Pass the Tissues Please

Unfortunately, the recent snow dump not only kept Mom a prisoner in the house for the initial four days of the week, but the close quarters also meant that the Castellanos swapped a bunch of germs.

Braelyn started things off again and each one of us has subsequently succumbed to it in one form or another.

This morning poor Gwendolyn resembled a bubble blower. Regardless of the number of times we wiped her nose, a steady stream of snot-bubbles soon manifested.

In the grand scheme of things it could be worse. As you can see, even with their level of comfort lower than normal due to the colds, at least the girls are still flashing their smiles!

Here’s hoping the long weekend will help us all get right again!!!

Slow Down Lightweight

Apparently you can also add drinking from a sippy cup to the list of things Braelyn enjoys doing while (at least partially) inside her new tent.

Hey, what’s in this juice anyway!!!

;)

Someday Our Prince Will Come

Thanks to a glut of snow, Mom and the girls have got a snow day today.

Luckily, it was the perfect opportunity to try out the new castle that Uncle Kyle and Aunt Susan got them for Christmas.

While it took a little prodding at first, Braelyn and Gwendolyn eventually got the general concept of their castle tent. In fact, it has suddenly become the perfect local for peek-a-boo and to look at books.

Given the fact that this snow storm isn't suppose to let up until midnight, we get the feeling that this new hideaway will be getting quite a lot of use this week!

Stay warm out there!!!

Time for a Makeover!

We figured it was about due time to change things up a bit. Hopefully you like the change! Thank you so much to those that follow our blog. As always, your friendship and support means so much. ;-)

Love,
The Castellanos

Winter Blues for the Castellano Girls

Unfortunately, we wanted to post an update that Braelyn isn't quite as much done with her cold as we initially thought. Or maybe more precisely, she seems to have contracted a virus just as her cold was subsiding. So, Mom got to take an unexpected half-day yesterday to bring her to the pediatrician. Luckily, it doesn't sound like it's serious. (Save for the doc's comment that Braelyn had a "curtain of mucus" lodged in her throat... Now that can't be too comfortable). We’re just going to keep monitoring her for now and they didn’t feel medication was necessary.

Needless to say, when Braelyn doesn't feel well, she's sure to let you know. That's why we love the above picture of her. Remember how we mentioned earlier that one of her favorite pastimes now is reading books? Well, it's actually just reading period... Not necessarily books but apparently holiday greeting cards as well. We can't think of a better photographic representation of the term "oxymoron" than Braelyn in the middle of a virus-induced meltdown holding a greeting card ablaze with the word "Joy" on it.

Gwen's suffering from some frustration at the moment herself. That’s because she’s advancing to the next level of learning how to eat and not horde her food. This morning was an interesting exercise in patience for Mom and Dad. We only cut her breakfast toast into long strips to so she had to take bites of it as she ate it. Well, first Gwen tried stuffing the whole thing in her mouth as usual (which made Dad chuckle because he remembered that when the O.T. suggested this method, she specifically stated that "It isn't like she'll just try to put it all in her mouth at once."). Then, after a few times of Mom fishing the large toast strips out of her mouth, Gwen got the biting part down. However, she still couldn't quite grasp that in addition to biting on the toast, she needed to also pull it away so it broke off in her mouth. So, baby steps there but Gwendolyn's getting better and better in that avenue.

That’s it for now… here comes the weekend!!!

The last of our Holiday leftovers

We just came across a few holiday shots that we wanted to share but somehow slipped through the cracks… ENJOY!

Cousin Madison and Gwen show off their holiday dresses

Gwen: “I’m so stuffed up that I don’t think I’ve even got a nose anymore.”
Braelyn: “Yeah you do, it’s right here.”

Wow, look what Uncle Kyle and Aunt Susan got us... Our very own castle tent to play in!

The Castellanos show off their Holiday best (even if Braelyn & Gwendolyn were too tired to actually smile at the camera).

Another Wednesday Wrap

Wow… We can’t believe it’s been a full week of inactivity since our last post. It is amazing how little free time there is around the Holidays.

Braelyn and Gwendolyn are still doing well. Gwen’s continuing to work nightly in her stander and with her braces. You can see her gaining strength each and every day. In fact, last night she stayed in her stander for over a half hour before her initial “please take me out of this contraption” fuss surfaced. She was quite the trooper indeed. You could see her starting to tire and tilt her head early on but she still toughed it out.

Braelyn still has the walk of a drunken man… Of course the main culprit at work most of the time is that she’s wearing pajamas with feet that can easily slip on our laminate floors. Most of her wobbly trips are taken from one parent to her “book box” where she collects a new treasure to have Mom and Dad read to her.

Every now and then when neither parent is available, she enlists the services of her sister to be a fill-in reader.

Luckily, the rash of colds that swept through the family over the past couple of weeks has crested and is nearly subsided. Of course, the temperature this weekend isn’t supposed to be very high. The only reason that’s of consequence is because Mom and Dad will be taking in the Chiefs playoff game this weekend... So hopefully we don't kick start another run on the cold merry go round!