05-16-15 Bikes

The sidewalk in front of our house has become a racetrack as of late. 

In Baby E news, this morning he tried peas (his first solids besides rice cereal) and he loved them. 

05-15-15

05-14-15

05-13-15 Girls' Day

Today was a huge... Make that monumental day in our house. Kindergarten registration! Bring born at end of August means that C slides in right under the cutoff for Kindergarten, so today we signed her up. 

I decided to make a girl's day out of it. After registration we got lunch and then went to the park. After a long time there we headed to the store and bought her a new pair of flip flops. Then I took her to get her very first pedicure. It has been ages since I had one myself. She was a little nervous but cheered up when I told her she could pick out her own nail polish color and she could pick out mine. She chose bright pink with sparkles for herself. And for me she initially picked black with sparkles, but then landed on dark purple.

It was adorable to watch the whole process. In the end she had a lot of fun and couldn't wait to show off her sparkly toes!

05-12-15 Happy Birthday?

This evening we had Big E's birthday party. What? His birthday was two months ago?!? At the time, it didn't work out to have the party, but the weather has gotten nicer and the days have gotten longer so we decided to do it this week. We met at the park with family and friends. I think the grand total was 39 people, most of which were small children. We had pizza and cake and the kids got to play on the playground. Big E had a blast! I didn't get pictures of everyone cause there was so much movement and action (guess what, little kids never sit still!) so I'm sorry if not everyone is on here! 

We are grateful for such wonderful family and friends. Thank you all! We love you!

05-11-15 No Concerns

"He's growing beautifully and I have no concerns."

Finally I heard the words I've been longing to hear for six months!! 

Good job growing, baby E!!

05-10-15 This Fence...

This fence is important to my children. Perched on its beams they watch majestic animals. They wave to giraffes and they feed elephants. They point out their favorite horses and laugh at the cows as they pass by. It's a circus... It's a farm... It's a zoo...

05-09-15 A Walk With Friends

We had a late night last night, (we had dinner with some wonderful friends!) and an early morning, so this afternoon we took nice long naps! When we got up, we went for a walk with my sister-in-law and her kids to the gazebo park behind our house. The kids had fun playing with their cousins, but getting a happy picture of them all was pretty much impossible :) 

05-08-15 Sleepy Guy

05-07-15 An Apology to my Baby 2

So, baby E, I need to apologize. See, I changed your diaper this morning and I set you on the recliner rocking chair in your room like I always do and I went to change my clothes. As I got dressed I could hear you chattering and cooing. And then I started looking for something in the dryer and you started to fuss. I figured it was because you couldn't see me, as you are prone to start fussing when you realize you are all alone.

And then I heard a thud...

Yup. You rolled right off that chair. 

I jumped up and ran into your room just as you started to cry. I swept you up in my arms and you immediately started to smile and laugh. Whew!! Don't worry, I spent the next several minutes taking you into dark rooms and back out into sunlight to make sure your pupils adjusted properly. They did. You kept smiling. You're fine! 

And I promise not to leave you in the chair by yourself anymore. I guess you are officially mobile! 

05-06-15 Six Months

Happy six months, Baby E! 

Six months ago I held you in my arms and looked into your eyes.... Except I didn't because for the first several days of your life you refused to open your eyes. Your face was perpetually contorted into an angry scowl and I was beginning to wonder if you were rethinking the whole "getting born" business. When we finally brought you home, you opened your eyes and stared at me with such confusion, as if we had just at that moment met for the first time.

The first few weeks were rough as you kept losing weight and you struggled with jaundice. We spent our evenings sleeping in the living room of the farm house, me at one end of the couch and you at the other. That was until a spider bit me on the cheek and half my body went tingly and I decided the couch was not a good place for you to be. So you slept in the swing, or the bouncy chair, or the bassinet. 

Then you got sick with RSV and the stomach bug and you lost more weight and you spent a week sleeping and staring off into space and I worried so much for you. I had the flu at the same time and I was so scared that you would catch that too, but you didn't. Finally you came around and you smiled. 

We moved and you got your own room and it was warm. We had snow days and unpacking days and you would get a worried look on your face when you would hear C's voice because it probably meant she was coming to smother you with kisses. 

I went back to work and you adjusted quickly. You started putting on weight, and laughing, and eventually you started rolling over.

We found a heart murmur and you went and got tested. You were fine. We found a lump on your ribs and you went to another specialist. Again, you were fine. It seemed every week we were at a doctor appointment. 

Now you are huge and happy. You have a silly two toothed grin and when you smile really big your eyes close to tiny slits and then I wonder if you can see me. 

These past six months have at times been difficult (the transition from two to three is challenging), but more so it has been amazing. I love being your mommy and I love watching you grow. You bring joy to my heart and laughter to my days.

I love you, Goobs!

Love, 

Mommy

1. You have fat rolls now... On your thighs and your knees and even your ankles. 

2. You smile... A lot. 

3. You still like to be wrapped when you sleep. 

4. You roll over.

5. You chew on everything.

6. Your first two teeth came in on the same day, March 19th. 

7. We gave you your first real food tonight... A little bit of avocado. You liked it at first and then you shuddered.

8. You are ticklish.

9. You get up once or twice a night. (Let's work on that, shall we?)

10. You love it when C and Big E give you attention. 

05-05-15 A boy and his monster

05-04-15 Not the Monday I planned...

I hurt my neck a week and a half ago, and on Saturday my face and head started to go numb, like the feeling you get when Novocain starts to wear off. This morning I called my doctor and he was concerned that it might have to do with an artery going up my neck, so he wanted a Doppler on it to take a look at it. 

I called a radiology place and made a 3pm appointment for the Doppler on my carotid artery. When I called back less than an hour later to confirm, they said I was scheduled for a mammogram. When I told them that wasn't correct, (how do you mix those two things up?!?) they said they couldn't take me today. 

I called around and no one else could take me either, so my doctor sent me to the ER. I left work early and headed there. When I finally saw a doctor he ordered an MRI. He didn't think it was an artery issue, but wanted to make sure. They ran two tests with the MRI and wow is that machine loud! Once done, we waited two hours to hear the results. 

The MRI came back relatively clean. No big issues, so the ER doctor is leaning more towards a muscle issue. He prescribed me a steroid and wants me to follow up with a spine specialist. He didn't really have any answers about when I might start feeling better, so that was kinda sad. 

We finally got home after 10pm. Long long day! 

I'd like to thank Chris and Annie for watching the kids for us so that Tim could be at the hospital with me! C said she enjoyed her time with her aunt and uncle and that she got lots of treats! 

Thanks for all the prayers! Now, off for some much needed sleep. 

05-03-15 Picture Day!

Today was picture day at the ballet studio, so C got to wear her ballet outfit this afternoon. This is what she will be wearing for the big production coming up. She was so excited to have Aunt Annie do her hair. She also got to wear make up, which is a huge deal for her as well. I wish I could have gotten more good pictures of her, but she was dancing around so much that most of them were blurry! (Hey, I can't blame her, that's an awesome dancing outfit!) 

Let's not leave out the boys!

05-02-15 Date Night

Since having kids, I can probably count on two hands the number of date nights we have had. (I know, it's not good.) We always have the best intentions, but our plans get sidelined by illnesses, or family activities, or just plain old fatigue. So it was a blessing to have people take the kids this evening and Tim and I got a little bit of quiet time. 

For our date, Tim took me to dinner at one of my favorite local restaurants. It's a gem of a sushi restaurant in the little (and I mean little) town of Deale. Outside of NYC, they have the best sushi I've been able to find. If you get the chance to go, try the Crazy Roll. It's huge, and a little pricey, but very tasty... (It has crab, spicy tuna, shrimp tempura, avocado and apple, and is covered in red and black roe.) Yum!!

This morning was ballet morning, so the boys hung out with me in the lobby while C did her class. 

05-01-15 It's happening too fast...

It's happening too fast... This growing up... This changing.

You are so eager for it to happen. You measure yourself by your milestones. 

And I sit at dinner both heart brimmingly happy and heart achingly sad as I watch you, trying to freeze these moments in my mind so I can return when you are grown and can remember you here before your hearts have been broken and the world has done its best to drive you down. 

Your laughing, your silliness is completely genuine. And completely wonderful. And completely contagious! I love you. 

04-30-15 The Walker

For Christmas, baby E got a walker from his grandparents. This evening we finally put it together. He is still too small for it. His feet don't yet touch the ground, but he will be growing into it quickly! He enjoyed sitting in it for about ten minutes and the big kids enjoyed pushing him around. 

04-29-15 My girl

04-28-15 Birthday

When I got home this evening, my kids could barely contain their excitement to give me their presents. It was so adorable. :) They each gave me a teenage mutant ninja turtle birthday card and some bath stuff. It was so wonderful. We ate cupcakes and listened to music. We are getting to bed late, but that's ok! 

Thank you for all the kind birthday wishes!

E took his first tumble down the stairs this evening. We have told him *multiple* times that you can't crawl face first down the stairs like a dog, but there is nothing like experience to prove it. He lost his balance after the first couple of steps and tumbled down the rest. Thankfully he wasn't hurt, just shaken up. 

I could use some prayer. I hurt my neck over the weekend and it is still bothering me pretty badly. I have been having excruciating headaches. Also, I think I am coming down with a cold. What a way to usher in my mid thirties, huh?!!

04-27-15 Sleepy Baby

You know how I can tell that this baby is really really tired? 

He is asleep and he isn't wrapped up. He has probably only done this a handful of times in his life. He has been sleeping a lot the past few days. Growth spurt, maybe?

Gotta say, those cheeks are awesome!