Unfortunately, I'll have to start this entry off on a bad note.  Travis's Granny suffered what appears to be a stroke Monday evening.  We are hopeful that the after effects are minimal.  There is no paralysis, she seems to be swallowing okay, but she is unable to communicate well.  Her speech is very hard to understand, and she wasn't able to point to yes or no on a piece of paper.  She also seems very tired, agitated, and uncomfortable.  She did show some improvements yesterday like saying yes, no, and okay, and she waved bye to us when we left for the evening.  Please keep her in your prayers as she will most likely have a long, hard road to recovery in front of her.  We can't wait to have our funny, spunky Granny back healthy!

Other than Granny's predicament, we are all so, so good!  Here is a little snippet of what we have been up to during the first few weeks of the new year!

Elliot has really blossomed during the last few weeks.  In a matter of a few days, he learned to feed himself finger food, drink out of a sippy cup, and say his first real words.  Any guesses as to what they were???  Hi and dog!  Go figure!  That little boy loves his doggies and they love him right back.  Or maybe they love the food that is always stuck all over him?  The main drawback of him realizing he could in fact feed himself is that now he thinks he needs to do it all of the time, even when he is being spoonfed.  As soon as the spoon full of baby food hits his mouth, in goes his hand and it is now virtually impossible to keep him and his outfits clean.  Since I don't like doing laundry every day, you can usually tell what he's been eating that day by looking at his clothes.  He is also teething furiously, which has caused a few broken nights of sleep lately.  Last night I saw 2 teeth peeking through (one on top, one on bottom), so hopefully he will be feeling better soon.  He has had a really difficult time with this round, so I've been giving the poor little guy ibuprofen about twice a day.  We have also been having better luck with naptime!  Most days I can get him to go down for a decent nap in the afternoon when Harry sleeps.  Gotta love that!  He also usually sneaks in cat naps when we are in the car...he is usually asleep before we are out of the neighborhood!  I have been letting him try a few table foods, which he loves!  If I could pick his favorite activity, it would probably be eating!  The kid never saw a Puff or Cheerio he didn't like!  Here are some of the new food he has tried recently:  string cheese, yogurt (he about climbs out of his highchair when he sees the Yo Baby container coming toward him!), cottage cheese, refried beans and rice, and saltines.  Yum yum!  I also caught him climbing up the stairs today when I went to get Harry from his nap which I didn't know he could do. He made it up 2 steps before I got to him. 

Harry continues to be his crazy, funny, sweet self.  The main struggle we have had lately is meal time.  I always had him try all different kinds of food in hopes that he wouldn't turn in to a picky eater.  I still have hope for him, but he has been on a hunger strike for a while.  He has basically been surviving on Pop Tarts, bananas, grapes, fruit snacks, pretzels, and the occasional chicken nuggets and french fries.  I have stopped letting him have a snack after dinner if he doesn't at least try to eat in hopes that he'll realize he needs to eat when we do.  I really hope this stage doesn't last long.  I hate the feeling that I'm sending my kid to bed hungry.  He has also turned into such a jabber jaws!  Last night, we went out to eat with Chris at our favorite mexican restaurant in our hometown after I got off work since they were in town visiting Granny.  Harry wasn't behaving poorly at all, but he was talking non stop and so LOUDLY that I was worried we were disturbing the other diners!  At one point he started yelling, "Look Mommy!  There's a mouse!  The mouse is coming!"  Of course, there was no mouse.  He got that idea from when we had a mouse in our garage for a few days that Travis couldn't find to shoo out, and we would say that to him to get him to get in the car quickly.  I'm sure the owners of a restaurant wouldn't appreciate a little monkey putting the idea that a mouse could be in their restaurant!  Geez.  I suppose he is just fullfilling his duty of embarassing us as much as possible!  He also has told me a few times that he pushed someone at daycare when he really didn't!  Already lying!  They grow up so fast! 

As for me, I am totally loving my new schedule!  I think it will be the perfect mix of getting out of the house, using my brain, and being where my heart is--with my family.  I think I have held up my end of the bargain pretty well in the first few weeks.  We have had home cooked meals almost every night, the house is pretty clean, and I am definitely more well rested and less stressed.  Travis said he was happy with everything so far, and he commented that I had been in a great mood which I didn't take offense to because I knew he was very right!  I have also lifted out of my Harry Potter induced fog as I finished the series last week.  I really loved reading the books, and it made me realize how much I miss reading in general.  It keeps me off the internet which I really like and it makes me feel like I use my downtime a little better instead of vegging out in front of the TV or the computer.  Travis started his new responsibility of being one of the assistant track coaches at our old high school.  He has been super excited about it and the first few days have gone well.  He is really taking an interest in the kids' lives and not just their athletic talents which I am very proud of him for that. 

We are in the middle of our first decent snow of the season and some severely cold temperatures, so my plans for the rest of the week are to stay inside, keep warm, and enjoy our extra time together!