A Day In The Life...

I don't know how many people actually read my blog, but if you are one of them, thank you for listening to me!!!!


Ok, here is the scoop, it's LONG and not very "uplifting" so to speak. After my grandpa died on Dec. 10, it has just been a whirlwind of not-so-good news. Christmas Eve we were in Arkansas visiting my parents and had to take Bailey to the ER. There is no after-hours clinic in their town so we didn't really have another option. So, at 6 AM we were visiting the ER. She had been really congested and had diarrhea for 12 days at that point. Yes, we took her to her doctor a few days before but he didn't do anything so when she was continuing to get worse we went to the ER. Come to find out, she needed antibiotics and is now fine (whew).



Christmas Eve night, we had JUST walked in the door and my sister called to say that my grandpa (my only living grandparent) had been in a car accident. He was taken by helicopter to a hospital here in Tulsa even though he lives in Arkansas (his girlfriend lives here ;) and he was on his way hom from visitin her. Anyway, come to find out, he had a broken ankle, foot, back, neck, sternum, and nose. He is now doing very well. I honestly believe God healed his body because as he is still in the hospital his ONLY injury is a broken ankle! He DID have a broken neck and the doctor doesn't know why he doesn't now! So, I am happy about that but the incident did add a little extra stress to my already somewhat sad holiday.


Saturday night, Zach's mom called to say she was being admitted into the hospital because of chest pains. Come to find out, she had a 95% blockage in one of her main arteries and they had to go in and fix it. She has another blockage that will have to be fixed in a few weeks. No one can or will EVER replace my own mother but Zach's mom is one of the most important, special people in my life and I don't know what we'd do without her. Needless to say, Zach was quite worried about her as well and now she is on some medications to prevent it from happening again but it has DEFINITELY got all of us thinking about losing those (in my case 50 extra pounds)!! For now, she is doing a lot better and says she can breath better and feels better too. I'm very glad!!


Today... remember that ER visit I told you about on Christmas eve? Well, today, Bailey's nurse from her pediatrician's office called and said that the ER called them and said that according to the chest x-ray they did, her heart is in the WRONG place! WHAT? Are you kidding me? So, here we go again trying to now figure out what is wrong with our baby girl! Thank God, about an hour later the ER sent another report to Bailey's doctor saying that they had MIS-PRINTED the x-ray! Ok, maybe mis-printed isn't the correct word, but either way it was THEIR mistake and there is NOTHING wrong with our baby! However, before finding this out, Zach and I nearly had a heart attack thinking something was wrong with our baby who will be one on Tuesday (by the way :)

Tomorrow morning I have to see the orthopedic spinal surgeon about my back. I am in excrutiating pain about 75% of the time and as much as I try to ignore it, it's really starting to effect my daily life (I'm an English teacher and I still have a hard time with effect/affect, please forgive me :) ). So, hopefully he doesn't say surgery but if he does, we will pray that the money comes. I have to do something I can't stand long enough to take a shower without wanting to cry and I've pushed through it as long as I can. After labor I kind of turned into what I thought was "super~woman" After natural labor I thought I could handle anything and I stopped having sympathy for people who couldn't. So, though I do still think I have a decent pain tolerance, I am starting to have my sympathy back and I DON'T think I'm super mama anymore! Please pray that all goes well!!!

At this point I am praising God that everyone is ok and we are all doing well. We are starting to get to the point where we don't want to answer our phones because we are afraid it will be bad news!

Here are some Christmas pictures and a side note to my friend Tiffany and her husband Zach, I pray that your baby will come soon! I read a post from someone else that said the longer you wait, the more you appreciate your little one. Sometimes, I think God didn't make me wait long enough and I feel un-worthy of being a mommy when I get frustrated at little B. I know it's normal to feel that way and to get frustrated and even though I love her more than myself or ANYTHING else, I sometimes wish I were a better mommy. Tiffany, you are going to make an AWESOME mom and I can't wait to hear some good news from you. As I've said 100 times before, God doesn't give you the desire to want something so badly and then deny you of it! Keep your chin up, you are such a role-model for me!


CHRISTMAS MORNING AT THE ESTES' (The first 2 are a few days after Christmas)

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

The blog is under construction. I have the WHOLE afternoon to myself so I hope to add Christmas pictures soon! We have hardly been home since last Sunday and I've been a little slow getting the blog updated. Hope everyone had a Wonderful Christmas!

First picture with Santa

Last night we went to dinner with some friends and then took a picture with Santa. Don't our girls look cute together? :)

The Worst Week

We are home now from a LONG weekend at my parent's house. It was not a fun, or a planned trip. Last Sunday, my sister called to say my uncle passed away. I wasn't extremely devastated because I didn't know him very well. However, I still felt very badly for my mom and her family. I know that they were close and death is so hard anyway. Wednesday was pay day! Zach and I went to wal mart to get Christmas cookies so that we could decorate with Bailey. About 8 o'clock we got another phone call. My grandpa died. I didn't know what to think, I still don't. I have never been so sad in all my life! So, Thursday we drove to Arkansas to be with my family. I honestly never thought grandpa would die. He was always so healthy until about a month ago. When we went to the funeral I just started at him. I kept hoping it wasn't real! I wished it wasn't real. I still don't think I believe that he's gone. I couldn't stand the thought of the casket being closed and it being the last time I'd ever see him. I didn't know anything could hurt this much and I still feel like I might not ever get over it.

Bailey's First Christmas

Eye Infection

I've never had pink eye or a cold in my eye, or ANY eye issues! Today, is my first official day of "eye infection." It's absolutely HORRIBLE! Bailey had it last week and thank goodness I took her to the after hours clinic because it was worse than just a clogged tear duct. So, today I woke up with "ishy" coming out of my eye. It is SO disgusting! Bailey luckily feels better and I am reaping the benefits of her eye drops! OH DEAR! Mommies aren't supposed to be sick!

Picky Eaters

Though, I love my husband, he is quite the picky eater! We are currently dealing with sore throats and "green snot" so he asked for soup last night. I really like to cook and I tend to try to change things up a bit when I make things so that we don't feel like we eat the same foods all the time (although we do and I can't really help it). So, here is what I did and it was GREAT! You should try it!

First, I used my Vidalia onion chopper (which I bought BC {that means before child} when we had money). I bought it because I thought it was "cool." I never use it! After I peeled the potatoes, I cut them in half and chopped them in the onion chopper so it made potato "sticks" instead of cubes. This was my first great thing! They cooked faster and everything was more evenly distributed. Then, I put in about half the pot full of water, one can of chicken stock, one can of campbell's cheddar cheese, about a 1/4 cup of velveeta and the rest was milk (so that I could monitor the "soupiness" (is that a word)? Then I cubed 2 ham steaks. VERY YUMMY! So, yes, I am proud of myself for this one!

In other news... and since the post is titled "Picky Eaters" I will move on to discuss Bailey's current pickiness! She used to eat just about anything I put in front of her (even non-food items)... toys, dog food one day, lint, button to her halloween costume... etc. Lately, I can't get her to eat ANYTHING tomato based. She won't eat ravioli, spaghetti, baby food with tomatoes, or basically anything red. What is wrong with my "almost perfect" child? Oh well... as long as she will still eat green beans, I guess it's ok. However, she's also decided if she doesn't want to eat something she will spit it back at me and then laugh. Isn't that just precious (note the sarcasm). If she could live off of vanilla wafers, she would be one HAPPY girl! Too bad that is not a food group, huh?

HOORAY FOR MILESTONES :)

We are FINALLY crawling! All it took was an area rug at grandma's house! Bailey also learned how to say "Baby" this weekend. I am SO glad she's finally crawling. We bought her a Dora ball and she chases it all over. When we got home this afternoon she has learned that she can also now crawl on the hard wood floors at home.

Here is a VERY small sneak peak at our "photo-shoot" at grandma and grandpa's house this weekend. I hope everyone had a GREAT Thanksgiving.

Can you "Read" our tree?

Yes, that is correct, I asked if you could READ the tree! As first time parents, we sometimes do things that we wouldn't normally do. Typically, we would not put our OWN names on our tree but now that we have Bailey, well... see for yourself. :)

I am typically not so excited to decorate for Christmas, and YES, we did it early this year. However, this time I actually enjoyed myself. It was calm, fun, and Bailey had a good time too. We gave her a nativity set and read her the Christmas story which was a little emotional for me, it being her first Christmas and all. Here is how the rest of our afternoon went... Enjoy

And my personal FAVORITE (Daddy takes the best pictures)...

FREE STARBUCKS!

Laurie LOVES peppermint! If you go to this site, you can register to win FREE starbucks stuff :)
http://laviedelaurie.com/2008/11/18/the-little-red-cup-giveaway/#comment-6869

Bailey, and friends

A few weekends ago, Zach and I decided to take on the project of painting the bathroom, (except I'm not "allowed" to paint b/c well, I STINK at it!) Anyway, as I said before, we would like to sell our house so we wanted to get a few things done before we list it. Bailey spent the afternoon with our friends and their little girls, Arianne and Gabby. **side note, Gabby will some day wish that she enjoyed wearing clothes and that her "naked" self was not plastered all over the internet** That said, I love you Gabby and you are cute clothed or not :). (By the way, she is NOT naked, she has a diaper on) :) Bailey LOVES Arianne and Gabby. They are all SO cute! Here are some pictures of their afternoon.

And Thank you to Meredith/Nanny for taking the pictures :)

Some other funny stuff... Last night Zach and I were watching old videos of Bailey. She got SO excited to see herself on the computer screen! She laughed and laughed at the videos!

BLOGGY AWARD

I got a comment from Tiffany that I had something "on her blog." When I got there I noticed, I HAVE MYSELF AN AWARD!!!! THANKS TIFF!!!!



So, here are the rules to receiving this award:
1. You have to pass it on to 5 other fabulous blogs in a post.
2. You have to list 5 of your fabulous addictions in the post.
3. You must copy and paste the rules and the instructions below in the post.

Instructions:
On your post of receiving this award, make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them. When you post your five winners, make sure you link them as well. To add the award to your post, simply right-click, save image, then "add image" it in your post as a picture so your winners can save it as well. To add it to your sidebar, add the "picture" gidget.
Also, don't forget to let your winners know they won an award from you by emailing them or leaving a comment on their blog.

My 5 addictions that keep me going:
1. Bailey! I am totally addicted to my baby girl! I love every moment that I spend with her!
2. Diet Coke~ I really do not think I could live without the stuff!
3. The internet~ Gonna have to go with Tiff on this one! I LOVE THE INTERNET! I LOVE MY E-Mail and my blog and e-bay!
4. My Job~ I know lots of people don't like their jobs! I, however, have a DREAM job and I love all of my students and my classroom, my other teachers, and especially the secretary! She is the best!!
5. Grey's Anatomy~ TOTALLY Addicted! It's bad, I know but I can't get enough of it!

I don't have many friends on my blog so I will list a few which I check daily and then some I have seen that I love!

1)Tiffany~The Pifer Family
2)Jessica ~Davidjessicamccash

3)Brandy ~ FosheFamily ~Brandy, I saw on Jessica's blog and she takes the most BEAUTIFUL photo's.
4)Amy~ Youareaflonmywall~I also "met" amy on Jessica's blog... ANY TIME you want to mail me some pumpkin seeds, go RIGHT ahead!!



SORRY! I could only come up with 4. Congrats girls! LOVE your blogs :) Thanks again Tiffany!!

Reading Baby

I believe Zach and I have a genius baby. HAHA, I know everyone thinks that about their child. Bailey has learned how to "read." Ok, not REALLY, but she does know what books are for. Her favorite is "Goodnight Moon." She will sit with it for an hour. She'll go through the pages and "read" to herself. Granted, it's 10 month old language but it's still cute. We love her so much.

In other news... despite how much we love her, I would LOVE for her to go back to her own bed. We had a bit of an issue at our house which prevented her from sleeping in her room. It's taken care of now and I would REALLY like to get her back to her bed on her "sleeping-all-night" schedule but last night it was NOT happening! She's been back in bed with us for about 2 weeks! Oh dear! what have we gotten ourselves into?? :)

I'll try to post some pictures of my little~avid~reader soon.

Bailey is 10 months old today! I can't believe how big she is getting. I remember how I felt about a year ago Hoping, praying, begging, crying for it to be over with! Believe me, the 10 months following pregnancy have FLOWN by! I actually would like to have another baby (if we could afford it)!

Zach and I are looking into buying a different house. Last weekend was spent cleaning up the kitchen floor and re-doing the bathroom. I think I still smell paint, haha. I am So tired of only having one bathroom that I cannot wait until we are finally able to move from our house! We were going to list it now but have decided (I think) to wait until after Bailey's birthday in January. We would like to enjoy our first Christmas with her and her birthday before we move. However, if something great came up now I would be ALL over it!

Here is a 10 month picture of our "not-so-little" baby girl.

Pumpkin Patch

We took Bailey to the pumpkin patch on Saturday. Here are the pictures :)

OUR FIRST HAY RIDE

Daddy, do you think the goats will eat me? I wonder if I can eat this...???

9 months old.

Well, our little baby is really growing up. Last night, we went shopping for Christmas and for her birthday. One of the toys she just couldn't wait to get... and we couldn't wait to give it to her. She LOVES it.

She turned 9 months yesterday. I can't believe how big she is!

This week, Zach's mom started keeping Bailey here. The last 2 days have been AWESOME! I haven't had to clean anything and tonight she even made us dinner! Chicken and dressing is one of Zach's favorites but... I'm not very good at making it. So, it is SO nice having her here and we are SO thankful to have her keep our little precious!!

Bailey needs an evening nap so I will have to post more later.

Oinkalicious!

Here are a few "pig"tures of Bailey's Halloween costume.

8 Months Old Today

Ramen Noodles

Yesterday, while we were sick, I fed Bailey some warm Ramen Noodles because I thought it might soothe her throat (not that I knew she had a sore throat but since she seems to have a cold I thought it couldn't hurt to try to help it if she did). Here is a picture of her eating her noodles. (and yes, I am aware that she doesn't look sick in this picture, but I assure you... she was up ALL night the night before and VERY stuffy, and CRANKY)
SHE IS SO PROUD OF HERSELF!


And here is a picture when I realized how many she DIDN'T eat and I had to give her a bath. HAHA!!

Sick day

Bailey and I stayed home today because we are sick. She's been stuffy for a few days and Zach was sick ALL weekend. I thought I snuck by without getting it but in the middle of the night I woke up with a sore throat and I could only breath out of one side of my nose (which we all know is SO much fun). So, we are home. Of course, she's acting FINE now, but she was up ALL night and at 4:30 she decided it was time to get out of bed and play... NO BAILEY, we don't play at 4 AM! Anyway, I'm hoping she'll get a nap soon so I can too!

UPDATE, Pictures, and more

Wow, it is definitely time for an update. Well, We will be starting our 3rd FULL week of school after the long weekend. I guess it's not really a full week since we have Monday off (but who's complaining)? I have a GREAT group of kids this year! They are definitely a little piece of heaven after last year. Not that last years kids were ALL bad but they were definitely a hard group. Much hallway talk has gone on this year about how these kids are much better behaved! So, only 33 weeks to go :)



Bailey will be 8 months in 8 days!!!! She ate her first hot dog Thursday night. Here is a picture of her last night, eating noodles. She had just had a bath so I put her in her bath robe because I didn't want to risk getting another outfit dirty!

Here are a couple pictures of bath time on Wednesday night. The second one is SO funny!

And... here are some pictures daddy took last night of our little angel! We really don't know what we'd do without her! Isn't she precious? (The correct answer is YES). :)


That's all for now. I'll try to update more often!