photo shoot (which still hasn't happened, because he's sick), recent Adaisms (and there are plenty that I'm quickly forgetting!), all of the new adorableness up for sale at Sweetish Baby, etc.

But, I'm choosing to use my sparse free time to blog about the trivial things. Like figuring out how to make an exact duplication (except without the high fructose corn syrup, and $3 pricetag of course) of McDonald's Strawberry Banana smoothie- which Ada can't seem to get enough of.

Is it sad that that is the negative reinforcement that works best for us? Not "you're about to get a time-out", or "You are about to lose your TV privileges for the day"... it's "You are about to lose the opportunity to get a "smoovie" on the way home!"

See below for my make-shift, grossly unprofessional recipe!

In the blender:

1/2 soft banana
About 6-7 large frozen strawberries (8-9 if they're small)
Cover the fruit about 75% with whatever-milk-you-have-on-hand. It looks about like 1 cup.
A liberal splash (on the verge of a pour) of french vanilla creamer.

Blend, and Oila! It makes enough for a HUGE serving (think- 20 oz), or 2 smaller servings (think- straw sippy cup and small juice glass for mom!)

O.M.G! Family Pictures!

2011-11-14T23:59:00.001-06:00

Visit this link: http://robmilton.zenfolio.com/dowells - to see our family pictures from our photo session with Rob Milton Photography a few weekends ago! Warning: some of them he included in our catalog because they are just plain hilarious! :)

Now, I need to go to sleep- about 2 hours ago!

Sweetish Busy Baby

2011-11-14T20:35:00.001-06:00

These are the orders we've received in the past week (the last 2 are just gifts- orders I've put in myself, if you will!)- and this is just via word of mouth, mostly from school! (And we had 3 orders last week! 2 taggies and an Interchangeable Tie Onesie.) I'm so excited to see what will happen if/when I actually have the time to advertise. As you can see- the "Baby-Shower-Gift-In-A-Bag" seems to be taking off-

Yay!

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

2011-11-10T19:59:00.001-06:00

Coloring you a picture! The blue blobs are toys.

Happily watching from the sidelines! "Happy birthday, Grams!"

Add caption

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRAMS!!! We miss you!!! (Sorry for the little devil red-eyes in the picture!)

New from Sweetish Baby -

2011-11-01T22:15:00.003-05:00

Check out what's new at the Sweetish Baby Boutique! :)

Untitled

2011-11-01T15:24:00.000-05:00

This year is killing me.

Ada got her hair did...

2011-10-26T16:20:00.002-05:00

Ada got her 2nd haircut yesterday! I took her to "my girl" so we could be sure to get a quality cut- I am so anal about haircut perfection (which is strange, because I wouldn't consider myself a perfectionist, typically), that I just didn't want to risk it anywhere else!

(Remember her first hair cut? The actual "salon" was a-maze-ing, but I wasn't crazy about the cut after it was all said and done -which is ridiculous, I know. She was 2 for crying out loud. But, whatever- because the experience was too adorable to be upset about the end result!)

So, here are a few pictures I snapped with my phone throughout the afternoon!

So excited to be getting a hair cut! And enamored with gorgeous Tracy.... (You can see Dax's leg hanging out of the papoose to the left in the mirror- typical!)

NOT sitting very still for Tracy! But behaving well enough. There are a few crooked spots because of her "activities!"

Getting a blow-out!

All said and done! (It's actually even cuter than this in real-life)

Getting a chocolate-banana smoothie from Starbucksk afterwards! Our fave.

I. Cannot. Get. ENOUGH. Of this picture!!!!!!!

My gorgeous girl this morning before school. This is what she looks like to me. I wish I could capture her in photos like this ALL the time! MWAH!

I mean...

2011-10-25T12:37:00.001-05:00

...I just cannot get enough of them!!!

Dax trying finger feeding for the first time- avacados.

Likin' the texture...

Maybe a *few* made it in his mouth.. but mostly were just pulverized on the spot with his fists.

Sportin' her shades on the drive home.

And talking my ear off- love her! This afternoon we discussed her classmates' halloween costumes. 2 are going as sharks!

Married 5 Years to the Best Hubs Ever!!!

2011-10-25T09:54:00.000-05:00

Casey and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary this weekend- 5 years!!! Geeze. Anywho- we (especially ME!) had an AMAZING weekend. I had a spa day on Saturday- following by lunch and shopping with Katy Schilhab. Then I came home and was told to be ready to GO by 7- and when we walked out of the front door, a limo just like the one from our wedding was waiting outside of my house!!!

Ada was a little nervous of the "big car."

We had SUCH a great time just riding to dinner- we ate at Sullivans Steakhouse. Delish.

When MiMi asked Ada what she thought we were eating at dinner she said Casey was having a burrito, and I was having macaroni. :)

They took our picture and all wished us happy anniversary!

I wanted a Starbucks on the drive home sooo bad. It was 11:01, so they were all closed. So I decided I'd settle on a McDonald's frappe. This is us, in a stretch white limousine, at the McD's drive through. Unfortunately, they were closed, too!

I got a diamond necklace that looks really similar to my wedding ring. I love it, was SO surprised, and though it was so sweet that Casey knows my style so well!

Recent Ada-isms

2011-10-18T22:56:00.002-05:00

Hilarious things that have come out of Ada's mouth recently:

"Daddy!! There's an ant on my crosswalk! (Meaning swingset ladder) SHOOT IT!"
"I'm kicking rocks. Oh, and I stepped in dog poop."
"Here, Dax- you want to choke on this toy?" (Meant to say chew, but substituted choke. Same difference, I suppose.)

Ada: "Mommy is here, Dax is here, Ada is here."
Me: "Yep. Where's Daddy?"
Ada (said with sincere empathy): "He's at work, Sweetie."
Me (after cracking up): "That's right- Daddy's working, he'll be home later."
Ada: "NO! Wait- he's at the river with his friends!"

She has been coming home and placing all of her barbies and princesses on different "seats" around the playroom and acting like their teacher. Or instructor. Or mentor. Or something administrative. Today they were being instructed to dance.

Whenever she wants to make herself cry (for attention, usually- after either getting in trouble, or to postpone bedtime)- she will think about someone at school hitting her. I know this because, when I ask her why she all of a sudden looks so sullen, she will say: "Bea/Maddox/Mason/Janelle/etc hit me todaaayyyy," which is when the waterworks begin. (What is that, method acting?)

She can do simple math- I'm not kidding you. She refuses to prove to me that she can count to 20 ("1...2....4...5...6...7...11..."), but she will rattle off "1 and 2 make 3. 2 and 2 make 4!"

I feel like I've cracked up laughing 100 times this week- so if I think of more Ada-isms, I will post a sequel tomorrow! :)

And, now for some snapshots:

Silly girl- snorkle goggles aren't for indoor playgrounds!

Reveille is a pillow pet now!

Nothing warms my heart more than them playing and laughing together- Dax will laugh at Ada if she just looks in his direction.

Love this kid!

Dax- 7 Months

2011-10-17T19:51:00.003-05:00

Dax is 7 months old!! And utterly impossible to keep still long enough to do a proper monster photo shoot, now. (I knew this day would come, but it still makes me sad!) Here are our attempted shots:

No, you may NOT see how many months I am!

Well, looky there.

I'm gonna EAT IT. Or at least drool on it until it disintegrates.

I will not sit there for this any longer, Mom.

What's that? You have a large, expensive contraption strapped to your neck (the camera)?

Nom nom nom!

Reaching for the backing to the onesie sticker, that would have otherwise been hidden from view.

Parenting Books Review

2011-10-09T15:49:00.004-05:00

Welp, I broke down and read a bunch of parenting books. I'd been trying to get the "cliff's notes" versions of techniques via Google for the past 3 years- but it just wasn't cutting it for the last month or so.

Since I went back to work full time mid-August, Ada (and I) have been struggling. She handled the arrival of Dax SO gracefully- she is the most loving, kind big sister in the history of siblings. But, when I went back to work to such a hellish year (disclaimer: it isn't hell- I adore my students- it's just the workload that is near unbearable)- she immediately began acting out. Tantrums, pretending she didn't know simple things that she's known for years (numbers, letters, etc) on purpose, constant boundary pushing- anything to get some attention. And I, on the otherhand, was constantly losing my patience; and then spending far too much time afterward lamenting and regretting how I'd handled things.

So I hopped on Amazon and pretty much purchased any book I'd ever heard mentioned in passing about child rearing. I've been really happy with what I've read so far- and... get ready... they're already WORKING! Can I just say- thank the good Lord we (I) read them early- who knew how easy it can be to completely screw your kid up on complete accident!?!?!?

Here is my "book report" for those of you that either asked, wanted to ask, or will ask in the future! :)

The first book I read was "Love and Logic for Early Childhood." A main strategy in this book is constant choice giving- which I initially was completely against. (Ie: do you want to pick up your stuffed animals first, or your Pet Shops? Do you want to drink juice or water? Do you want to pick your nose or use a kleenex? Do you want to bring your penguin or puppy in the car? Etc.) I really don't want to raise a kid who thinks her opinion ALWAYS matters, and feels entitled to participate in all decision making, or is just downright bossy. However, after :

A)reading the entire book and understanding the psychology behind it (and the dramatic consequences if you DON'T allow them to feel comfortable making choices early on- think caving to peer pressures or rebellious teen in 12 years);
and B) see how WELL it works around here within the first battery of choices- I'm a total convert.

Another technique that has proven really useful is doing everything with empathy. If you feel yourself getting angry- step away. Put them in their room. Etc. If you punish with anger (sheepishly raising hand, here), the kid automatically reverts to feeling resentment towards you and learning nothing. (This is a big ingredient for creating rebellious teens,too) If you do it with empathy ("I'm so sorry that you refused to take a bath when Mommy asked you, but you have to sit in time out until you can be sweet girl")- they are then capable of taking responsibility for their actions and learn from their mistake. Also- no dwelling. Once they are being sweet, it's over. No lecturing, no lessons re-taught, no re-hashing of the events that led up to the punishment. Just love. And logic. :)

Lastly, the detriment of being "drill sergeant" and/or "helicopter" parents. I'd tried so intensely to be NEITHER of these (barking orders or hovering to constantly please)- that I'd become this bizarre concoction of the two. They both teach the kid learned helplessness. Neither lets said kid learn from mistakes while they're young- and mistakes just get bigger and badder with age. So- again, so glad we started when we did.

There are MANY more smaller techniques given in the book- how to improve mornings (HERE! HERE!), how to make meal times more smooth, how to eliminate bickering/etc misbehavior in the car (HERE!), etc- if you're struggling with a toddler OR have a baby that will eventually BE a toddler- get it and read it. And then do it. :)

Next up: "How to Really Love Your Child." I'm actually not finished with this one- it was recommended by Tiffany at Another Texas Family- but it's the 4 intrinsic needs that MUST be met for a child to feel unconditionally loved. Eye contact, physical touch, undivided attention, and discipline (different from punishment- think routines and expectations). This is just knowledge that will be nice to keep in the back of my head at all times- not necessarily any tools for parenting- other than the basic fact that your child has to be confident that you are madly in love with them before any parenting tools will actually be effective.

And, the one that's still waiting for me is "The Five Love Languages of Children." If you know me, you know I'm obsessed with the original "The Five Languages of Love" book- I swear by it for relationships. So, why not!? Can't hurt. Nice little supplement to the other two. :)

And, while I was on Amazon- I went ahead and ordered Pocahontas for Ada. She's hell-bent on being an Indian for Halloween (so cute!)- so we are doing a little research on the part. Ada is DYING for the turquoise necklace from the movie, so it looks like I'll be digging out my jewelry making utensils in the next few weeks!

Ada is responding to the Love and Logic techniques like they are magic. We are back to having a blast together most of the time- it's so good to have my precious, sweet, funny girl back! Love her to absolute pieces- through thick and thin!

Crawling, Pulling Up, and Best Smile Award! :)

2011-10-09T15:12:00.000-05:00

I feel like I haven't posted in forever! Lots going on around here- Dax is *officially* crawling. After a month of trying to decide if he preferred the army crawl or proper crawl, he concluded that the real crawl is more efficient and much quicker! I need to get a video of him- it's hilarious. Seriously the speediest crawler I've ever seen. (The video camera is maxed out, and I just don't ever have the time to upload them all to clear the memory- which reminds me- I have a ton of adorable videos I need to get around to posting, too!)

The instant he mastered the crawl, he tackled another milestone: Pulling up. He's obsessed. He'll pop up on anything vertical. (In fact, at school on Friday he pulled up on the built-in bookshelf, was reaching for the toys on the top, and lost his balance-- of course he fell in the 2 square feet of unpadded floor in the entire room. Now he's got a huge goose-egg on the back of his head! He is ALL boy. Already getting battle wounds at 6 months old.)

This entertainment is just a tad too tall for a good grip to pull to standing on... for now. ;)

He LOVES to watch Murphy in the backyard. And Murphy is sometimes bored enough to come and watch Dax back.

Ada and Dax watching Murphy together- she is the BEST big sister ever. Dax doesn't know how lucky he is!

Get back here, Dog!

Looks like he's not content to just stand- climbing could come next. Lord, save me.

I'm so cruel; but for some reason, I think when babies are standing in their crib after napping is the cutest thing ever. Even if the water works are on. :)

Dax crawls EVERY where. Sometimes I have to scramble to find him. This particular instance I busted them BOTH in my purse! Ada was stealing gum.

He has found nearly every door stopper in the house. He could swat at them for hours, I think.

And Dax got an award at school! Best Smile. DURR!

Lucky Night

2011-09-28T21:29:00.003-05:00

Casey's out of town again (again, on a cool trip! So proud of him- chosen to get to play golf with the Regional VP and some higher ups for doing such a great job over the past few quarters. It's a WAY bigger deal than I'm making it out to be. But we'll brag to the people who care sooner or later!)- anyway, so I'm just operating in survival mode right now. W

We went to chick-fil-a to eat and play and get real tired after school today- and it happened to be family fun night!! There was a clown there painting faces (or arms, in Ada's case- not sure why she chose that body part!), making balloon animals/objects, and the big cow roaming around! Ada had a ball.

We also went to Charmin' Charlies (the superstore of costume jewelry) where Ada picked out 2 headbands and a purse on clearance. We actually went to get a gift card for one of my students that I had last year in Chemistry, and this year in Anatomy- who found out this summer she has stage 3 Hodgkin's lymphoma. She's been placed on homebound instruction for the semester while she undergoes treatments. As if that weren't bad enough, she's having some adverse reactions to the therapy and spending a lot of time in ICU. She can't do anything like get manicures or pedicures because of her weakened immune system- so we (myself and 2nd period) thought she might like to get some pretty jewelry or a scarf or something. Prayers for Jackie, please! Why do such BAD things happen to such WONDERFUL people!?

BiRtHdAy G!Ft ExTrAvAgAnZa!!!

2011-09-25T22:09:00.001-05:00

Well, the beautiful thing about having an AMAZING birthday party with AMAZING friends and family the day before your actual birthday, is that you get to play with all of your AMAZING gifts the e-n-t-i-r-e d-a-y of your real birthday!

Here are some really funny pictures I snapped (cell phone, as usual- sorry) throughout the day of Ada having a total hay-day!

Ada nightlight from Uncle Christian. "Gotta be careful, this can hurt my toes! I should not touch this."

Ada LOOOVES her Tinkerbell outfit from Aunt Andi! So does Dax...

Gimme that Tink dress!

Got it. Lemme taste those wings.

LUNGE for it!

In fact, Dax started officially crawling at this very moment. He wanted the dress THAT bad! (Seriously, we have a real crawler, now- but his preferred method is still the army crawl or sit-and-lunge!)

Ta-daaaa! (Notice the tinkerbell shoes from Mommy and Daddy, too!)

Fluttering around the house.

She would've gotten these boots eventually, anyway, since this is all she'll wear in the winter... so I wrapped them up and called them a gift. She wore them in the 90 degree weather to the grocery. :)

I found this tent (from Roxy and Bella!) pretty much in every square inch of the house at some point.

More dress up! (Thanks, Aunt Kendra!) And, a shopping cart with groceries from Mom and Dad. This girl dresses very fancy for a quick trip to the store. (We set her room up like a grocery store.) :)

Ada really racked it up in the toy department- a singing bathtub Ariel from MiMi, a soft stuffed Dala horse from MorMor, a Barbie and matching pony from the Atlee girls, and a Target gift card she still gets to spend from Pop and Honey! And, not to mention- much of the birthday party from Grams and Papa!!! She played fervently with everything today- probably the best day of her entire life thus far.

We went to her favorite dining establishment tonight- Fajita Willies. I don't think she's ever tasted anything from the menu- she just likes to play in the sand box. :)

I love this girl SO much.

And that's it. Her birthday is over- she's officially 3. How can I stop time!?

Turnin' Three by the Sea!

2011-09-24T20:48:00.001-05:00

Well, one heck of a day was had by all today at Ada's 3rd birthday party!!! For a quick look back at her other birthdays; click here for the day she was born, click here for her 1st Birthday Party, and click here for her 2nd Birthday Party.
Today was absolutely AmAzInG, and I highly recommend holding your next birthday party at Moody Gardens Galveston! (The only downside is that it IS a far drive for your guests- and let me tell you, our friends and family that made that trek are so amazing! We also had several friends get sick last minute, and we missed them dearly!!!!)

Here are the million pictures from the day- thankfully Andi brought her camera and took over the photography when my camera died 20 minutes into the party (d'oh!)... so many of these are stolen from her!!! :)

Babe the penguin!!!!!!!!! She is honking for us here.

Birthday girl, about to blow out her candle.

Happy birthday to my favorite sister!

Fun was had by all- even the baby!

Uncle Rick and Donny.

There was a glass window to the actual aquarium in our party room! This was what the girls did much of the time.

Beautiful Bella Boswell.

Sweet Roxy and me- She and Bella drove all the way from College Station. Love them to death.

Present time!!!! Ada's girlfriends were SO sweet and patient, and such good friends to help her out so nicely! (Seriously- how much restraint should a 3 year old have to exercise!? We will be spoiling them on their birthdays with AWESOME gifts because they were such sweeties!)

It was feeding time (and repair time) during the party- the girls were fascinated.

Ada got a stuffed octopus to kick her day off this morning- she's showing it off.

Thank you so much for coming to my party, Bella!

Ada and Olivia in the shark cage.

Mom and Steve!

James, Andi, Dax, and MorMor!

There was a little aquarium photobooth set up in the party room. The girls were obsessed.

There was a sand-art fish necklace making station- one of many adorable "stations" at the party. These people did an amazing job- I didn't have to lift a finger!

Headed to Palm Beach water park!!!!!!!!

Caitlin and Olivia comin' down the slide.

LoVe this picture that Andi snapped- and I love that you can see Caitlin, Olivia, and Daddy standing at the top laughing!

Please, don't do this on Spring Break in 15 years.

BFFs lounging on the beach together. Love.

And here is everyone that made the long trip down to celebrate sweet Ada's 3rd birthday- several were there only in spirit, due to extentuating circumstances (Christian, The Schilhabs, and The Moebeses)- we love you ALL, and can't thank you enough for spending such a special day with Ada!!!!!!!!

Unforgettable day, for an unforgettable girl. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ADA GRACE DOWELL! I love you more than you'll ever know!

Ada Grace Dowell

2011-09-23T21:14:00.003-05:00

I still can't believe she's about to be three. More posts and pictures to come from this weekend, I'm sure... But I was just getting really emotional wondering where the hell the time has gone, so I decided to be proactive and post a blog! :)

Ada's Birthday Weekend Kick Off!

2011-09-23T09:36:00.000-05:00

I cannot believe Ada's birthday weekend is officially HERE! We're kicking off the festivities with cupcakes at school today- she's beyond thrilled! Then birthday party tomorrow (ack!), and then her special spoiled day on her actual birthday- Sunday.

Some more Ada-isms since my last post:
Ada: Did you hear that? It was my bottom. Tooting.
Me: Ada, I love you so much! Ada: I kkknnnnnoooooowwwww, Mom!
Ada (when asked what she learned on the Smart board at school that day, in a sing-song voice): I learned about Tippy-Toe-ing, Tippy-Toe-ing!

A Random Weekday Post

2011-09-20T15:24:00.002-05:00

I'm pumping at school as I write this! (TMI? Sorry.) My friend helped me rig up a way to be able to pump at my desk so I'm not just wasting 45 minutes of my doing nothing but pump (she actually GAVE me her curtain to cover my window)! So now I can enter grades, email parents, etc during my conference, lunch, and after school, just like every other normal human being! :)

So, I thought I'd post a quick blog. We had a NICE relaxing weekend at the Dowell house-nothing special to write about. Here are some cute pictures I've snapped recently with my phone:

My principal gave all of us preggos this Katy Tiger onesie last year as a gift- here's Dax sportin' his!

It's school picture week, and the photographer requested the kids bring their favorite cap, headband, or bow... so we went out and purchased Dax one. :)

OMG, so cute. We got him a more "normal" one, too... but I didn't take a picture. I can't wait to see which one the photographer goes with! (Ada just went in a big yellow bow to match her dress and Dax's shirt).

Ada's birthday party is this weekend!!!! I sent this little sheet out with the invitations, and I thought it was just so adorable. So I took a picture of it because I want to remember it forever. (It's supposed to help guests in purchasing a gift for her- it includes her favorite colors, TV shows, pasttimes, etc.)

Here's my silly girl playing around yesterday afternoon with her cell phone.

Some recent Ada-isms:

(see picture above): I'm calling somebody. Someone's ringing ME! Hello? Hi. I have 6... 8....11 soft animals. (She kept rambling after this but I lost track of the conversation.)
(when catching a whiff of a skunk on our drive to school): OOHH!! My nose is grody!
(in a pink blur whizzing past me): I LOVE RELAXING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Momma, I got a WEDGIE...
She apparently saw a commercial for the movie "The Green Lantern", and constantly refers to it as "The Green Light Man." HA!
Stay still. Don't move a muscle. This is breakable.
Stephen's shoes (at school) are so ugly. They have SPIDERMAN on them.
Tickly my feet. Now this one. Now this one. Now this one.
Whatcha making? (Me: a baby tie.) Oh, for your business?
Oh, Dax, you love me so much, don't you!?
She thinks if she just tells me we're doing something, I'll just happily follow along:

We're not going to school today.
We're not washing hair today.
We're not stopping at the grocery today.

MOOOOOOOOOM, DAX IS LOOKING AT ME!!!!!

Dax- 6 months

2011-09-17T13:20:00.000-05:00

Dax is 6 months old... a half of a year! We love him more and more everyday. His personality is still just as awesome as it was March 16, but it continuously reveals itself more and more.

He's still so happy, smiley, and easy-going. But don't be too wild and crazy with him- his initial reaction is to think you are an alien, his next reaction is fear. (He has a more "cerebral" sense of humor; as opposed to slap-stick comedy!)
Separation anxiety is beginning- don't spontaneously grab him from me, you'll burn a bridge forever!
This kid has got GRIT and DETERMINATION. He's already army crawling everywhere- simply because he figured out that if he spots something he wants, the most efficient way to get his hands on it is to take care of it himself.
He loves school, and ADORES Miss Terry. (All of his teachers really, but he has a serious soft spot for her!)
He also adores his sister, Ada Grace Dowell. :) She intriguing and hilarious to him.
He's sitting up by himself for a few minutes (minutes!) at a time, and babbling lots- with a few "mamas" in there. Music to my ears, even though he has no clue what he's saying. :)
He loves to push big buttons on toys, especially if it makes a sound happen.
He has two bottom teethies!
He has discovered how to make HUGE splashes in the tub- I can hardly get him clean anymore, he's so wiggly and slippery and chubby!
Still exclusively breastfeeding, but he's eating some solids, too: cereal, peas (his favorite), sweet potatoes, carrots, & squash.
Stats from his 6 month check-up:

95%ile height (durr)
50%ile weight (he was REALLY hungry, so I'm sure he's a little bigger... but that was a big shocker! My linebacker is slimming down!)
95%ile head circumference (gotta fit that big ole brain in there, like Daddy's!).
He also has some minor exema- Dr. G thinks it will not be so bad his skin "toughens" up a bit, but will probably always struggle with it a little bit. Mobley skin. :)

And now, what you've been anxiously awaiting: the Monster Photo Shoot. Let's take a look at the previous Monster Shoots, first:

1 month old.

2 months old.

3 months old.

4 months old.

5 months old.

TODAY: 6 months old-

New and Improved: Sweetish Baby Blankies!

2011-09-17T09:36:00.000-05:00

We've tweaked our design for the Sweetish Baby original taggie-loveys to include a ribbon that can be used as a pacifier clip or stroller/toy clip! They will arrive with an attached ring, but you can use your own binkies you already have hidden in every nook-and-cranny of your own home. :)

How FUNNY that this order was for a baby named "Dex"!?

A humorously horrible morning!

2011-09-14T20:03:00.000-05:00

OK, this is in no way meant to be a debbie downer post (wahhhh-wahhh-waaaaahhhhh!)... it does pertain to pretty much the most chaotic, ridiculous morning I've ever experienced, but I write this with a complete and total sense of humor! I'm just going to write this in a bulleted list form, because I'm far too tired to make it a cohesive story!!!

Casey's out of town (doing something really cool! Was invited to be on an "employee roundtable" of sorts with a few other Aerotek staff members in the region- he flew to Kansas City to have conversations with the Regional VP, and some other dudes that I know nothing about.)
Dax is cutting his two bottom teeth, so he was awake off and on all night- so we're already pretty drowsy and groggy when the alarm goes off at 5am.
I'm doing a huge osmosis lab in Anatomy today that requires 3 jugs of vinegar, 2 gallons of distilled water, 84 plastic cups, a roll of foil, and... get this... 8 dozen eggs.
I try to get a head start and take a load of *crap* out to the car before I am also taking more crap, 2 kids, the kids' crap, etc. I drop 2 dozen eggs. You know the rest... Thankfully in the garage, and in tightly knotted grocery bags. Whew!
Dax is up and at 'em. He poops. That's bad enough for it's own piece of the list.
The poop gets everywhere. He poops more as I'm frantically cleaning. I give up and bathe him.
Dax pukes.
Ada's awake- and actually being a total sweetheart. Love her! :)
Everyone is ready, and filing out the door. I spill my to-go coffee.
Get out of the neighborhood onto Barker Cypress, and realize I've forgotten my purse. Turn around to retrieve it...

And, I somehow remained calm through it all (ok, a few curse words were muttered)- AND made it to school relatively on time. But, the thing that made me laugh so hard, and forget all of the above... was when Ada came running to me crying while I was making her chocolate milk. Saying "Momma- I got a wweeddggiiee!" I love these crazy pooping-wedgie kids!

Ada loving on Dax this past Saturday morning. L-O-V-E!

Ada jabbers, Dax almost crawls

2011-09-11T15:56:00.001-05:00

Here's a video of the kiddies. It's nothing special- just a typical weekday afternoon at the Dowell house. This is mostly for the grandparents and other close family members that savor every second of viewing time they can get! :)

Newest Sweetish Baby Creation

2011-09-11T08:29:00.001-05:00

Sweetish Baby has been hard at work this weekend creating a custom piece- Tiffany Reeves, it's ready!!! And it turned out even cuter than the original!!!!! Love love love~

You can see Sweetish Baby's post about it at Sweetish Baby Boutique Blog.

Aggie Game!

2011-09-07T16:28:00.000-05:00

We loaded up the kids (and MiMi!) and drove up to Aggieland for the A&M vs SMU football game this weekend- we had a blast, but we were EXHAUSTED! Here are the adorable pictures-

At the good 'ole Rec center- where our little family started 9 years ago! :)

We ran into my dear old roomie Crystal, and her boyfriend Jason! (They both worked at the Rec with us, too)

MiMi was a genius and brought stickers for Ada "just in case"- and we were into them before the game even began.

Lemme at 'em, coach!

YELL LOUDER, 12th MAN!

Watching the game.

Dax fell asleep, and his thumb was SERIOUSLY in the gig 'em position! This was NOT staged!!!

Excited about this season, and excited to *hopefully* be playing in the SEC next season! :)

Sub-100 Temps = Zoo Trip!

2011-09-07T16:05:00.000-05:00

Well, the temperatures have *finally* dropped to below 100! So we scurried outside this weekend to get some fresh air and use our zoo pass before it expires at the end of this month! :)

Look how close the giraffe was to us! We could have literally reached out and touched him if we'd wanted. He wanted in our picture- he's even cheesing for the camera!

Diagnosis Update! :)

2011-08-29T21:10:00.000-05:00

I'm sorry, I'm just now getting around to updating the news! I got a call from Dr. Black about 3 hours ago- after speaking with the Radiologist, he is sure there is nothing to be concerned about. Dax's heart is in the normal range for size- and no one has ever noticed any funny sounds when they listen to his heart beat and chest (there would have been abnormal sounds present if he had any of the heart defects that can lead to cardiomegaly, from my understanding).

The radiologist mentioned a possible cause for it appearing like "cardiomegaly" is "hyper-inflation." Which, let me tell you, sounds much worse than it is... it means Dax could have been taking a deep breath at the moment the x-ray machine snapped the picture. Which- he was screaming bloody murder. So, yeah. :)

They are probably going to send us for a second x-ray just to cover our bases and be sure, but that is just to play it safe.

Before leaving for the doctor's office this morning- look at those ADORABLE pigtail buns!!!

We all deserved a toy after this weekend (and week)- and Ada was an especially sweet big sister through it all, so she got to choose whatever she wanted (we filled Dax's prescription at Target so we killed three birds with one stone- meds, Starbucks,and shopping). Guess which $25 toy she chose (that barks, sniffs, and walks)? Guess which toy she got in her Sonic happy meal? And guess which toy she prefers now...

My sweetness is on the mend! He felt much better today- he had lots of smiles, snuggles, and giggles. And got all caught up on his eating and sleeping, too.

And, I burned our dinner. I forgot it under the broiler. We still ate it, and it was actually still pretty delish! :)

Dax's Enlarged Heart

2011-08-29T16:44:00.000-05:00

We all know that Dax has a big 'ol heart because he's such a lovey boy. But, now it's a proven fact. Yesterday, when they performed the x-ray to see if he had any pneumonia, they noticed his heart was slightly enlarged. They called it "mild cardiomegaly."

Disclaimer: this is not Dax, nor his heart. :)

I didn't learn of this until we had his follow up with the doctor today (which, incidentally, is Doctor Jerk from my previous post- Dr. G is still out. He was actually semi-kind today. I think he felt like an idiot from treating us the way he did on Thursday- after the ER doctors were so "aggressive" in their testing. He basically admitted he wasn't aggressive enough in his diagnosis... like, probably should've been sent home with some antibiotics 5 days ago.)- anywho- Doctor Black (I will now refer to him by his real name, officially admitting he exists) says 3 things about this "mild cardiomegaly"-

It's probably nothing. 98% of patients (I'm 98% sure he made up this statistic on the spot. I'm sure he meant "a large number of these diagnoses") that have a larger than normal heart, are still within the "normal ratio." Meaning Dax's might be big. But it's most likely nothing to be concerned about.
The fact that the ER physician didn't mention it to me yesterday is probably a good sign.
If it IS larger than the allowed "standard deviations" in this ratio, then something is wrong. They would do more tests (EKG, ECG, MRI/CT scans, etc) to diagnose him. From the research I've done today (which I really wish I hadn't, because now I'm officially freaking out), it's usually a result of Ventricular Hypertrophy in pediatric cases. (The muscles around the ventricles are larger than normal, and the heart has to work harder to pump enough blood and oxygen to the body and/or lungs- depending on which ventricle is affected.)

So now, we sit and wait for the doctor's call to tell us if we forget about it, or run more tests. I know I should have waited to blog about it until I knew more, but I had to get it off my chest!

However, I would ALSO like to point out that it has been rumored that Lance Armstrong also has an enlarged heart. (And maybe Michael Phelps?) So, I think that's all that's going on here: is Dax is destined to be an elite international athlete. :)

The terrible. Horrible. No good. Very bad day (& ER visit). Make that WEEK...

2011-08-28T22:05:00.000-05:00

I try not to moan and groan too much. Especially at times like this when people like Christian are BACK in the ICU, my Dad and Stepmom just sent their baby girl off to college, and my Mom just boarded my little brother on a plane to Germany for 4 months. But brace yourselves, because all of the times I've ever refrained from complaining in my life is about to all come pouring out in this post. I had a CRAPPY week. So did Dax. (Ada's was just fine, LOL!)

It started when we returned to school- and the technology is all screwy, the text book situation is all screwy, and the entire Texas education system is all screwy. I'm so exhausted, overwhelmed, and don't even know where to begin to tackle it all. There is LITERALLY not enough time in the day. I've been eating my lunch on the drive home everyday (I pump on my lunch break). Well, some days I eat it during my conference- at 9am. RIDICULOUS!

I usually don't have many issues just plowing through difficult times and situations, but I'm really struggling with this one (in addition to having more responsibility at home with an extra kid, it's just kind of sending me over the edge. Not that I'd change that fact, ha!) So, on top of a pretty much terrible transition back into school- it rained on Thursday (which I should rejoice about), and I'd forgotten my umbrella- so the kids and I got SOAKED getting into daycare, and then school.

Dax had a GNARLY rash on his throat that was getting worse by the second (it looked so painful and disgusting. We FINALLY got some prescription steroid cream that cured it- the cream he'd been prescribed just wasn't working.) This picture doesn't even do the goriness justice:

THEN, I get a call from daycare on Thursday that Dax is running a 101.5 temperature. I leave 6th and 7th periods in the dust, pick him up, and take him to the doctor. It's a sub for our regular doc (whom we love) who stared at my boobs the entire time he was being a total jerk to me (pick one, dude. You can't do both). Doctor Jerk calls it "just a cold" and sends us home with our tails between our legs.

Dax gets more and more uncomfortable, and his fever gets higher and higher. By Friday night, after a full dose of Tylenol, his temperature is almost 104 still. I'm freaking out- but the on-call nurse says 101-104 is normal. Don't take him to the ER until it's 105. He's fine. It's just a virus. If he's had a fever for 72+ hours, then call her back.

So I wait. And wait. And wait. And take his temperature. And give him Tylenol. And give him luke warm sponge baths. And wait. And at 72 hours on the dot give the on-call nurse a call back. When I answer "yes" to the question "has he been inconsolable for 2+ hours at anytime" she treats me like an IMBECILE for not rushing him to the ER then. (I wanted to tell her she basically gave the OPPOSITE ADVICE just 36 hours prior, but bit my tongue.)

So we head on up to Texas Children's Hospital (they just built one in Katy- it was incredibly convenient. And nice, too! There's your perkiness for the post.)

In the waiting room at TCH. His fever had actually had cooled down a bit, and flirted with the nurses like crazy! Made me feel like the "crazy mom" that rushes her kid to the ER for everything, but I was just glad to see a glimpse of my little man!

The ER pediatrician checks his ears, nose, and throat, and nothing is infected. Still no reason why he's been running such high fevers for so long. So she orders more tests:

Bloodwork. they couldn't find a vein because he's got such adorable chub. So that SUCKED. They poked and prodded my baby for probably 30 minutes. And never got enough blood. He was beligerent and in pain the entire time.

Heel prick: since the nurses couldn't collect enough blood from his IV, they went to the primitive heel prick, which also sucked.

Urine check: wanna know how they did it? A catheter. Up my baby's you-know-what. All the way up to his bladder so they could collect a little pee-pee. ALL FOR NOTHING because he did NOT have a Urinary Tract Infection. Ugh.

Results: White blood cell count is VERY elevated (21,000 when normal is 5-10,000). So they ordered more tests:

XRay: to check for pneumonia. He's congested with very elevated WBC, so why not? I consented. Then declined (freaked out about the radiation). Then consented again. Then declined again. Then finally consented after I talked to Casey. They were so annoyed with me.

Results: no pneumonia. Again, all for nothing. At least I made them double shield his genitals to reduce radiation exposure a little more, and put my mind at ease.

So we still don't know where this bacterial infection is. (I DID make the doctor swear to me that it was NOT bacterial meningitis. She said he'd be hysterically crying OR almost unresponsive, so I think we're in the clear. I'm still keeping a close eye on it, though...just because I'm in one pessimistic mood.)

They gave him an uber strong antibiotic. (again, was supposed to be IV, but couldn't find a vein. UGH. So he got it in a shot form. Poor baby.) And we are supposed to get back in to OUR doctor tomorrow. Which normally I'd complain because this entire fiasco is going to be expensive enough... but I just want to talk to the man we know, love, and trust with our kids to get some closure and information.

Dax is actually comfortably sleeping now (I think the meds are kicking in. Plus we caved and gave him a bottle because he wasn't nursing well... which SURPRISE! I'm starting to get mastitis because of his decreased appetite! So I pumped while Casey fed him. And he ate better than he has in days. Must be uncomfortable in the nursing position)...here are some adorable pictures of my sweetest sweet pea boy in our room after all of the tests and shots and x-rays and pokes and prods- we are just waiting on our discharge papers. I think he could tell we were about to get the hell outta dodge- after a loooong 6 hours in the ER!

Here's to this week being a LITTLE better????

He took a HUGE poop while we were sitting in here waiting. I imagined that was him saying "TAKE THAT, BUTTHEADS!"

First Day of School!

2011-08-22T20:30:00.026-05:00

Can you tell Mickey Mouse was on TV? No one would look at the camera...

Welp, it's officially begun! It's going to be an interesting (difficult?) year with the budget crisis- I'm teaching 6 maxed out classes of Chemistry and Anatomy. Pumping twice a day (once on conference, once on my 25 minute lunch break). My Anatomy and Chemistries pretty much alternate every period (Ideally you want them in clusters-poses the most difficulty on lab days). But so far my kids seem sweet enough. And I have a job. That I do enjoy, so that'll help! :)

Quick comic relief. Facebook convo from yesterday:
Alicia: What's the most awesome thing for me to open class with on the first day of school tomorrow? Ready,Go:
Alicia: I'll start: "I'm Mrs. Dowell, and I have turettes. Bleep bleep bleepity bleep bleepo bleeeep."
FB Friend 1: OK, line up, single file, and the beatings will commence. I SAID SINGLE FILE!
FB Friend 2: Introduce them to duct tape.
FB Friend 3: Tell them to make their way to the carpet and sit criss cross applesauce.
Casey: Hi, I'm Mrs. Dowell, I need to let you know I have short term memory loss... Hi, I'm Mrs. Dowell, I need to let you know I have short term memory loss...
FB Friend 4: Good morning, I'm Mrs. Dowell. First things, first: Safety. Your bunsen burners are already on- place your hand in the flame. Hurts right? Never do that. Next, take the vial marked "HCl Solution." Hold this in your left hand, and hold your eye open with your right...
Alicia: Can't forget my Anatomy classes! "These are your dissection kits. Remove the scalpel. Now pull your hair taut at your forehead...."
FB Friend 5: It says Mrs. Blair on your schedule, but expect you all to address me as Supreme Commander.
FB Friend 6: Good morning, what do you all expect from me? From this class? Oh, wait- you think I want to hear? No, no, no... post your answers to http://www.idon'tgiveacrap.com/.
Alicia: Here's a permanent marker. Go play Tic-Tac-Toe on the Smart Board (that's a VERY expensive interactive white board, BTW)
FB Friend 7: We are SO not ready for tomorrow...

Dax Wants To Crawl...

2011-08-21T20:53:00.000-05:00

I mentioned in my last post that I've noticed Dax secretly practicing to crawl.... well, here he is. Gearing up, at 5 months old. SLOW DOWN BABY BOY! I want you to stay widdle bitty forever!

Dax- 5 Months

2011-08-18T20:56:00.002-05:00

I feel like I just posted Dax's 4 Month Monster photoshoot. But, still here we are- 5 Months! He is the most snuggly, squishy, lovey, smiley baby in the entire world. I can never get enough of him! He began daycare last week, and had a rough go the first few days (see posts below)... but as soon as we got everything ironed out (they needed to get a VISUAL on him rolling BOTH ways before he could nap on his tummy, but he rarely rolls to his back on purpose. So we just had to beg and plead and ~~threaten~~ bribe)- he has been having a blast! And being such a good boy- the ladies love him and his gummy smile and belly giggle. (of course!)

And, speaking of rolling both ways- he's rolling both ways! :) He's been rolling front to back, and we "hastened" the process of rolling back to front for Kids-R-Kids. (He's VERY coachable, FYI. He picked up the roll within about 20 minutes of practicing! And hasn't looked back- I can hardly change his diaper in peace, now!)

I swear the kid is trying to crawl. He can make it half way across the living room if you turn your head by "maneuvering" around- but I've been noticing some pulling up of his knees while he's on tummy time. Yikes.

He loves to play in his jumparoo and exersaucer, but loves to nuzzle his face in my neck and snuggle, too. He's a total Momma's boy, but also enjoys showing off and flirting. He'll socialize with most anyone- but has an affinity for blondes wearing make up. He even likes me a little more if I've got mascara and lip gloss on.

And here's the best part of the post- his monster photoshoot. :) Llllllooooovvveeee.

Interchangeable Tie Onesies Complete!

2011-08-14T13:44:00.000-05:00

O. M. G. I'm obsessed with how these Interchangeable Tie Onesies have come out! If anyone orders any, I'll have to make more- because I'm sending everything I've already created as gifts because I can't just hoard them in the darkness of Dax's closet!

How do I look, Mom!?

PS- I llluuuuuuuuurve my sewing/embroidery machine. Most of these ties have been monogrammed after taking this picture- and it just takes them to the next level of adorable!

Interchangeable Tie Onesies

2011-08-13T02:14:00.000-05:00

Go HERE to see the nearly-finished interchangeable tie onesies- our latest item for Sweetish Baby that I semi blogged about in my last post. I will take some more "professional" looking photos tomorrow of sweet Dax modeling his new set.... but I just couldn't resist giving a little sneak peak!! :)

Solids, Ada's Art, Sweetish Baby, and Mama Bear...

2011-08-12T23:08:00.000-05:00

Random post about some random things! All photos are ones I took with my phone- poor quality, but cute.

Did I mention that Dax started solids, in addition to finally rolling the opposite direction? It was a week of some big milestones for my widdle guy!

"I drew an airplane!" And I thought it SERIOUSLY looked like an airplane.

She cracks me up. Since I won't let her IN the jumparoo, she found a different way to play with it.

MorMor and I at a Sweetish Baby business meeting. Someone is not working hard enough!

This is what I've been piddling around working on tonight- a onesie with interchangeable ties!!! I've got 2 ties sewn and velcro on the ties and onesie.. and a TON of other adorable tie fabric. I can't wait to put Dax in this for church on Sunday! :)

And, to close out this random late-night weekend blog, I want to post a Facebook conversation on my wall today. Dax was still having a rough go at daycare up until this morning. You will see why everything is dandy at the end of the post! :)

Alicia: A mama bear will KILL you if you don't do what you tell them to do with her young. Just sayin'...
Facebook friend: Tonight at 10, a Katy-area mom goes on a killing spree..
Alicia: Local 22 year old daycare employee, loved by all, was mauled and left for dead in Suite 100. Mama bear still on the loose- tranquilizers ineffective.
FB friend: Officials advising residents to let Dax sleep however the f__k he wants.
Alicia (about 20 minutes later): This just in! Daddy bear- who is much taller, bigger, and hairier (and also a fairly successful salesman)- stepped in and resolved the situation in 5 mintues!
FB friend: Mama bear maims and mauls, but Daddy bear kills in one swipe. Which is worse!?

... if you are having trouble deciphering that convo: Dax's teacher was STILL refusing to let Dax sleep on his tummy (even though he'd proven he could roll over 10s of times) because she hadn't witnessed the OTHER roll (which he RARELY does on purpose b/c the kids hates being on his back- the issue in the first place!) She also won't let him sit in the swing longer than 30 min. Period. They are woken up and moved every 30 minutes NO MATTER WHAT. So, Casey called the director and fixed it so I could quit worrying about it. :) Love you, babe! (BTW- Dax was happy as a lark when I picked him up today, and had taken 2 very nice naps in his crib, on his tummy.)

How 'Bout a Happy Post, Now?

2011-08-10T23:16:00.000-05:00

Ok, I've taken some cute pictures lately, and need to post them!

Julie, Hanna, and Rylan came down for a visit!

At Christian's for his 46th birthday- devouring cupcakes.

Devouring cupcakes with Uncle Rick.

Swimming at Christian's!

The rest of these are just some silly shots I snapped while the three of us were snuggling in bed one morning- but I just think they are so precious! I couldn't even narrow them down to just a few.

Look at my monster feet, Dax!

He loves to grab her hair whenever she's loving on him.

Gimme dat camera.

"Take my picture, Momma! Cheese!"

A Rough Start...

2011-08-10T23:02:00.000-05:00

So, school is right around the corner. I'm officially back on "duty" next week. Waaaaaaaaaaaa. I'm weaning Dax into daycare this week. I don't like it one bit. And neither does he. :'(

Dax sleeps on his tummy- he has since he was just a few weeks old. It's a huge "no-no" these days. But he was waking up about every 30 minutes at night on his back (even swaddled)- so his chances of a SIDS tragedy were about 1 in a 1000, but his chances of something else terrible happening because of a severely sleep deprived mother were much worse. He's been pretty much sleeping through the night since we flipped to his belly. Anyway- they can't let him sleep on his tummy at Kids-R-Kids. (They didn't care at Tigerland, so the thought never crossed my mind as something to worry about. Or I would have- of course.) I understand and respect their adherence to policies- but it made for an AWFUL first day at school. He bawled the entire time. He arrived exhausted, and wasn't able to nap. Then, once he was belligerent enough, couldn't settle down.

I was distraught all afternoon and evening- wondering how I could solve this issue. He has to be rolling over *both* ways for them to allow him to sleep on his tummy. (And they still won't *place* him on his tummy. He has to make it to that position on his own.) So we worked on rolling the opposite way than he already rolls. And, after 1.5 days, he DID IT! We officially have a back-to-tummy and tummy-to-back rolling kiddo. Now, he just has to figure out that when he goes down on his back at school, just flip over and drift off to dreamland. (I tried to catch it on video, but he started fussing immediately after I flipped out the screen. Typical! I still haven't captured the tummy-to-back roll he's been doing since he was 2.5 months old! Mostly because he doesn't do it a TON, since he hates being on his back. Why go there on purpose!?!?)

Anyway, this has turned into a ridiculously long post, when I really wanted to just blog about the following pictures!

These are the photos I sent to decorate his crib with. He's got the coolest pad in Suite 100. :)

And, my sewing machine came in!! Sew I've been pracicing (HA! Get it!?). I decided to create Dax an absorbant cover for his lunchbox ice pack because it gets condensation EVERYWHERE the minute its temperature drops. I've got some serious perfecting to do, but I think it's a cute idea to try to sell over at Sweetish Baby!

I was initially going for my go-to child's character, a monster. But realized it is really more of a frog. Whatevs.

I even sewed in some velcro! :) I want to be able to take it off and wash the thing.

I freaking love this boy. His day was MUCH better today, BTW. He even showed a glimpse of his true personality with a few smiles and giggles for the girls. He's going to be OK!

New Business Venture! Meet Sweetish Baby-

2011-08-03T20:01:00.000-05:00

OK, I've been DYING to blog about my latest adventure, but was giving some of the items pictured below as gifts, and didn't want to spoil the surprise!! But they should have all arrived safely (and hopefully soundly!) by now, so I'm so excited to introduce to you: Sweetish Baby!

Online Boutique- www.Etsy.com/shop/SweetishBaby
Blog- http://www.sweetishbabyboutique.blogspot.com/

It's a business that began with MorMor and I collaborating on these adorable baby blankies-

These will be the primary focus of Sweetish Baby (read the profile on the website - www.etsy.com/shop/sweetishbaby- for a more flowery description of our services)... but I always have funky "pop art" ideas inundating my mind and thoughts, so I will probably sporatically paint some pieces for the site as well. Here are a few that I was moved to create just yesterday!

Obviously, these are nothing special. I'm not what you would call "artistic" or "talented"... but I am creative and resourceful, which sometimes counts for something! :)

So, I've already been picking MorMor's brain on the sewing front (I've actually purchased a sewing/embroidery machine already- I'm SERIOUS about this, and so optimistic!) , putting her to work with the few orders that we have already recieved (by networking, not via the site. YET!), and now the floodgates have opened in my brain and the ideas are pouring in! :) Follow us at http://www.sweetishbabyboutique.blogspot.com/ for the latest shop scoop!

You Look Like A Beach Angel!

2011-07-31T17:41:00.004-05:00

We ventured back down to Moody Gardens this weekend! But this time, we booked a hotel room and made a mini-vacation out of it. We also hit up the strand, the beach, and the hotel pool- making it an action packed, exhausting weekend! Lines from that Travelocity commercial kept popping in my head all weekend: "Our girl's a genius!" "Our boy's an architect!" "You look amazing." "You look like a beach angel!"

In the gift shop at the dinosaur exhibit-
Ready to see some scary sharks!

Surprised, as usual, to look up and see me staring at him-

Locked in the shark cage, ready to dive!

At Palm Beach-

At the Ice Cream Parlor/Candy Shoppe on the strand-

At the REAL beach!! Notice Ada's new swimsuit. I forgot her other swimsuit at home. Who does that? Forget their kid's swimsuit on a vacation centered around swimming? Me.

MiMi was gracious enough to come along for a third set of adult hands, too! I had a cute picture of MiMi, Ada, Casey, and Dax- but it didn't upload. And if I upload it now, it'll screw up the alignment of all of my text. I'll post it on Facebook! :)

Solids!

2011-07-31T17:37:00.002-05:00

Dax got his first taste of cereal today... not just a taste. He inhaled the entire bowl!

He scarfed the stuff down, fussed if I took too long to re-load the spoon, and gobbled it up like he's been eating solids since before he was born! Yumm...

Mission Master Revamp: Complete!!

2011-07-25T10:30:00.016-05:00

After living in this house for three years, I have FINALLY decorated our master bedroom!! This was the last room in the house that needed to be done (aside from the office, but that really just needs a few more office-y things).
These are the kids' rooms, since we're on the subject-
Ada's - http://thedailydowell.blogspot.com/2010/08/adas-mod-pod.html
Dax's - http://thedailydowell.blogspot.com/2011/01/african-safari.html

Here is the before. Decent enough, I suppose. This is the color that our entire house was when we moved in. It's mind-numbingly bland. I WILL paint the rest of the house. Eventually...
I've been collecting things throughout the summer with my master plan in mind; and I committed to the final step this weekend- painting the walls. Once that was complete, it was a whirlwind of fabric, frames, and hardware! Oh, and Adele's new album. :)

First, a quick thanks to Team Dowell for their support, assistance, understanding, and positive words of affirmation-

And, here it is! In all it's glory! I LLLOOOOVVVEE it (said in a growly voice). In fact, rarely are my visions realized EXACTLY how I'd hoped. And this one met and exceeded all of my expectations! I don't even mind the mis-matched nightstands and our cheap bed. They just add to the eclectic vibe I was aiming for. :)

MorMor recovered our old throw pillows with leftover fabric that I didn't frame. :)

We cashed in our credit card rewards and got a new TV! It's awesome.

"Crap, now I have to go home and tell my husband I spent $100 on lamps." -Saturday's Facebook status. I just couldn't resist them- they were calling my name.

I painted our bathroom while I was on my painting rampage. I decided to go a shade lighter than the bedroom for a two-tone look.

The best part of finishing the room? The kids and I snuggled for 1.5 hours this morning watching movies and drinking our coffee & chocolate milk. LOVE.

Tada!

ENT and Children's Museum

2011-07-20T13:37:00.003-05:00

Yesterday Ada had her biannual ENT check up for her ear tubes (which went well, and the kids were total angels the entire appointment), so we hopped on over the the Children's Museum while we were in the neighborhood. This was the first time I'd taken Ada to some of the "big kid" portions- like "Kidtropolis" which is like a mini-city. (And the face painting station, which you'll notice in the following pictures!) It's so cute, and Ada had a ball!! (All pictures are just ones I snapped with my phone- I was not about to lug around my real camera in addition to the 500 lbs I was already carrying!)

Grocery shopping at the mini-HEB. She even got to "check out" with a "cashier" and fake credit card!

Nursing a bunny back to health at the vet clinic-
In the art studio-the black lines are hills, she said. (Just to be clear- I wrote the A!)

Dax and I observing-

Then we headed up to the "Tot Spot"- where I turned Ada loose and let Dax out of the papoose for a bit. He loved it! I parked him in this little cushioned "pocket" and let him explore a little-

Intrigued by this airplane-he kept knocking it off the ledge (because his hands are still more like paws!), and then he'd fuss because he wanted it back-

Typical pass-out scene on the drive home from an awesome day-

When we got home, I plopped Dax into his jumparoo, switched the function on one of the toys from the most simple "color flash and 1 musical note" to "woman stating the color and shape in English, French, and Spanish" mode... This was his reaction- a little confused?

I loved this picture of Ada for some reason. I think she's so pretty.

Dax- 4 Months

2011-07-16T17:57:00.004-05:00

NO, he's not 4 months old! Yes, he is. And he just gets more adorable, awesome, amazing with each month.

Ada has nick-named him "nushooginah"... I have NO CLUE what it means, where she got it, or what she may be *trying* to say. But it is seriously sticking. Sorry, Daxy!

He's starting to occasionally roll over the opposite way- but it's usually more of a knee-jerk reaction to rolling his normal tummy-to-back. He's not crazy about laying on his back, and I think he realizes that mid-roll; and must get back to his tummy ASAP!

He can sit semi-unsupported for extended periods- if he would just quit wanting to crawl so bad that he throws himself forward! This kid is constantly trying to devise ways to be mobile. Which I do not like. I don't like it one bit!

He'll giggle if you act really silly or tickle him- and still very smiley. But he also has a very serious side if he's learning something new, studying an item or person, or is simply thinking. (About what? I'd like to know!) Much different from Ada, who was content to just make herself laugh! :)

He's getting re-accustomed to his carseat- it is no longer the bain of his existence.

He lllooooves to read- he'll sit still and listen and watch me read to him for up to 20 minutes sometimes. So cute!

Here are pictures from our 4 months monster photoshoot! Love this baby boy with all my heart!

Here he is lunging forward out of a perfectly fine seated position-

LOL!-

The Greatest Show on Earth?

2011-07-16T17:44:00.004-05:00

We went to the circus today (with a little pit stop by the Take Care clinic for Ada's bout of swimmer's ear)... and it was surprisingly unimpressive. Maybe I'd talked it up too much? Maybe I wanted shock, awe, and magic? Maybe we didn't have the greatest seats? Oh well, it was something to do on a Saturday, indoors! :) It wasn't bad, and we had a good enough time.
We ate our fair share (and the elephant's share, too) of crap concessions-

Dax enjoyed splitting his viewing time between the show and Ada-

Ada had cotton candy for the first time in her life-

I did love the elephants! How can you NOT love the elephants? I know this is total animal cruelty, but it's still adorable-

The circus was decent, but the real spectacle was the ringmaster's leotard-tight pants. Among other things..

And Dax changed into this shirt when we got home. Actions may speak louder than words, but these words are pretty cute!

Look at him sitting up only lightly supported!

Boredom = Budget Buster

2011-07-12T13:02:00.003-05:00

GAH, we are bored! (And by "we" I mean me. Ada and Dax are perfectly fine to sit around indoors all day and play with their toys!) It is that point in the summer that we've been on break for long enough that we've done everything we can possibly do that won't induce a heat stroke, but not quite close enough to the end of the vacation that I'm sad and cherishing every single second of it yet. We. Are. Just. Bored.

So on Friday, I threw my hands up in the air, screwed my weekly cash budget (which I've actually done every week this summer- I've convinced myself that our bedroom redo doesn't count, and shouldn't have to come out of my budget. Which it can't. It'd never be finished, ha!) We went shopping for new toys, got snacks at Target, and then we to lunch at Chick-fil-A.

Dax got a new Jump-a-Roo. He jumps in the Exersaucer- which wasn't made for jumping- so it was kind of inevitable that he'd need one. I called Casey for his opinion on the 2 I'd narrowed it down to... his response: "Just get the most obnoxious one." So, here it is! :) Dax llloooves it.

Ada is VERY into dress up and wardrobe changes lately (I've actually had to put a child lock on her closet, because she was getting a new outfit down every 30 minutes. I was losing my mind. Although I totally deserve it- I actually remember doing the exact same thing to my mom.) So she got a new hot pink, sequence, leopard print dress with a matching ridiculous headband. :)

And there was the Chick-Fil-A cow roaming around the restaurant when we were eating there! Ada went from petrified, to apprehensive, to obsessive stalker by the time we were leaving.

And I'll leave you with this lovely blue Elmo that Ada colored. I was quite impressed with her staying-in-the-lines attempt!

Ada of the Day

2011-07-08T09:42:00.002-05:00

Ada: My Daddy doesn't live on playgrounds.
Me: Nope, Daddy doesn't live in playgrounds. Where would he sleep!!?!
Ada: He sleeps in the house. In beds. And couches.
Me: HAHA!

Purposefully Untitled

2011-07-07T10:08:00.004-05:00

This cracked me up- I put Dax in bed awake every night, where he just soothes himself to sleep, and sleeps through the night. (Naptime is a different story- he's not so cooperative. In fact, this hasn't actually happened in about 3 nights since he's laboring on his first tooth. But I digress...) So I put him in bed awake last night, and thought I heard rustling around- and this is what I found when I checked on him-
HAHA! He was semi-army crawling and pushing up to get a better view of his bunk buddy, "Sleep Sheep." I just thought this view of his little blond head poking out of his bed was hilarious! (Yes, he's still in his pack-n-play in our room. I knew we'd struggle with teething, so I put off moving him! Plus, I just can't bring myself to do it. Separation anxiety on my part.)

We are SO BORED cooped up in the house during these dog days of summer- so we decided to defy all odds and actually get outside to go to the park today. We survived the heat, and we survived our first attempt at the double stroller! Dax did great- he's a little fussy here, but mostly because he's exhausted. (He passed out about 2 seconds after I snapped this shot.)
And yes, Ada is wearing a styrofoam crown and clown bowtie. Here's a close-up:

Love them-

2011-07-06T13:14:00.002-05:00

Ada- 2.5 years

Dax-3.5 months

MiMi's 50th Birthday!

2011-07-05T10:27:00.008-05:00

I canNOT believe my Mom is officially 50! Wowzers. Her age is the only thing "50" about her though- she is still young, hot, and hip in every other area! :) She practices Yoga like a yoga master, jogs with her iPhone/iPod, is a facebook fanatic, blogs, she's been texting since I've been texting, dates like a 20 year old, is tan and blonde, cuter figure than me, finds all of the coolest toys and books for Ada (and Dax), and is smarter than a 5th grader for sure. We love you, MiMi! Happy 50th Birthday- we had an awesome time celebrating YOU! Here are some pictures from MiMi's birthday bash at Christian's-

MiMi as a baby. Wasn't she CUTE!?!??!

She's got a thing for pinwheels- I found these on clearance at Hobby Lobby! They'll be making more appearances at future MiMi parties, I'm sure. :)

They are each other's "monkey."
Stripped down and ready to swim within minutes of arriving.
There was a MAGIC SHOW!And a Creation Station- everyone had to create at least one masterpiece for MiMi to take home on her birthday. The instructions and inspiration pictures:
First participants- Ricky, Donny, and Drew. They drew lovely penguins. (WTH??)
All of the cousins! Plus a naked Ada, ready to swim-
Some of the brilliant creations-
Tina's sunflower-
Rick's mountains (I had NO idea my uncle was so talented!!)-

Dax's hand and foot flowers-

Rick's autumn trees (this was the grand prize winner- a Starbucks gift card!)-

The 2nd place winner was Heidi's "Yellow Sunglasses" decoupage collage- also receiving a Starbucks gift card!-

Some of MiMi's BEST friends- Tina and Heidi. They drove all the way from Cleburne to come!

Tina practicing for her granddaughter, coming soon!

Finally getting to swim! With Daddy and Uncle Rick (the secret artist!)-

MiMi and her BFF from High School, Jana Banana-

Dax enjoying MiMi's party goers-

"I can't believe I'm 50"-

But she definitely doesn't act her age!

Ada interested in my 4th grade basketball portrait. Haha!

Drew set MiMi's cake on fire.

Everyone is very proud that MiMi still has the lung capacity to blow out her candles! (Sorry Mom, I had to crack at least one old joke)-

Ada stole MiMi's birthday accessories-

Princess Ada passed out in the car- What a PARTY! :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIMI! HERE'S TO 50 MORE AMAZING YEARS! :)

New Video Camera!

2011-06-30T18:29:00.003-05:00

Our video camera bit the dust. And it lasted far longer than it should have- it was literally $500 cheaper than all of the others at Best Buy, ha! Grams and PaPa had one laying around the house unused, so they shipped it to us straight from Dubai! It came in the mail yesterday- so naturally I had to give it a few test runs today. It's awesome!

Here's a quick movie of Dax and Ada playing throughout the day today. They crack me up! Be sure to stay tuned until the end (if you're a die-hard Dowell fan) so you can see Ada's daily masterpiece. :)

Thanks Grams & PaPa!

Because I'm not boring. -Ada

2011-06-30T17:58:00.002-05:00

This is Ada, looking at a picture from our wedding-
Ada: "Where's Ada??"
Me: "You weren't there. Because you weren't born yet."
Ada: silence.
---- about 10 minutes later, taking another long stare at the picture----
Ada: "I not there because I not boring."
Me: "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!"

Not only is she not boring, but she's doing AWESOME pottying. Since yesterday afternoon, she's been telling me whenever she needs to go. Dare I say I have a pretty-much-potty-trained kid!? (Knocking on wood as I write this.)

Watch and Dry

2011-06-29T14:58:00.005-05:00

We got out today to meet our mommy/daughter BFFs- the Atlee girls at the mall-
Ada stayed dry the entire time, and used the restroom twice! :) And she even managed this in all the excitement of the world's coolest mall playground, and a carousel ride, too.
And, since we were at the mall, I picked up a little something I've had my eye on for months!! Finally got my watch to wear over my tattoo when school starts back up. I LOVE it! :)