(Not so) Magical Christmas Day

Juliet spent the evening in the ER at St. Vincent Hospital on Christmas Day. Unfortunately, this is a continuation of the ear infection saga. As previously blogged, all of the Heffelbower girls got ear infections on December 1st. We all survived. However, Juliet got a new infection on the Monday before Christmas. She was given antibiotics (again) and we assumed that within 24-48 hours, she would be back to her normal bubbly self. Not so. Instead, she got a terrible fever that fluctuated between 102 and 104 degrees. By Christmas Day, Juliet was acting lethargic and not herself at all so Mommy and Daddy decided it was time to take her to the emergency room. On Christmas Day, no one wants to be at the ER---not the doctors, not the nurses, not the valet, and especially not the patients. Grandma and Mommy took baby Juliet to the ER. After several hours and a lot of blood work, it was determined that Juliet now had an ear infection in both ears and needed different and stronger medicine. However, we are happy to report that the antibiotics kicked-in right away and our little miss happy-pants is back to her normal smiley and active self!

Magical Christmas Eve

Playing with our new musical table from Auntie Katie.

Wearing my new fancy dress & slippers from grandma and
grandpa and playing with my new keyboard.

Juliet decided to try-out using utensils.



It's present time!

Look at all of the beautiful ornaments!

The Heffelbowers before church.

Posing for the annual Christmas photo in front of the Mulloy fireplace.

Snuggling with my Auntie Katie.

Making "butt angels." The snow was too deep for real snow angels.

All of the girls chilling-out. We are snapping bubble wrap, which I termed the "snap out of it" game.

The busy blogging Heffelbower girls.

Juliet was not too sure about the cold weather.

Sledding with grandpa.

It was a magical Christmas in Green Bay. We ended-up traveling to Green Bay on Monday night in order to beat a big snow storm. Juliet and I slept for most of the car ride, but woke-up for the last half hour. I was pretty goofy and sang crazy songs to pass the time. My favorite went something like this, "Rock stars, rock stars, rock stars. I like rock stars and so do you. I like rock stars and so do you...." We arrived at Grandma and Grandpa's house a little before midnight. As we pulled up to their house, we were greeted with a magical sight. Their house was lit with beautiful twinkling lights and their yard was covered in mounds of snow. I said, "Oh, this is so beee-u-tee-ful!" Inside, we were wowed with another display of Christmas lights and decorations. Juliet was so enchanted that she permanently out-stretched her hand and pointed at everything within her sight, saying, "This, this, this, this, this..." After a snack, we went to bed. We spent our days before Christmas having fun with grandma and grandpa, sledding, eating delicious food and running around their house. Grandma taught Juliet how to wave "bye-bye." On Christmas Eve, we ate a wonderful turkey dinner, went to church and opened presents. The first present that I opened was a pair of socks (boring!). The next day, mommy asked me what my favorite presents were. I said that I loved the keyboard and the slippers that light-up when I walk. Mommy asked if the socks were my "favorite present" and I graciously said that they were my "first present." It was a lovely Christmas!

Christmas Tradition

We have a Christmas tradition that we have done since I was four months old. Every year, we go to the Macy's Eighth Floor Christmas display in downtown Minneapolis. The Christmas display this year was "Day in the Life of an Elf." It was really great. This was Juliet's first year doing our Christmas tradition, and she could not take her eyes off of the wonderful Christmas displays. We also have hot chocolate and usually get a Christmas cookie. This year, we also looked at all of the Christmas decorations for purchase at Macy's. It was a really fun time.

Ear Infections

We do not look sick in this picture, but were really sick a few weeks ago----the whole family. It was pretty miserable. All of the girls got ear infections and daddy just got sick. Mommy ended-up rupturing her ear drum and still cannot completely hear. Grandma and Grandpa drove all of the way from Green Bay to help us recuperate for a few days.

And, it appears that Juliet may have another ear infection (or a continuation of the old one). We are going to the doctor in the morning. We will hopefully blog more once everyone is feeling better, which we hope is before Spring! Send healthy thoughts our way!

"This" and "Socks"

Here I am saying, "This." I am pointing at the camera, which I desperately want to play with. I can also say "socks." I am a bit obsessed with socks. I pull them off my little feet and play with them and crawl around the house with them in my little hands. ----Juliet