Davis Family Update

Could She Get Any Cuter?

Nature is something. Toddlers are so darn adorable the way they say banana ("nana!") and Elmo ("Momo!"), walk to the bathtub naked showing off those cute little cottage cheese cheeks, and climb on to their little bicycles grabbing the handlebars and lifting the feet up preparing for a ride, that parents become these love-sick fools that will happily pick up the sippy cup the child pitches over the highchair for the 7th time, clean up vomit and poop while singing happy songs, and constantly talk about the child when the child finally goes to sleep and gives them a free moment to connect.

Cooking and Riding

Here are some new pictures of Sophia playing with her new kitchen set of pans and food and riding her new bicycle. She took a spin on this bike at her friend Nathan's house and was hooked so we had to get her one of her own to cruise the living room with. Notice the pajamas. This was Sophia's sick period. She briefly played but mostly slept and fussed.

Also included a picture of the recent snow storm that Sara and Kaitlyn had to be dumped out into.

Bubbles!

Sophia is now clearly saying "Bubbles!" She continues to be nuts about bubbles and is quite dejected about the fact that the bubble machine at school is now broken.

So Worth the Money

We have been using the Relish! meal plans for two weeks now and loving it! The food has been really good and pretty easy to make. It really has helped me to get organized and get us all eating healthier. The girls even loved the turkey burgers and calzones I made this weekend which says alot. I feel like some kind of religious convert - I love this idea so much and want everyone to know about it.

We even have a menu planned for tomorrow's Valentine dinner since a) we have no babysitter and b) even if we did, we don't have the money to spend on the overpriced Valentine's menus. We will be having scallops with an apple brandy sauce over wilted spinach, a nice bottle of wine, and some chocolate chip cheesecake for dessert (store-bought - I draw the line and baking things too). Nice.

Kids These Days

Yesterday we received about a foot of snow. In my day, no one had to ask us twice. We suited up and out we went to build forts, make snow angels, throw snowballs, find a hill to go down and eat icicles. We would come in when our feet were completely numb and burning, defrost with a cup of hot chocolate, and go right back out again.

We had to drag the girls up the stairs, get them dressed, and push them out the door only to have them come back in 10 minutes later, saying they were cold, and return right back to their My Scene computer game that they had been playing for hours already.

Puke Attack at the Daycare

They are dropping like flies at daycare. Last week kids were exploding all over the school. Three teachers have been taken down. Sophia put up a good fight but she finally succumbed this weekend and is home with her daddy today. Daddy is also feeling a bit whoozy. Be strong honey!

T.M.X. Is Coming! Hide the Children!

This is truly frightening. Elmo is not annoying enough. They now are coming out with a Tickle Me Elmo Extreme. My child must never know about this.

Getting Life Under Control

1. Meals

We decided to get a 6-month membership to www.relishrelish.com to get ourselves eating better and saving money at the grocery store. So far the meals have all been really delicious and easy to do except for the dish tonight but that may have been because I got pork chops instead of pork tenderloin. Who knew? I used to be vegetarian before Sophia came along. It was an interesting experience though to go to the store and know that each item that I put into the cart was going to be part of a dinner that week. My normal way of grocery shopping is to just put things in that look good and then try and figure out what to do with them once I get home. This made for a very pricey shopping trip and a lot of wasted food. Also, I found that I was filling the cart with much more produce then I would normal get. Definitely a good thing.

2. Pets

OK, we have had it with cleaning up poop, pee, and throw up! We need to make it stop. It turns out that Missy was having these troubles because of the medication she was taking and because the vet thinks she has cancer. We have started her on some new medication to help with the nausea etc. and her appetite has fully returned and she seems much more comfortable. We hope this last for awhile but we are just going to try to keep her feeling good as long as we can.

Jesse is starting anti-anxiety medication tomorrow because we are growing very weary of cleaning poop from her and her cage every other night when we get home from work. This should also get her panting and licking under control as well. Neurotic dog!

People, if you are thinking of getting an animal and you have young children...DON'T.

3. Finances

We are trying very hard to stick to a budget. Brad and I have been bringing lunches in from all of our leftover yummy dinners and spending on clothes, books, etc. have been curtailed. It is going to be a tough thing for awhile but we have got to get saving and stop this paycheck to paycheck stuff.

Look out life. We got you by the tail now.

Playdate #1

Sophia has a very busy social schedule this weekend. Today she accompanied us to visit our friends Dave and Kelly and their son Nathan. She had a blast and thoroughly enjoyed investigating Nathan's large toy collection. They seemed to really like each other's company. Plans are in the works to get together again next month. Pictures can be seen here.

Mehmo!

Today was "Bring a Bear To School" Day for Sophia. Somehow she seemed to know this since she grabbed Elmo and walked to the front door with him this morning. So off we went to school with Elmo in tow. Upon entering the classroom it was as if a celebrity had walked into the room. We were suddenly surrounding by a bunch of toddlers reaching for Sophia's stuffed friend saying "Mehmo! MEHMO!". And when we tickled Elmo and he started to laugh and vibrate, we nearly started hysteria in the room. Sophia was clearly very popular today.