Alli Poodle Monkey Bum

My dear, sweet little girl. Has it really been half a year already? Time seems to have flown by, but at the same time, I can't begin to imagine our lives without you. I have loved getting to know you and watching your personality develop.

Generally, you are a happy, easy going girl with lots of patience... until you see food. You love to experience new tastes and textures, and tend to protest loudly if the food isn't being offered to you fast enough. As soon as you smell dinner cooking, you make sure that the whole house doesn't forget about you.

One day, we decided to let you have a taste of a pickle, just to watch your expression and were surprised to see that you absolutely loved it! However, every time you taste mashed potatoes, you scrunch up your face like I'm feeding you something terribly sour. You are always surprising me like that.

You are getting very good with your hands, learning to pick things up, twist them and play with them. You always find a way to grab hold of my earrings, or yank on your sisters hair. But, the two of you have learned to play together, too. I started to cry the other day as I was driving while I listened to the two of you laughing together. You'd coo and babble, McKenzie would talk back to you and the two of you would break out into the biggest fit of laughter, over and over again. I hope the two of you continue to build a relationship of love and support for the rest of your lives.

You still aren't sleeping through the night yet. I know you could do it (because, you've proved it a few times) but I think that you love to cuddle so much, an entire night is too long to go without being squoze tight. I love the quiet time we get to spend together in the middle of the night. You are always so happy to see me; when I pick you up, you bounce in my arms in a little celebration! You have the sweetest coos when you talk to me at night - so soft and tender. Then, you doze off to sleep so softly and peacefully.

You have some of the most gorgeous eyes, just like your daddy. Everywhere we go, people stop to admire how big and beautiful they are. I ask that you keep them big and open - be aware of different experiences, new people, and change. Try new things, expand your horizons and explore. Remember that we love you and we will always be there for you, our beautiful, happy, sweet little girl.

They're going to cut my baby!

The night before last, McKenzie was up all night screaming. Mom diagnosis: double ear infections. Why these things never show symptoms until after the doctors office is closed, I'll never know! I think the nasty little germs have a stopwatch. They all gather around and chant "Insta-care closes in: 3... 2... 1... and ATTACK!"

I felt so bad for my poor little girl. She wiggled and writhed in pain. We gave her pain reliever, decongestants, put cotton in her ears, got out the heating pad. I tried everything I could remember doing as a child, and couldn't give her any relief. She would climb up on my lap and beg me to make it better, but when the relief never came, she'd run to her dad and do the same thing. Such a frustrating feeling when you can't help your own child.

I thought I had heard something about putting warm oil in an ear, but wasn't quite sure, so I turned to the handy internet. (What would I do without it?) I found three home remedies. Number one: put urine in her ear. Call me crazy, but I wasn't about to try it. A) sounds messy B)GROSS! C) infection + urine does not sound like a good combination. And I think that something that comes out of a body, probably came out for a reason and shouldn't go back in. Scratched that off the list.

Number two was warm olive oil. Again, it sounded a little messy, but I would have tried it, had it not been for option number three: hydrogen peroxide. I dipped two q-tips in the peroxide and put them in her ears. She didn't like it much, but after 30 seconds, she pulled them out and told us it didn't hurt anymore. She climbed in bed and didn't make a peep the rest of the night. I am totally adding that to my mommy book of tricks!

In the morning I took her to the doctors office. Just as I suspected, two ear infections. Pretty bad ones, in fact. Somehow, him saying that made me feel guilty, but I keep reminding myself that there were absolutely NO symptoms before she went to bed. Whatever I need to do to cope, right?

The doctor also checked out her throat. She normally has HUGE tonsils, but I had been noticing them getting bigger lately. I kept checking her for fever, sore throat, anything that might raise a flag, but nothing did. The doctor told me that they were getting too big, and he wanted them out. I asked if there was any infection or problem with them, but there's not. Just big ole tonsils - tonsillar hypertrophy. Something my mother in law tells me is a Dew Family trait. (THANKS, DEW FAMILY!)

The doctor worried that should she get an infection, the tonsils will swell to the point of completely blocking her airway. EEK! So, we've scheduled appointments with our first ENT. Tonsils should be yanked the first part of May. I still have mine, so I'm a little unsure what to expect. So, tell me, how bad will it be?

Vacation: The last few days

We spent the last few days on the boat enjoying some relaxation, taking in some shows, playing some games, and playing with the kids. McKenzie loved playing with the kids program the last few days, even if she refused to go the first few days. They played games, did crafts, had parades and parties, watched a circus and even played on a jungle gym. She was in heaven!

On Saturday, we got off of the boat in Los Angeles by 8:30am and rented a car (our flight home wasn't until 7pm) We had been looking for a place to waste a few hours that would entertain the kids. My brother suggested Knotts Berry Farm, and since I could get discounted tickets through my work, we decided to give it a try.

It took us a while to figure out there was an entire kids section (we wandered around all of the other rides first, telling a very sad and emotional McKenzie she was too small for each of them first. So sad) but once we got there, McKenzie loved it. She didn't have much sleep the night before and had a very busy week, so she was a little (okay, a lot) cranky. But we did manage to have a good time.

Her favorite was a big maze that had a bubble room in the middle of it. She came out drenched in bubbles and had to deal with wet shoes the rest of the day!

She also loved the bus ride. I took her once, but daddy had to ride at least 6 times!
And of course, a scrambler type ride.

After having such excitement and emotions, our ride home was not nearly as peaceful as the way there. Allison was exhausted and slept from takeoff to landing. McKenzie whined, argued and cried the ENTIRE flight home. Both mine and Cris' nerves were frazzled, and I'm sure a few other passengers as well. You could probably have heard us coming! To all of my fellow passengers, I am sorry. We tried our best! And considering the length and type of the trip, one meltdown day wasn't too bad, I suppose.

Anyway, it was a wonderful vacation. I loved being able to spend so much time with my family, my parents and my brother. Thank you mom and dad for the wonderful gift, we'll remember it forever!

Puerto Vallarta, part two

After we got back from the excursion (which I am told, made us rather smelly. Sea Lion poop?) the girls and Cris and my dad had just finished with their naps. We cleaned up and wandered off of the boat to see the city. Most of the attractions were a decent cab ride away, and after our Mazatlan experience we decided to just hoof it near the port. This city was much cleaner, modern and very nice. Heck, there was even a Wal-mart and Sams club next to our ship!

A view of our ship, the Norwegian Star

After all of McKenzies pirate talk all week, when I saw a guy dressed like one, I begged him to take a photo with us. You can't really see it, but he had the creepiest contacts in!

All tuckered out after a long day

Vacation Day Five: Puerto Vallarta, Part One

In Puerto Vallarta, my mom, brother, and I wanted to book an excursion to Las Caletas. It's a private cove that you can only get to by boat - no roads. This is a picture of the small boat we road on, with our cruise ship in the background.




There were trained parrots flying everywhere (one nearly scalping me!) and I even got to hold a squirrell monkey! The beaches were beautiful. There were paved pathways, canopys, hammocks, bridges all over the mountainside. I can't begin to describe how beautiful and peaceful it was! I have a million pictures I'd love to post, but am losing patience uploading so many.

We tried snorkeling. I am very cluastrophobic, so breathing through a tube made me panic a bit, but after a few minutes, I got the hang of it. The water was very merky that day, so it was hard to see too much. But, we did get to see a few fish, like a puffer fish. I tried to dive down to get a closer look at a fish, and in the exitement, forgot to hold my breath. Big mistake. I think I filled my lungs with a few gallons of sea water! I coughed and sputtered and gagged for 20 minutes!

Then, we had the chance to kyack, explore, or hang out on the beach before the main event:
We got to swim with sea lions!!!! For some reason I thought they'd be smooth like a dolphin, but they were furry! And friendly! We got to pet them, watch them jump and play, and even got to ride them!!

I got a few kisses, too!

I wish I could have taken the girls with me to enjoy the beach there. We were under a huge rainforest canopy, so sun wouldn't be a big problem. There were crabs to chase, iguanas sunning on the rocks, tons of birds and fish. I absolutely loved it! My new wish: spend at least a week at Las Calentas. This was by far my favorite stop of the trip!

Vacation Day Four: Mazatlan

The parts of Mazatlan we saw were not so nice. It was a really run down, dingy place. Maybe we didn't see the nice areas though, I'm not sure.

We booked a van to take us to the "golden zone" which was supposed to be the main beach and shopping area. I think it was the scariest ride of my life! Our van sped through narrow, congested roads, squoze between the smallest of spaces, and drove as though he expected everyone else to get out of his way. Luckily they did and we survived. Although, one golf cart full of people was almost not so lucky!



We walked down to the beach, which was quite nice. The girls loved it! McKenzies first reaction was anger at the sand in her shoes, but once we got them off, she was in heaven. She dug, and rolled and played in the sand (her dream was to build a sandcastle, ever since we started planning this vacation) And we had lots of fun in the water, too. Allison did her best to squirm off of the beach towel we had her on, and somehome managed to ingest large quantities of sand, no matter what we did to stop it.



There were jet ski rentals, banana boats, all sorts of peddlers, and people offering to take tourists parasailing. My grandma and sister went parasailing when they visited Matt and Sara in Florida, and it's been something I had wanted to try ever since. Cris had no interest in going, but my mom was game! We saddled up and went flying over the ocean - SO COOL! I was surprised it was such a smooth easy ride. I was a little afraid they'd drag me along the beach before take off, but I only had to take two steps before I started flying. And the landing was smooth and easy.

That's me sailing over the sail boats!

At the end of the day, we had sand everywhere. I washed our swimsuits in the sink at least 20 times, and still dont think I got all of the sand out! LOL! And washing a baby in the shower was an experience - very slippery! One thing I'm glad to have now that we're back is a bath tub for the kids. But, look at this picture, so worht it!

Vacation Day Three: Cabo San Lucas

Day three was our first port day. My parents and Cris wanted to try deep sea fishing. We tried to see if they'd let the girls go with us, but Allison wasn't allowed and they charged a huge fee for McKenzie. Not wanting to brave another country alone with two small children, I stayed on the boat. However, the view was still spectacular! I took a hundred photos of the famous rocks surrounding Cabo. The beaches were beautiful and the water was a bright blue. The girls and I spent the day in the pool. Oh so nice!

Meanwhile, the deep sea fishing boat caught a marlin that weighed 150lbs! And Cris reeled in a nice mahi mahi. My mom has the pictures, so I'll post those later.


Bob booked surfing lessons and had a ball giving that a try. He came back with a few nice scrapes he earned in a tangle with some rocks, but I don't think that dampened his spirits! See, he's even smiling in a picture! Will wonders never cease!

As the girls and I played in the sun, I was surprised how much McKenzie enjoyed the warmth. She climbed right up on a deck chair and layed out like a pro. I remember when she was done, she looked up me and told me "sometimes I like the sun. It makes my tummy warm." It think she may have been cooped up in the house too long this winter!

This is one of my favorite shots of Allison. I took it as we were getting ready to head to the pool. What a doll!

Vacation Day Two: At Sea

The second day on the boat, we continued to explore. It was a little difficult to figure out how to get from place to place because you couldn't walk from the front to the back of the boat on one floor. So, if you were at the front of deck 8 and wanted to get to the back, you had to go down to deck 7, walk to the back of the boat, and then go up to 8. It only took us a few days to figure that one out! LOL!

While we walked around the decks and played shuffleboard, we saw whales!!! There were several of them playing in the water - jumping, splashing and blowing water! It was SO cool! I tried to take some pictures, but you can't really make anything out in them. My dad also saw a sea turtle, something I was bummed to miss.

Cris and McKenzie had a ball playing in the kids pool. At first McKenzie only went down the little slide, but soon, she was a pro and could go down the big kids slides. It was wonderful because none of the water was over 2 feet deep! We had to keep an eye on her of course, but she had the freedom to pretty much do as she wanted!
Oh the food! There were barbeques by the pool, buffets, cafes, fancy restaurants and free 24 hour room service. That night we tried one of the nice restaurants and had the best lobster I've ever had. Yum!

Uncle Bob at one of the buffets

We made it!

Yes, we did end up going on vacation! The flight to LA was cancelled, so we ended up booking with another airline. The flights cost a few hundred extra dollars, and left earlier in the morning, but we made it there! Whew!


As I had mentioned before, it was the first flight for both girls. I was a little nervous about the logistics of it all, but it ended up going quite well. Allison didn't make a peep the entire flight, and McKenzie was well behaved as well. (Although, when we were getting ready to land, she did start yelling "We're going to crash! We're going to crash!" We explained that the airplane would land just like the ones we watched at the airport earlier, so she changed her tune to "We're going to crash softly! At the airport!") Luckily the flight wasn't full, and we were able to sit in the back and have several rows to ourselves!

Because of the earlier flight, we did have to wait quite a while at the port before we were able to get on the boat. Once we finally got on, we went to a buffet on one of the top floors. McKenzie wasn't too hungry, but loved to watch out the big window at the ocean and the small boats going by. It really surprised me how much it interested her. But, after a minute, she quietly reached up to the table and grabbed a butter knife. She worked it into the belt loop on her pants and when I asked her what she was doing, she told me she was getting ready for the pirates!!! Where was my video camera when I needed it!

McKenzie eating ice cream. She usually only nibbles at food, but on the trip, she ate SO much! If only I had a buffet line in my dining room!

Cris at the life boat drill

McKenzie checking out the kids play area