a tale of pneumonia and other fun things

once upon a time (about a month ago), there was a VERY cute and VERY sweet little boy (we'll call him Titus) who got a cold.  instead of getting over this cold quickly (despite his mommy's best efforts with saline, frequent nursings, etc.), he decided to let it develope into pneumonia.  yes, that's where i've been recently...dealing with a pretty sick little baby.  so not fun and not easy on a momma's heart!  but, he seems to be getting better and on his way back to the easy little baby he was a month ago (we really miss that baby!).  i have to give Mr. T. props though.  throughout it all, he hasn't lost his amazing smile. in fact, i think his smile has gotten even bigger.  the doctor couldn't really believe it when he saw the xrays because Titus was just acting so happy (at that time....the parents always get to see the fussy times!). 

so, titus has not gotten out of the house for the last month (you can also read that to say mommy hasn't gotten out much either...can you say cabin fever?).  titus also hasn't slept too well at night (why is it always at night?), which means mommy also hasn't slept too well at night.  (funny how that works)  he sleeps beautifully during the day though (why can't he spread it out some?  share the love, mr. T!).

other changes in the Vip household....we hired a full time "house helper" this week!  we're trying it out for a month to see how it goes.  we are either going to love it or hate it, but we figured we wouldn't know till we try it.  (so far, i'm not feeling like i desperately need a nap, had plenty of time to cuddle and play with eliana this morning during Titus' nap, did a little sewing for Eliana's quilt (i.e. her Christmas present!) while Titus and her were both asleep, and am now happily blogging while titus plays on the floor gym...yep, i'm liking it so far).  she comes monday through Friday from 9-4 and is going to help me with the cleaning, laundry (which includes hanging all of it up to dry!), ironing (a new household chore around the Vip household thanks to Vip's new business)and dishes primarily and will also help me get out and to the grocery store, play areas, etc. with the two kiddos.  eliana has responded really well to her so far, so i think it will help eliana's language out a ton too.  and, if i feel like i can stay up past 8 p.m. tonight, i'll really like it!  anyways, we'll see how it goes, and hope for the best!  

it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

this Sunday and Monday we got our decorations up, and we are very excited to have a festive house once again!  this was the first year that eliana wanted to help us, and it's been so fun to do all the Christmas preparations with her since she is understanding more.  this year, vip and I tried something new and put up the tree without the ornaments as well as our advent calendar, the nativity set, and the stockings on Sunday night after the kiddos were in bed.  i also unwrapped all the ornaments and laid them out, so they were ready to just grab and place on the tree.  then, on Monday, eliana and i made Christmas cookies during the day (very fun...like playing playdough, but you get to eat what you cut out!  how cool is that??!!).  vip got home from work around dinner, so we enjoyed our family dinner and then ate Christmas cookies and put the ornaments on the tree with her after dinner.  it was great because she wasn't impatient waiting for us to get the tree up and the mess cleaned up, and we just got to enjoy this special family time.  titus, of course, just observed or nursed throughout the whole process.  he's so high maintenance!  (that's my attempt at sarcasm...did you get it?)  we are definitely going to make this a new Vipperman Christmas tradition! 

elly bean loved putting the ones up top, of course

as well as the ones down low....she thought it was a good idea to hang them on the lights, so we had to sneak behind her and fix them almost every time...but it was precious to see her get involved! 

i lost count of how many cookies she ate....don't worry, i definitely brushed her teeth and we didn't eat deserts again for the next few days! 

and, here's our finished product!  hope that you are enjoying this Christmas season with your family and friends and remembering the real reason behind it all!