halloween

remember how halloween was on a monday? well, the saturday before halloween we went to a party at the rec center near our home. it was a lot of fun for the girls (the games and activities for ellie and the wide open spaces for abby to go walking). ellie rocked the donut on the string activity. seriously, each time she went in for it, she came out with a big bite. i'm wondering if todd has been training with her when i'm not around. ;)

but, back to our story...

at the end, we got popcorn and drinks. we took them over to the large window where you can sit and look inside the pool area. this, of course, got the girls excited about swimming. so, i ran home, got all our gear, and todd took the girls swimming while i went upstairs and worked out. what can i say... todd is an awesome husband and daddy. what a fun evening, right?!!

well, it was ellie's first time swimming without a swim diaper, so there were some repercussions with that. just think along the lines of going down a slide at least 20 times in the 10 minutes i was watching her. ellie went 15 hours before she couldn't "hold it" any longer and wet her pants for the first time since her first day of potty training. i was so nervous this would take her a couple of steps back, but (thank goodness) it was back to old hat and she has been doing great since. it may have helped that i was determined to clean up the mess before cleaning her, so she had to stay in her saturated pants for an uncomfortable little while.

that was sunday.

monday (halloween) morning, we were eating breakfast. it wasn't ellie's favorite, so when she was reluctant to eat, i assumed it had to do with the oatmeal. she didn't eat well the night before, either, but this is ellie- queen of the picky eaters. after telling her that she wouldn't have another opportunity to eat until lunch unless she ate now, she turned her head and threw up. again, this is ellie- queen of the picky eaters and president of the obstinate club. while she hasn't ever made herself throw-up, she does make herself gag whenever we try and force her to take a bite of food when she doesn't want it. so, i didn't think anything of this. but then it happened again, and a third time. all within about a two minute time frame. having had limited experience with a sick child (knock on wood), i gave her juice and crackers soon after. and that came up as well, only this time on my carpet.

ellie was sick on halloween.

all i can say is i am sooo thankful for my sisters. sisters-in-law technically, but since i grew up with four brothers, i am lucky they all married such awesome women who each have specialties that i am able to glean from. i called a couple of my sisters, got a most likely diagnoses, some "how-to" information on cleaning the mess up, taking care of my sick little girl, and what to expect next. i was ready to go.
once again, i was completely lucky. we told ellie she would be able to go trick or treating if she took a nap. ellie gave up regular naps at nine months old and her last one was easily 2-4 months ago, so i just prayed this would work. it did. she laid down and actually fell asleep! and for three hours!!! i had to keep checking on her breathing for my own sanity.
ellie woke up and immediately asked to go trick or treating. after having her eat a decent meal, prove she could keep it down, and show us she was back to her old self, ellie was able to go out trick or treating. we kept her away from the other kids and todd brought her back once to drop off abby. she was feeling well and ready to continue, so was out awhile longer. all-in-all, ellie had a fun halloween night.

 the cowgirls in their wagon

 ellie loves the little pumpkin she got at nona and papa's halloween party. we had to give it a bath so it could come into our home and live with us. it presently is in her bedroom. she loves to carry it around. it is a pie pumpkin, so come thanksgiving...

 p.s. i made ellie's costume. it was one of those many times i am glad my mom and dad moved out here so she could hold me by the hand while i did some parts- but i did it!

p.p.s. i didn't make abby's costume. i found it at gymboree for $5 this summer, but it was what created the cowboy theme.