Hand Foot Mouth Disease. Yuck!

My poor baby girl! She somehow got Hand Foot Mouth Disease one day before Fourth of July and she just got better today. I'll tell you what, it was so awful! Not just for her, but for everyone around her. She didn't get any blisters on her body, but the ones in her mouth were pretty helacious. I seriously don't know how she got this virus, but I hope she never gets it again. 

It starts with a fever then blisters show up and they are extremely painful. She couldn't eat or really drink for days and she was so miserable. The tantrums were absolutely terrible. We had to keep reminding ourselves that it wasn't her, it was the pain. Finally yesterday she started to feel better and ate some soup. She colored and put her princess tiara on. That was a really good sign. Over the last four days we had gotten very little sleep. Finally last night she stayed in bed and I slept in until 8am today. It was heavenly! She is feeling much better now and we are so happy that she isn't miserable and in pain anymore. 

I think I've had enough sickness for the rest of the year! 

Big Girl Bed.

Alexis is now in her big girl bed. We converted her crib into a toddler bed last week. She did so well! The first night was the only night we had any issues. I would tuck her in and get into bed. The minute I laid down, I would hear little footsteps then a door opening. There she was in our room, climbing up on the bed, and putting me to sleep! Haha! She would say "Mommy go nap, shh shh shh, nap," then give me kisses and run her fingers across my forehead. It was so cute! Those tender moments that you just want to hold on to forever. I would get back up and put her back in her bed and the whole thing would repeat. I finally decided to put the side rail of her crib against her bed and just lean it there so she would think she couldn't get out. Normally this wouldn't have worked, but it was past midnight and I could tell she was exhausted. Sure enough, she stayed in bed all night. We haven't had any trouble keeping her in her bed at all since. We also decided to go and see Beauty and the Beast in 3D with Alexis and Grandma Pam. We all loved it. It's amazing what technology has to offer. She was so entranced with it all. She kept her glasses on for over half the movie! It was so cute, she would turn to me and say "wooow! That's so cool! So fun!" over and over again. She's such a big girl and soooo smart! She's our world.

Blake Shelton Concert!!!

Last night Kort and I went to see Blake Shelton, Justin Moore and Dia Frampton. It was an AMAZING concert. I had so much fun and we were in the nose bleeds and it didn't bother us at all. We danced and sang along and enjoyed every minute of it. We even had peanut M&M's, haha. I've got to say, I've always liked Blake Shelton since my introduction into country music, but I did not expect to like Justin Moore so much. He sounds even better live than on the radio. It's pretty cool being a part of a concert like that. Blake Shelton is definitely a comedian :) and now I like him even more! He's funny but very true to who he is and doesn't sit there and pretend to be what others want. That's the impression I got anyway. So fun!

Alexis got to sleep at Grandma Pam's house and she loved it. This is only the second time she's been away from us for the night, so it was definitely hard for me. In the end, we enjoyed our date weekend very much and she was happy to see us when we got home.

On different news, we decided to start a new weight loss program today. It's called Take Shape For Life. It is definitely not easy and requires a lot of commitment and organization, so Kort and I decided to do it together and see what we think. We know it's going to be hard but commitment is key. We just finished day one and it went pretty smoothly. I think the food isn't the best, but we're just thinking of it as fuel for our bodies and forget the rest. Our dinner was delicious! We made grilled chicken and for the first time ever, baked asparagus with olive oil and a little pepper. It was so yummy! I'm looking forward to loosing the weight I need to lose to be back in the shape I want to be. All this fat is hampering my style, lol.

Daylight Savings. Hmmm.

I don't know why so many people make such a big to do about daylight savings. You fall back or spring forward. Easy peasy if you ask me. You adjust pretty quickly, at least I do.

Super Bowl Let Down.

So I can finally write about our loss .... in the Super Bowl. (That was like laying face down on a ton of knives, ugh...)

We had a fabulous turnout for our party and had a great time before we lost. I think more than anything we had a lot of fun being around family and friends making chili and getting the place all decked out.  Alexis was so cute! She dressed up as a little Patriots cheerleader and would say "Go Pats!" She really made everything better.

Champions.

OOOOOOOOOH YEEEEEEEEAH! The New England Patriots are the AFC Division Champions and are headed to the SUPERBOWL! I couldn't be happier :) and the minute we won, we jumped up and down and got super excited, Alexis runs into me and yells "Go Pats!" She is definitely my daughter!

 He is soooo handsome! I definitely have a crush...lol.

 I thought I was going to die on this play! But he made it and wasn't backing down!!

Fantastic group picture! It really was a team effort :) I LOVE THE NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS! 

Growing older.

It's a little crazy that I'm writing this post...my nephew turned 1 this month! I feel like he was just born. :) He is such a little tanker and adorable. I think it definitely puts things into perspective how much things change and how fast time goes by. It's an amazing feeling but also is a little daunting. I think he loves this aunt very much because he smiles and actually throws his arms to me when I see him. It's too cute!

2012.

It was such a great holiday season and now I'm excited to have 2012 here for us to enjoy another year. I'm happy to say my business is going well, although I am making another change. I will be leaving Casa Bella Salon and going to V3 Hair Studio. Danae (who owned Studio d) is the owner and I will be leasing a station from her. I'm so excited to be transitioning to a place, I feel, will be a bit more stable and help the success of my business.  I'm not entirely sure it's the best decision, but it's the decision I have made. I say that because I feel like there's so much to accomplish and I just don't know what the "best" decision is. I'm going with my gut feeling here.  I am super excited to transition my clients to a more upscale salon and really pamper them again.

On to more fun topics...like Alexis! She's growing like a weed with a beautiful flower blossoming out of it. She's so much fun right now. She has stopped the awful temper tantrums and has really begun to understand why things happen and how it affects her.  She is such a smarty pants too! She knows most of the letters of the alphabet and can point them out when we're out at stores and on menu's. :) It makes me happy to know I have a smart child. Not only that, but she's such a sweet heart too. She loves little babies and is so gentle with them. She says "bless you" after you sneeze and thank you and please. I could go on for days on all the wonderful things she does! You never realize how endless your love is until you have a child. Oh and she's potty trained fully! Yay!

Kort and I are going to be celebrating our five year anniversary this year! We want to attend a New England Patriots game for our 5th Anniversary but it may not happen because I have some big educational events I want to go to and lets just say...they're not cheap. Haha.