We've come a long way in a year! Last year we spent our time at the shoreline floating in baby tubes. This year we're jumping off the dock and tubing behind the boat!!!! How fun!!! I think these kids are going to be okay with the water! I finally figured out how to use my video camera and thought I'd share a great summer moment of Tyler's! Forgive me if you get sea sick!!!!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
A Quick Hello!
Whoever made up the "no running in the house" rule never watched the joy on a two year old's face as they rounded the bend at 100 mph!!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Aaaaahhhh...Much Better!
I seriously think Tyler and Elli recovered faster than Jeff and I did! Thank God, everyone is healthy and back to bouncing off the walls! I'm still amazed that Haley avoided it...way to go girl!!!
Everyone is talking and trying to string together words to make sentences...too darn cute! For the longest time, Tyler has been obsessed with our cars (boy to the bone) and has been saying "Daddy...Tuck", "Mommy...Car", over and over and over and over and over. Well, now he's obsessed with what we do..."Mommy...work", "Daddy...run". What?! Where did I go wrong here?! He asked for Jeff last night and I told him Daddy was golfing, so now it's "Mommy...work", "Daddy...guf" over and over and over and over. Like I needed to be reminded!!! When I get home from work tonight I'm going to teach him to say "Daddy, guf...Mommy, beer". Yeah kiddo, that sounds better.
The tree that fell last month is still laying in the back yard, which Haley likes to remind us of daily..."tee fa, tee fa down, tee fa boom, tee boom, tee fa" you get the picture. Her daily chore is to feed Hartwell "Hawell eat", and she has figured out where we keep his dog treats. She likes to sneak in and grab a handful, pass them out to Tyler and Elli then run around yelling "Hawell teet, Hawell teet..."!
Elli likes to tell us about the animals she saw at the zoo...her favorites are "gewaff, elfant, monchey, wion, hapfeet (penguins)". She is also singing her alphabet, and although sometimes the letters are a little hard to recognize, she has the tune down to a tee and always finishes with a round of applause, yay!! She's really into her colors, her favorite are "ornch, yewo, geen". Fun stuff.
Hope everyone is enjoying their summer! Cheers!
Everyone is talking and trying to string together words to make sentences...too darn cute! For the longest time, Tyler has been obsessed with our cars (boy to the bone) and has been saying "Daddy...Tuck", "Mommy...Car", over and over and over and over and over. Well, now he's obsessed with what we do..."Mommy...work", "Daddy...run". What?! Where did I go wrong here?! He asked for Jeff last night and I told him Daddy was golfing, so now it's "Mommy...work", "Daddy...guf" over and over and over and over. Like I needed to be reminded!!! When I get home from work tonight I'm going to teach him to say "Daddy, guf...Mommy, beer". Yeah kiddo, that sounds better.
The tree that fell last month is still laying in the back yard, which Haley likes to remind us of daily..."tee fa, tee fa down, tee fa boom, tee boom, tee fa" you get the picture. Her daily chore is to feed Hartwell "Hawell eat", and she has figured out where we keep his dog treats. She likes to sneak in and grab a handful, pass them out to Tyler and Elli then run around yelling "Hawell teet, Hawell teet..."!
Elli likes to tell us about the animals she saw at the zoo...her favorites are "gewaff, elfant, monchey, wion, hapfeet (penguins)". She is also singing her alphabet, and although sometimes the letters are a little hard to recognize, she has the tune down to a tee and always finishes with a round of applause, yay!! She's really into her colors, her favorite are "ornch, yewo, geen". Fun stuff.
Hope everyone is enjoying their summer! Cheers!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
What A Weekend
It all started on Sunday night...a major thunderstorm ripped through our area out of nowhere. It was near midnight and we saw the lightning in the distance. Before we knew it, the wind picked up and we made the call to go ahead and get the kids up and head to the basement. It was a pretty violent storm, but it was over within minutes. Lots of hail, thunder and lightning, and the tornado alarm had been sounded. It wasn't until the next morning when I got up that I realized how bad it was. One of our favorite trees had been uprooted, and thank God, it fell toward the golf course. Directly across the fairway, several other trees were uprooted. They say it wasn't a tornado...I beg to differ...
Monday was really slow at work because of the power outages - not a good start to the week...I should have known all hell was breaking loose! When we got home from work Cassandra told us Elli had a fever. She was burning up and her eyes were bloodshot (maybe from all the sneezing and coughing??? said with fingers crossed). Mom was on her way to our house to watch the kids so Jeff and I could enjoy a dinner out, and Elli was sick. Reminiscent of when we left them with her and they all ended up with the stomach flu! They all went to bed fine, so Jeff and I headed out. When we got home, Elli was sitting up with mom and she looked terrible. Not only was she running a fever, her little eyes were starting to swell shut...uh oh...pink eye. No denying it now.
We were up all night with Elli AND Tyler (yep - Tyler spiked a fever in the middle of the night). Jeff took them both to the doctor on Tuesday and sure enough, upper respiratory infections for both, ear infections for both, and pink eye for Elli (at this point she is not recognizable - eyes are swollen and the whites look like raw meat). Ugh. So far so good with Haley.
We were up all night again Tuesday night with Tyler. He couldn't breathe, had a fever and just couldn't get comfortable. I noticed when he fell asleep that he was breathing really hard and his pulse was about twice as fast as mine. Hmmmm...maybe he's just having trouble breathing through all the snot (fingers still crossed)...
When we got home after lunch on Wednesday, he was laying in Cassandra's arms and hadn't moved all morning. Still had a fever and he was panting. Back to the pediatrician we headed, but this time we didn't come home. We went to the hospital where we stayed for the next 3 days...pneumonia...yikes.
He was so sick, poor little guy. He ended up on oxygen the first night, had IV fluids and antibiotics, and he was hooked to a pulse and oxygen monitor. What a horrible sight to see this tiny little boy laying in a huge hosptial bed hooked up to all that stuff. He didn't even try to get up - just layed next to us and mostly just slept. That night was rough. He must have woken up 10 times in a panic - we think maybe the oxygen made him feel like he wasn't breathing.
Thursday morning was more of the same, but after his nap, he seemed to turn a corner. He got some color in his cheeks and started to ask to get out of bed. We even walked him down to the toy room and chased him around with his IV pole while he played. When he finally started to feel better he would ask about Elli and Haley. He would say "Eddi...hoooome, Hadey...hoooome, Tyder...Truck, truck, truck". In other words, I wanna get in the truck and get out of here!!
He loved all his nurses and blew them all kisses every time they walked out of his room. He got to see a few of his wonderful nurses from the NICU and even got a visit from Dr. Mike who delivered him! I think he was beginning to think he was famous! :) He was really excited to say good-bye when we were released Friday night! The girls were waiting on the front porch for us when we got home - they were jumping up and down and clapping and took off running for the driveway! Haley gave Tyler a hug and life was back to normal! I'm sure he had stories to tell that night when they went to bed!
Thank God for mom and Cassandra - they both went above and beyond to help us with the girls. Jeff and I were able to stay in the hospital with Tyler the entire time. So many of our friends offered to drop everything and help. We are so blessed to be surrounded by such great people! We are also so grateful for all the prayers...we know there were several friends who contacted their prayer groups within minutes of us getting to the hospital...thank you all SO much!
So for now, we are all getting back to normal and caught up on some much-needed sleep! Elli's pink eye has mostly gone away (it was SERIOUSLY the worst pink eye I have seen in seven years of practice), and her upper respiratory bug is almost gone. It must have been one doozie of a bug considering she's been on antibiotics for 6 days and is still fighting it! So far so good with Haley (said while knocking on wood)! Tyler had a bit of a fever this afternoon, but has been fine since. We're holding our breath tonight and hoping it was just a fluke. Another stay in the hospital is not high on my list of things to do on Memorial Day!
Here's to hoping for a better week next week!!!!
Our poor tree! Notice how the two trunks split the tree in front of it and didn't take it down...how did THAT happen?!
Tyler on Monday night...no clue about what was about to happen!
Haley...trying to escape before the wrath takes over!!!
Elli...the first few hours of pink eye...she actually looks pretty good at this point!
Monday was really slow at work because of the power outages - not a good start to the week...I should have known all hell was breaking loose! When we got home from work Cassandra told us Elli had a fever. She was burning up and her eyes were bloodshot (maybe from all the sneezing and coughing??? said with fingers crossed). Mom was on her way to our house to watch the kids so Jeff and I could enjoy a dinner out, and Elli was sick. Reminiscent of when we left them with her and they all ended up with the stomach flu! They all went to bed fine, so Jeff and I headed out. When we got home, Elli was sitting up with mom and she looked terrible. Not only was she running a fever, her little eyes were starting to swell shut...uh oh...pink eye. No denying it now.
We were up all night with Elli AND Tyler (yep - Tyler spiked a fever in the middle of the night). Jeff took them both to the doctor on Tuesday and sure enough, upper respiratory infections for both, ear infections for both, and pink eye for Elli (at this point she is not recognizable - eyes are swollen and the whites look like raw meat). Ugh. So far so good with Haley.
We were up all night again Tuesday night with Tyler. He couldn't breathe, had a fever and just couldn't get comfortable. I noticed when he fell asleep that he was breathing really hard and his pulse was about twice as fast as mine. Hmmmm...maybe he's just having trouble breathing through all the snot (fingers still crossed)...
When we got home after lunch on Wednesday, he was laying in Cassandra's arms and hadn't moved all morning. Still had a fever and he was panting. Back to the pediatrician we headed, but this time we didn't come home. We went to the hospital where we stayed for the next 3 days...pneumonia...yikes.
He was so sick, poor little guy. He ended up on oxygen the first night, had IV fluids and antibiotics, and he was hooked to a pulse and oxygen monitor. What a horrible sight to see this tiny little boy laying in a huge hosptial bed hooked up to all that stuff. He didn't even try to get up - just layed next to us and mostly just slept. That night was rough. He must have woken up 10 times in a panic - we think maybe the oxygen made him feel like he wasn't breathing.
Thursday morning was more of the same, but after his nap, he seemed to turn a corner. He got some color in his cheeks and started to ask to get out of bed. We even walked him down to the toy room and chased him around with his IV pole while he played. When he finally started to feel better he would ask about Elli and Haley. He would say "Eddi...hoooome, Hadey...hoooome, Tyder...Truck, truck, truck". In other words, I wanna get in the truck and get out of here!!
He loved all his nurses and blew them all kisses every time they walked out of his room. He got to see a few of his wonderful nurses from the NICU and even got a visit from Dr. Mike who delivered him! I think he was beginning to think he was famous! :) He was really excited to say good-bye when we were released Friday night! The girls were waiting on the front porch for us when we got home - they were jumping up and down and clapping and took off running for the driveway! Haley gave Tyler a hug and life was back to normal! I'm sure he had stories to tell that night when they went to bed!
Thank God for mom and Cassandra - they both went above and beyond to help us with the girls. Jeff and I were able to stay in the hospital with Tyler the entire time. So many of our friends offered to drop everything and help. We are so blessed to be surrounded by such great people! We are also so grateful for all the prayers...we know there were several friends who contacted their prayer groups within minutes of us getting to the hospital...thank you all SO much!
So for now, we are all getting back to normal and caught up on some much-needed sleep! Elli's pink eye has mostly gone away (it was SERIOUSLY the worst pink eye I have seen in seven years of practice), and her upper respiratory bug is almost gone. It must have been one doozie of a bug considering she's been on antibiotics for 6 days and is still fighting it! So far so good with Haley (said while knocking on wood)! Tyler had a bit of a fever this afternoon, but has been fine since. We're holding our breath tonight and hoping it was just a fluke. Another stay in the hospital is not high on my list of things to do on Memorial Day!
Here's to hoping for a better week next week!!!!
Our poor tree! Notice how the two trunks split the tree in front of it and didn't take it down...how did THAT happen?!
Tyler on Monday night...no clue about what was about to happen!
Haley...trying to escape before the wrath takes over!!!
Elli...the first few hours of pink eye...she actually looks pretty good at this point!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Growing Up!
Wow - have I been bad at updating this or what?! Our lives have become so insane I rarely have a free moment to get on here and give an update! Everyone is growing up so quickly! It seems like they learn something new every day! They are racking up the grocery bill in raisins and cheerios, and the latest favorite dinner is chicken nuggets dunked in "dip" - yes, they are learning why ketchup needs to be named one of the major food groups! We spent last weekend at Carowinds with Todd and Erica - we joked that we spent $160 on tickets for four adults so we could ride the merry-go-round four times. The kids loved it, but the four of us were green by the fourth time! There were other rides they were big enough to ride, but they involved swings flying through the air. Yeah...I don't think so.
Elli is our busy body - she sprints everywhere she goes! Her favorite place is the park in Greenville where she can run up and down the ramps all afternoon! We bought a family pass to the zoo and her favorite animal is the monkey...go figure! Her best friend is a little blankie with a pink poodle head on it - her name is "Sassie" and she goes everywhere Elli goes!
Haley is a little "mom" who makes sure the other two stay in line. She'll yell "Elson", or "Tyder" and clap her hands when they are misbehaving. She knows all the rules and makes sure they are enforced! Lately she refuses to go to bed until she has at least 10 stuffed animals with her, and if you forget one (on purpose), she knows. She cries "Elfant, Elfant, Elfant..." until we find her pink elephant!
Tyler is still our little man! He loves driving his 4-wheeler around the yard and was the first to figure out how to steer it so he can drive up and down the paths without stopping! He is a daddy's boy right now...big time! He can't stand it when Jeff leaves the room! He is definitely a boy's boy - he loves cars (ka)and trucks (chuk)and his favorite thing to do is chase us around the house and growl at us!
So the terrible two's haven't been so terrible after all! Crazy, chaotic, exhausting, trying two's for sure, but we wouldn't trade it for the world!
Haley picks out everyone's jammies before bedtime...these are my favorite!
This is what happens when Tyler picks out the jammies. Shirts two sizes too small and pants that match (well, to him they did)!
Elli is our busy body - she sprints everywhere she goes! Her favorite place is the park in Greenville where she can run up and down the ramps all afternoon! We bought a family pass to the zoo and her favorite animal is the monkey...go figure! Her best friend is a little blankie with a pink poodle head on it - her name is "Sassie" and she goes everywhere Elli goes!
Haley is a little "mom" who makes sure the other two stay in line. She'll yell "Elson", or "Tyder" and clap her hands when they are misbehaving. She knows all the rules and makes sure they are enforced! Lately she refuses to go to bed until she has at least 10 stuffed animals with her, and if you forget one (on purpose), she knows. She cries "Elfant, Elfant, Elfant..." until we find her pink elephant!
Tyler is still our little man! He loves driving his 4-wheeler around the yard and was the first to figure out how to steer it so he can drive up and down the paths without stopping! He is a daddy's boy right now...big time! He can't stand it when Jeff leaves the room! He is definitely a boy's boy - he loves cars (ka)and trucks (chuk)and his favorite thing to do is chase us around the house and growl at us!
So the terrible two's haven't been so terrible after all! Crazy, chaotic, exhausting, trying two's for sure, but we wouldn't trade it for the world!
Haley picks out everyone's jammies before bedtime...these are my favorite!
This is what happens when Tyler picks out the jammies. Shirts two sizes too small and pants that match (well, to him they did)!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Proud Sister
Move over Haley, Elli and Tyler...today's blog is dedicated to your Uncle Todd and Aunt Erica!
We had the privelege of joining Todd and Erica in Virginia Beach for a racing weekend! Jeff and I ran an 8K (5 miles) race on Saturday - the longest distance we had ever done! It was so amazing to run with over 8,ooo people along the ocean! I know there were 8,000 because I waved at 7,999 as they ran by me at the start!! The party after the race was on the beach - definitely an added bonus!
On Sunday, Erica ran a half marathon (13.1 miles) and Todd ran a full marathon (26.2 miles). We got to see Todd at the start of his race, then ran to the finish line to see Erica, then back to the half-way mark to see Todd, then back to the finish line to see Todd finish.
Jeff got to join Erica for her last mile to give her some encouragement, but he swears he wasn't much help since he was struggling to keep up with her! That girl is FAST!!! He also got to join Todd at around mile 12 - Todd talked his ear off and Jeff just sucked air!
Todd's goal in this race was to finish in 3 hours and 10 minutes - a time that would qualify him for the Boston Marathon. Something most runners try their whole lives to achieve. Most never do.
We watched the frontrunners fly by on the final half mile and started to watch our clocks, hoping Todd would be around the bend soon. A lot of really talented runners had dropped out because of the heat. There was no doubt it was him when he turned the corner. Out of a group of about 40 people he was running with at the halfway point, he was the only one left. Well, him and his pacer...who happened to be in his ear yelling at him with some profanities not appropriate for this blog! He totally motivated him...I would have knocked the guy out!
I have honestly never been as proud as I was watching him run his final two tenths of a mile. I kept imagining all he had been through to get to that moment. All the long training runs in the heat, rain, cold, early mornings, late nights. All the injuries he fought through. All the moments along the race when he thought he couldn't make it but he never gave up. Absolute determination, talent, guts, perserverance, and sheer will. A finishing time of 3 hours 10 minutes. A Boston Qualifier. Unbelievable.
So this blog's for you guys. We couldn't be prouder! And we can't wait to be there for Boston in 2011!
Todd before Mile 1...running with a crowd at this point!
Mile 12...smaller crowd of runners...notice the guy holding the stick with the 3:10 sign. You'll see him (and his little sign) again!
Mile 26...where is the crowd? Recognize the guy running with Todd? He's the pacer I was talking about. Todd said he was saying something to the effect of, "see that 26 mile marker? You're going to ^*# give up now???, congratulations you just lost Boston by 5 seconds you $%^$*#$#!!!!!
The final two tenths...no words to describe...
Ahhhh...there's our sign! Way to go Todd and Erica!!!!
Haley is a proud Niece! There is a really cool bond here that no one can explain!
****Edited to add: For those of you reading this who don't know Todd and I very well, this post is definitely coming from the heart. You see, until about fifteen years ago, Todd and I really couldn't stand eachother! Ask him. I really didn't make his childhood very easy ("Oh you must be Jennifer's brother - she never missed a single spelling word in my class!"), and in turn, he tried to torture me through my middle school and high school years (replacing my hairspray with water kind of torture). Funny how things turn around! Love you Todd!
We had the privelege of joining Todd and Erica in Virginia Beach for a racing weekend! Jeff and I ran an 8K (5 miles) race on Saturday - the longest distance we had ever done! It was so amazing to run with over 8,ooo people along the ocean! I know there were 8,000 because I waved at 7,999 as they ran by me at the start!! The party after the race was on the beach - definitely an added bonus!
On Sunday, Erica ran a half marathon (13.1 miles) and Todd ran a full marathon (26.2 miles). We got to see Todd at the start of his race, then ran to the finish line to see Erica, then back to the half-way mark to see Todd, then back to the finish line to see Todd finish.
Jeff got to join Erica for her last mile to give her some encouragement, but he swears he wasn't much help since he was struggling to keep up with her! That girl is FAST!!! He also got to join Todd at around mile 12 - Todd talked his ear off and Jeff just sucked air!
Todd's goal in this race was to finish in 3 hours and 10 minutes - a time that would qualify him for the Boston Marathon. Something most runners try their whole lives to achieve. Most never do.
We watched the frontrunners fly by on the final half mile and started to watch our clocks, hoping Todd would be around the bend soon. A lot of really talented runners had dropped out because of the heat. There was no doubt it was him when he turned the corner. Out of a group of about 40 people he was running with at the halfway point, he was the only one left. Well, him and his pacer...who happened to be in his ear yelling at him with some profanities not appropriate for this blog! He totally motivated him...I would have knocked the guy out!
I have honestly never been as proud as I was watching him run his final two tenths of a mile. I kept imagining all he had been through to get to that moment. All the long training runs in the heat, rain, cold, early mornings, late nights. All the injuries he fought through. All the moments along the race when he thought he couldn't make it but he never gave up. Absolute determination, talent, guts, perserverance, and sheer will. A finishing time of 3 hours 10 minutes. A Boston Qualifier. Unbelievable.
So this blog's for you guys. We couldn't be prouder! And we can't wait to be there for Boston in 2011!
Todd before Mile 1...running with a crowd at this point!
Mile 12...smaller crowd of runners...notice the guy holding the stick with the 3:10 sign. You'll see him (and his little sign) again!
Mile 26...where is the crowd? Recognize the guy running with Todd? He's the pacer I was talking about. Todd said he was saying something to the effect of, "see that 26 mile marker? You're going to ^*# give up now???, congratulations you just lost Boston by 5 seconds you $%^$*#$#!!!!!
The final two tenths...no words to describe...
Ahhhh...there's our sign! Way to go Todd and Erica!!!!
Haley is a proud Niece! There is a really cool bond here that no one can explain!
****Edited to add: For those of you reading this who don't know Todd and I very well, this post is definitely coming from the heart. You see, until about fifteen years ago, Todd and I really couldn't stand eachother! Ask him. I really didn't make his childhood very easy ("Oh you must be Jennifer's brother - she never missed a single spelling word in my class!"), and in turn, he tried to torture me through my middle school and high school years (replacing my hairspray with water kind of torture). Funny how things turn around! Love you Todd!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Winter Wrap-Up
It's been a long, cold winter here in the south and we are SO ready for spring! To say that we have cabin fever would be an understatement! We're trying our best to hold it together, but as you can see from these photos, we're having some trouble! It all started when the Colts lost the Super Bowl...Tyler had such high hopes...he said someday he wanted to grow up to be just like Peyton Manning...
Now he wants to be the newest cast member on "Jersey Shore"...
(you wanna piece of me?)
That is if his cross-dressing gig on Jerry Springer doesn't pan out...
Haley took the loss pretty hard. Her assault case is still pending...
She's really let herself go...
Ellison is convinced her baby doll has stinky feet...
Despite her questionable mental state, we think she'll do just fine when she auditions for "America's Got Talent"...
So there you have it...the Crazy Lippens Clan...SOMEONE PLEASE GET US OUT OF THIS HOUSE!!!!!!!
Now he wants to be the newest cast member on "Jersey Shore"...
(you wanna piece of me?)
That is if his cross-dressing gig on Jerry Springer doesn't pan out...
Haley took the loss pretty hard. Her assault case is still pending...
She's really let herself go...
Ellison is convinced her baby doll has stinky feet...
Despite her questionable mental state, we think she'll do just fine when she auditions for "America's Got Talent"...
So there you have it...the Crazy Lippens Clan...SOMEONE PLEASE GET US OUT OF THIS HOUSE!!!!!!!
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