Later today the grandparents arrive marking the official beginning to Christmas for the kids.  We had our first celebration on Saturday though with our annual "Christmas with the Crowes".  The tradition started even before they were the Crowes--just Stacy and Jeff!  This year they will mark their 10th anniversary so I guess we've been doing this for well over 10 years!  Lots and lots o memories.  The ones pre-kids were pretty fun, but the kids have definately kicked it up a notch...here's how much bigger our foursome is now, aren't they precious??!!

 

Happy Holidays to you and yours! 

 

The countdown has begun.  Of course the advent calendars have been going since Dec 1 but now that the big day is only 10 days away, oh man the excitement is growing.  Nate and I enjoyed the annual Microsoft Formal this weekend, it was great fun!  The theme this year was black tie OR eighties/nineties prom.  I really wanted to go prom but we didn't do the time to find retro.  I'm glad we didn't though as no one really went that direction!  Employees were supossed to send in their senior photo as well.  It was WAY fun every time this popped up on a HUGE screen (which was pretty often since not many complied!!)

 

 

I don't want to jinx it but Audrey's stoma is looking fabulicious!  We've even been able to leave it dressing-free for the past 2 days.  I meant to take a picture today but forgot.  Here is her taking out her baby's button.  For here first bithday I made one of her babies have all the same scars she does and a button.  She loves it and I highly recommend it for those of you who have kiddos with lots o scars.  Make sure you secure the button well though as we've had many a scare on mornings when baby's button fell/got yanked out and it was laying in the crib! 

 

That's what we said this morning after Audrey's button popped out.  Well, that's not the first thing we said.  I was actually not in the room when she yelled "Mommy!  My button fell out, my button fell out" running to find me.  She was getting more panicked by the second so when I saw her I smiled as big as I could through my confusion and said "great! you don't have a button anymore!!!".  She was holding it by it's dressing with the balloon inflated still so it must not have felt too good when it popped out but her panic seemed clearly from the unexpectedness of the event, not from pain.  Apparently the tummy slide off my bed that makes us cringe every time but NEVER has popped it out before, finally justified our cringe.  Fortunately it was excellent timing though as we were seriously planning on taking it out Sunday night!  It's SO crazy how things happen when you need them too.  I wouldn't wished the popping out (as it probably wasn't as comfortable as removing it with the balloon deflated!) but seriously?  How perfect is it that it came out just when we were going back in forth about when to actually do it?  LOVE it!  We had planned on big before and after pics and a video of the big event but since in happened out of our control...I just have "afters" to share.   Her belly will never look the same and I couldn't be happier.  Although, how whack is this...I was a little sad that it's gone just because it's been a part of her for the past 2 years, an integeral part of her body and now it's gone.  I'm such a sap.  All day I kept staring at her belly admiring the flatness where the protrusion from her button used to be, it was a fabulous site to see! 

See ya G-button!  Thanks for helping Audrey stay healthy while she learned to eat by mouth and then to eat enough volume to grow.  I appreciate the 2 years you were here but she's ready to be completely medical device free!  YAY!!!

 

I'll put pics up later, I'm too tired to get them off the camera right now.

but then I stopped, sorry!  I really was working on posting more often.  I realized the other day that January will mark my 3rd year of blogging, that's crazy!  I read LOTS of blogs and while I wish I had the wit and humor to write entries about interesting topics, I think my blogging will always be what's going on here.  A writer I am not and that isn't the purpose of this blog anyway.  I think it's what keeps me from posting more though (that I wish to be more interesting or profound) but I'll save that for when I don't have 3 small children and a husband who lives in Oklahoma M-Th. 

 

Speaking of?  I'm done.  Someone please give me some tools to get through my hump of doneness!  I hate being mean mommy and bitchy wife.  I know we are so fortunate in this economy for Nate to have such a fabulous job and he is an AMAZING husband/father when he is here, but it doesn't make 4 morning, dinner, and bedtime routines all by myself any easier.  I hate complaining to Nate about it because I know he can't change it but ugh, I hate it.  I found myself wishing all three were in school today, how awful is that, wishing your sweet toddler and preschooler to grow up so you can have a break?  And, I just got a break--2 full weekends away in the past 2 months.  What is wrong with me?!!

 

Anyway!  All else is good.  Thanksgiving was a bit of a bust as I had a stomach bug, but we had some good times in San Antonio before it hit.  Christmas has come to the Miller house including our new Elf friend, Georgie.  The magic of him has been HUGE at our house, very exciting stuff.  For those of you who don't know about it...it's an elf that "hides" somewhere new in the house everyday but goes back to the North Pole nightly to report to Santa how you've been.  Now, if it would only have an impact on behavior, I'd be really singing it's praises!  The way their faces light up over it is very fun though! 

We have some other big news coming too---Audrey's button should be gone by Xmas!  She has a nasty chest cold right now but as soon as it clears more, we're pulling it!  I don't want her body to have to fight a cold and heal a wound at the same time.  She's doing great with this cold too, only mild retractions and 3 breathing treatments/day.  I wasn't even concerned about it but when we went for her weight check her doc wanted to check her O2 and sure enough, she was only sating 95 (her baseline is now a normal 99/100).  Still no big deal, but it was funny to me how non-plussed I am by a cold now when just even a year ago it was a big deal.  She's so amazing!  Oh her weight?  Hanging tough in  25 pound land!!  She's been as high as 26 lb 2 oz but hasn't ever stayed 26 for long.  The potty issue is coming around too, almost regular!  We've traded pull-ups for panties permanently too (except for sleeping).   Although the battle over which princess panties she will wear is getting old too.  I give her a choice of 2 and she almost always says "none, I want (whatever I didn't offer)", and she often adds "I want (whatever) right now!"  nice, huh?  She's super charming.  Although the stinker really is, she will charm you forever and then scream at us or her brothers without batting an eye, it's maddening!

 

Finally, my friend Suz had her sweet Lucy Etta Tuesday!   This picture blows me away, who gets that image?  I can remember the feeling of that moment with the boys but not the image (Audrey's is burned in my brain but I thought it may be the only time I would see her alive).  Priceless, just priceless.

Welcome to the world sweet girl!!