Summer Recap (Letter to Riley on His Mission)

Here on the home front Kaila had her 7th birthday in June and Addie had her birthday 2 weeks ago and is now 4.  She's super happy to now have gum (that's our house rule that you need to be 4 before having gum so it's been nicknamed by Glenn as "Gum Birthday").  

We were able to go on two family vacations this summer.  We went to Yellowstone to visit with my family for a family reunion with my parents, siblings, and their kids.  It was a lot of fun but really messed up Rowan and his sleeping.  He was going 7 hours at night and when we got back home was going only 2.  He was sleeping all day in the car as we were driving around which was great to make the days better but the nights were horrible!  I was so exhausted especially since he was only 5 weeks old when we were there.  

The kids loved Yellowstone (though I would go again until the youngest kids is at least 5-7).  We got to see Old Faithful, geysers, waterfalls, a wolf, coyotes, osprey, and a Moose.  The Mountains and scenery was stunning.  My favorite thing was seeing the Lower Canyon Falls hike (still can't believe I did that in flip flops while carrying a baby and only 5 weeks after giving birth).  It's steeper than Multnomah Falls but has the switch backs just like it going down but on gravel which was super tricking in flip flops with a baby pack in front of you and not being able to see your feet.  The view at the bottom was worth it all!  I'll try to attach a picture though it doesn't do it justice. 

He started to sleep better 5 hours at night but then we took off for Utah for Meg's baptism and his sleep got messed up again though one night while we were there he slept a long stretch which was wonderful.  The bad habit he picked up was needing/wanting to sleep with mommy at night.  It's nice but hard to fully sleep well too.  

We were able to stay a full week after the baptism and enjoy being with Stephen and the kids.  We went to Thanksgiving Point and went through the Dinosaur Museum there, ate frozen Custard (a few times), Temple Square, saw the new Joesph Smith movie, and the boys played tennis a few times.  The kids loved playing together.  It was fun to see them interacting together and using their imagination with all these different books they were playing with. I'm still not sure what they were doing since they said it was a secret and wouldn't let me know.

We stopped over in Boise to see my brother's family on the way back and enjoyed going to the YMCA there and went swimming.  The kids took lessons this past spring and into the beginning of summer.  Kaila is doing really well and has advanced to the class that swims the length of the pool the whole time now (S3.5).  Glenn has moved to the far deep end of the pool (P5), and Addie, our little fish, has moved into P4 in the middle of the big pool.  Addie seriously amazes me at what she can do swim, pull ups, climbing, you name it she will try to figure out how to do it. 

Rowan is 4 moths old now (today-Monday).  The time is flying by.  I can't believe it.  He's grown SO much!!!  He goes to the doctor on the 18th but I got him weighed after Addie's 4 year check up and he was 15lbs 4 oz and that was at 3.5 months.  All my other kids were just 18lbs at 1!!!  He's going to pass that up by 6-7 months.  My poor arms. ;-)  He's talking so much more now and laughing.  It's the best.  He loves chewing on his hands and the little stuffed owl on the side of the strap on his car seat. He prefers to sit up and loves to sit in his bumbo watching me cook or while i'm canning (pears and soon to be peaches and tomatoes this week).  He's such an easy baby and is very mellow and patient.  We have been very blessed to have him in our family.

Kevin's super busy with work which has been a huge blessing for our family right now.  Sadly he's had to pass on a lot of jobs because they are overlapping and I pray more work will come to him in October and on through the winter.  I'm slightly worried because he had a very slow winter last year and then low paying jobs in the spring and we depleted our savings to survive and just now are catching back up and starting to put some money back in the bank.  We just don't have enough to allow for a slow winter again.  Pray for more work to come our way that will support our family and be what we and Kevin needs.

I'm finally feeling like I have my energy level back up.  I just joined a small group of ladies trying to reach their own health goals.  I'm trying to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight.  I know I can do it and hoping this group will help me over this last hurdle I have.  It starts to do so wish me luck.  I also have been enjoying canning all the fresh produce.  I'm hoping to figure out a childcare schedule so I can volunteer at the school and help the kids out with their reading like I have the past 2 years with Vaughn.  Glenn just started Kindergarten and Kaila's now in 2nd Grade so we have two classrooms to help out in this year.  I love that Vaughn like to come and be involved.  Kaila has loved having us both there and we love to see her face light up when she sees us.

Fall Family update

Riley sent a picture of a major rainstorm they had and it made me think of the flash flood we had in Hawaii. When I was at BYU Hawaii we had a flash flood. We went swimming on campus and the next day it was completely dry and you could walk. Hope you're having a lot of fun there right now.

Kevin's been working a lot lately. It's been really great. His job will be ending soon though we're happy and he's back for a bit. The kids have their parent teacher conferences tomorrow. Kaila's will be great I'm sure. Glenn's a little crazy at school! My mom told me to just wait to hear what his teacher says. Addie still has two days this week even though it's Thanksgiving break. The other kids have the entire week off of school.  They celebrated by having a sleepover tonight in their room since we tell them that they can't sleep together unless it's a holiday. 

Rowan's my little giant baby.  He has cabbage patch dimpled hands.  At his 6 month appointment he was 18. 4 pounds. All the other kids at 1 were 18 pounds. Its crazy how big is compared to the others. He still only 54 percent weight his height is around 75 we still skinny for his height. He has the cutest little two bottom teeth, although they aren't nice when he starts biting. He's still such a happy and sweet baby boy. We're very blessed to have him.

I'm so excited this Thanksgiving all my family will be together for the first time in a really long time for Thanksgiving dinner. Both sisters from California will be here and so will my brother from Boise join us. It will be a lot of fun!

Happy Thanksgiving! 

Happy Veteran's  Day!!!  Sadly I'm still sick today.  Ugh, my throat still hurts.  Kevin's voice sounds awful but thankfully he says he feels fine otherwise.  It's a good thing too since his job was awarded today and he had a lot of work to do.  I'm so happy this job came through.  I know he was feeling nervous about it and wanted another job to come through.

Today Addie got to go to the her first gymnastics class with the bigger class.  She was so super excited to go!!!  It was so fun to see how fearless she was there with the other kids in her class.  She did really well and had a lot of fun.  It was tough on the other kids the the entire hour since they had the day off from school and were there the whole time.  I'm so glad that for the other classes I'll be dropping Addie off earlier and then going back after getting Kaila from school so then they won't have to be entertained for the whole hour.

After class I took Rowan and Addie to her doctor appointment for the rash she's had around her mouth for the past few weeks.  Kevin thought 2 weeks and I thought a month so we took the middle at 3 weeks.  We didn't have our normal doctor but Jean Butler saw her and she was amazing talking about the little hat going on the light for going in her ear and the "TV" screen on the back for her to look through.  It was so cute and Addie ate it all up!  Rowan was amazing as always and put himself to sleep once I turned the phone on to a sound machine for him.  He's such a great little baby and makes life less stressful.  How I love that about him.  The DR decided that Addie's rash wasn't from food but probably eczema that has gotten infected.  She ordered her a prescription of antibiotic to help her get over it since it wasn't clearing up on it's own.  I also got a moisturizer to help her with it too.

After getting home I quickly made a sandwich since Kaila's dinner wasn't Game On approved.  Then I feed Rowan while Kaila grabbed me a skirt to throw on and then headed out the door for Stake Leadership Training at the church.  I love those meetings.  I love getting together with friends and sharing fun ideas with each other and feeling the spirit.  It was wonderful.  After the meeting I stopped by Kari's house to draw names for our knitting Christmas party.  I love our knitting group!  I wish I could have stayed longer but Kevin had volleyball to get too and he was already late since I didn't get to her house until after 9pm.

I finished up my water intake, exercise and habits after Kevin left.  Now to bed and praying to meet weight in the morning dispite my lazy exersices the past few days.  I'm still proud of myself for doing something even I feel like crap!

Wonderful Stake Conference and Illness Strikes

Today we had Stake Conference for all of Oregon.  It was wonderful! I was privileged to able to sing an opening song with a women's choir made up of women from the Stake, lead by the awesome Eddie Richey. It was so wonderful to be surrounded with such wonderful and beautiful sisters in our stake. It was a great way to start the day and to feel the spirit so strongly! Our stake president talked before the broadcast from Salt Lake. He shared a picture of Sister Anderson (a daughter of my friend in Damascus Ward) serving her mission in Florida when she surprised a lady she had been teaching in a previous area to be there for her baptism day. Sister Anderson is in full smile and the investigator getting baptized was in full tears. It was very touching. He talked about how that is the gospel. I was explaining it to sweet Addie who was sitting on my lap the lady crying was so very, very happy. How the gospel can bring us so much love and joy. It was sweet to have a little time to talk with her. 

Sadly we are all getting a little sick in the house with colds.  If you can say a prayer of healing for us, especially Addie. She's the worst. Pray for Kevin's hand to heal.  He hit it on a persons head at volleyball weeks ago and still isn't feeling better. He went to the doctor on Friday and it's not broken but is very painful with many movements and to the touch. Kevin started some oils on it tonight and feels they are actually helping it. I pray it does because it's his right hand. Poor guy.

Visiting Grandma

After telling the kids they could finally see Grandma and heading to the hospital after Church and a snack we arrived to find out that kids under 13 aren't allowed in to the cardio area.  Really frustrating that we didn't know that info before hand.  We were super lucky that Sharon and Marshall Woolner were there visiting and they came out and said they would watch the kids for us so that we could both go in and visit.  The poor kids were so bummed out that they couldn't go in.  Glenn was so upset (as you can see in the video), Kaila was near tears, and Addie being 3 didn't fully understand and didn't seem to care too much.

So they could talk to Grandma I took videos messages of each of them to show Grandma.  They usually see her at least once a week if not more on top of every Sunday at church.  They didn't have the play date that was planned earlier in the week because Grandma wasn't feeling well and I could feel their pain and the long separation.  Poor Grandma was feeling it too 

 Pics Kaila took while they were waiting

The Card Kaila made for her

Showing Grandma the videos

After watching the videos Grandma was determined to see the kids.  She asked her nurse if she could go to the door to see her grandkids.  They said that should be fine and helped to get her mobile.  The kids LOVED it.  They stood on one side of the threshold and Grandma on the other giving self hugs to each other, blowing kisses, and talking.  It really helped the kids and Grandma too I'm sure.

They changed her room while we were there getting ready for surgery the next day.  Kevin and Vaughn were able to give her a blessing.  Sheri Southworth (RS Pres) came to visit and later the Bishop and Emily Jensen came too.  I knew Suzi was feeling the love.  :-)

20-week Check Up

I had my 20 week check-up with Jane yesterday (Tuesday 1/7).  Nana brought us to the doctor appointment because she didn't like hearing about me feeling faint and being so sick the prior two days and asked if she could drive us.  I said sure.  It was nice to have her along with us.  We got there early so we could refill the kids vitamins and fluoride.  I went and checked in for my appointment after pulling the number for the pharmacy (6 numbers to go) and when I got back from checking in they hadn't moved up in the line at all.  Weird.  After sitting for a couple more minutes and nothing happening I left to use the restroom leaving Kaila with the cards and number.  I got back from the bathroom and still they hadn't called another number.  It's now been 15 minutes and I needed to go wait for my appointment in the other waiting area.  Mom said she would wait and get the refills for me.  I told her Dad had picked them up before for me so it wasn't a problem and that she shouldn't have to pay anything for them.

Kaila and I left to wait for our appointment and it was another long wait.  I read a chapter in my book. Helped Kaila with some of her problems with her game.  I even checked FB and responded to a few text messages.  My name was finally called after another 30 minute wait.  My mom just walked to waiting area right we were gathering up our stuff.  She decided to stay out in the waiting room instead of coming back with us.  Once in the nurses seemed all over the place.  I got told to get weighed by one, after putting my stuff down and stepping on the scale, waited for awhile before another nurse weighed me and then the first nurse took me to my room.  Very disorganized and not very personal feeling.  We waited again in our room for another 20 minutes.  I even escaped to go to the bathroom.  I think something was going on with another patient but still...someone telling us something would have been polite.

Finally Jane made it into our room. Kaila was so excited to come with me because Jane had promised to let her find the baby's heartbeat this time.  I had to remind Jane of that right before she was about to find the heart beat. Jane even wiped the jelly off for Kaila to put it on herself and everything.  Kaila found the heartbeat right away.  The look of pure delight was wonderful to see in her eyes.  It was awesome.  Jane said in a couple more months she would teach her how to find the baby's head and check for positioning.  Kaila was thrilled. I love the attention that Jane gives to Kaila.  Kaila loves being a part of this whole experience and it's so fun to share it with her.

As Jane was leaving she asked if we were going to have Kaila there while the baby was born.  I told her we hadn't thought of it and it would probably depend on what time the baby came.  It would be fun for her.  I talked to Kaila about it and she said she wanted to come.  I told her it could take a VERY long time...12 hours...longer than school is.  She said okay, may I bring my IXL (game boy player).  I said yes and she was happy with that.  We will see what happens come May.

After the appointment we headed over to KFC for a girls date dinner.  Kaila was so happy she chose that place to eat.  She loved her drumstick, fries, applesauce, and Capri sun.  Nana even bought her another drumstick and two biscuits since she was still hungry.  She then ate her little polar (blizzard) treat too.  It was a very fun evening with just us girls despite all the long waits.

6 missed Calls

Yesterday Kevin called down asking what time the movie started and I glanced up at the clock. It read 4:30.  Oh no, "30 minutes ago,"  I called back.  I then immediately yelled for the kids to hurry and get their shoes on.  Kevin said he wasn't going to a movie so late. I said I didn't think it would matter much.  He still insisted on staying home so I had him keep Addie since she hate's to sit and didn't make it through much of "Hotel Transylvania" that we went to see with friends just after the new year.  I hurried the big kids in the car, called my sister as we drove to ask her what the beginning of the movie was, she had missed it too when she saw it, looked up the synopsis on my phone and read parts while we waited for the red lights.  We hit almost every red light and then parking was CRAZY!  We had to park the furthest away form the theater that I have ever parked but we made it to the movies and sat down.  It didn't seem like we missed much and then after realized the movie actually started at 4:30 not 4.  :-)  I realized half way through the movie that I forgot my phone in the car.  I was worried someone would break in and grab it since I had parked so far away and not on the busy road.  I prayed that it would be safe but kept having a feeling I needed it.  I thought about running out without the kids to get it but didn't want to leave them that long without someone with them.  Dragging them out of the theater to get it wasn't an option either since it was so far away and I know they would hate me and it wouldn't be worth it to come back in after missing a chunk of the movie to run to far both ways.  I resorted to waiting till the movie was over and then to hurry to the car.  Once I got the kids in I was relieved to see that the phone was still there and charging in the car!

I picked up my phone and saw 6 missed calls...ALL from Kevin!  I checked my text messages and Kevin said, "Call me ASAP!"  I was freaking out.  What happened.  I was so worried.  I started to drive home while trying desperately to reach him.  I kept getting his voice mail.  I tried again and again.  He finally called me and said that Addie was okay (never a good sign to start out that way...means something bad is going to follow) but that she had cut her gum open on the bed and he was taking her to the emergency room thinking she needed stitches.  I immediately turned the car around and headed for the ER.

I stopped at McD's for dinner for the kids and myself.  We arrived at the ER and settled down at the kids section at the end and ate dinner and talked.  Addie had been jumping on our bed from the head board to the end.  Kevin told her to stop that she was going to hurt herself and then she did it one more time.  Her head came right at the foot board and her gum line cut right on the edge.  A piece about the size of a nickle was flapping up.  He said it bleed a lot but she was brave and never really cried about it.  He was trying to get a hold of me for the car seat since I took the big car but finally called his parents to bring the extra one over for him to put in his car.

Addie was so happy to see us and was playing really well that you wouldn't know she really hurt herself unless you asked her to smile.  They finally called us back and took her vitals.  The first doctor came in and they tried to sew it up without drugs.  They wrapped her up so her arms couldn't get out.  It was horrible.  She was screaming and the nurses were trying to keep her still.  Finally after about 10 minutes they gave up (felt like 30 minutes though). They got her a room and then they were going to put her under so they could sew her up.  They wanted to wait a full 4 hours since her last meal which Kevin had given her a sandwich at around 4:45/5.  That meant we had to wait until 9pm before giving her her medicine.  We called Grandpa to come pick up the older two and take them home for bed since they both had school the next day.

As he walked in the room Addie with an IV Line in one arm and a bandage on the other stretched out her arms for a hug and said, "Granpa!"  It was the cutest thing.  She kept her arms straight as she hugged him from the bandages and IV.  It was nice to have the big kids gone so we weren't trying to keep them entertained and Addie happy too.



Finally the new doctor came in a female (Perfect since every male Addie saw after the first attempt to sew her up was a male she cried any time they came in the room thinking they were going to hurt her).  The doctor told us what would happen.  Addie was climbing all over the bed, in and out of the safety railing.  She commented on our active she was.  I responded by saying, "this is why we will probably be seeing you again."

 Later the team of nurses and one pediatric specialist came in the room.  I think there were 5 of them just in case something went wrong.  Thankfully everything went well.  I sat her on my lap.  She hugged the stuffed puppy dog they gave her to keep her happy and show what they were doing to her by doing it to the dog first.  They got the medicine in her and she started to go limp.  I was able to slide out and lay her down and she was still.  They had to give her one more dose before they were able to finish up the sewing since she was starting to move but other than that it went really well!

It was the funniest thing to see her come out of the drugged state.  They said it's in the same family as LSD.  She tried to sit up but could barely move her head and then tried again and he head would flop.  She tried getting out of bed before she could even balance.  I finally put her on my lap to keep her safe.  As we were leaving and she had drank some milk they gave her Kevin sat her on the ground since she wanted to walk out but she started swaying.  He decided to carrier instead (wise choice).

A week of soft foods diet and no brushing of teeth until the stitches have dissolved 5-7 days.  LOVELY.  Sandwiches count as a hard food because she has to bit into it.  This will be fun to figure out what to feed her.  I'm so proud of Kevin though!  He handled the situations so well without freaking out over the blood, got Addie dressed again since she was just in her shirt and diaper and was able to figure out how to get another car seat under pressure.  What a man!!  How I love him.  He's such a great husband and Father!

Tears & No Tears

This morning I got to work in Kaila's classroom. I LOVE doing that and Kaila LOVES having me in there which is an added bonus.  After picking Kaila up from school and eating lunch Glenn and I headed to see Dr. Chen.  It was his 4 year check up and Glenn hadn't seen Dr. Chen since he was 3 except for once or twice when I had to take him with me for a siblings check up.  Sadly before we left he said he couldn't remember Dr. Chen (which broke her heart to hear that).  He saw a picture of her in the waiting room and then remembered!  Kaila was shocked to hear that he didn't remember her since he has seen her since he was born.  Thankfully he's fine.  He still has a slight heart murmur that Dr. Chen detected at his 3 year check up.  Since he needed his second part of the flu shot he opted to get all his kindergarten shots at once so he could be shot free when he comes in at 5.  Poor guy!  It hurt so bad for him and he had tears streaming down his face.  Sadly the nurse grabbed two of the wrong vaccines and had to stop after the 2nd shot and go get the new ones.  I played it off to Glenn that she was giving him a little break and I tried to distract him.  The poor boy!  He got three stickers and a blue pencil to help him feel better.

Picture taken by Kaila

Glenn's Stats:

Height: 40.75" (3' 4.75")

Weight: 39lbs

BMI: 16.51kg/m2

 Time for X-Rays

After the doctors office and picking up vitamins at the pharmacy we hurried home to get the girls to go to the big kids dentist appointments.  In my rush to get out the door and carrying all of Addie's things (she was so cranky and didn't want to hold anything_we are worried she might be getting sick) I forgot my purse.  Kevin thankfully brought it to me since he was leaving to take Riley out for dinner and a last time to hang out before he leaves on his mission to Peru on Friday.  Thankfully Kaila and Glenn did great at the dentist.

Glenn was completely calm about the whole thing.  I could tell Kaila was a little nervous about it but was trying to be brave.  They got the perfect hygienists for them.  We were blessed with them being able to get cleaned at the same time so Addie and I sat in a chair in between their two chairs which fascinated Addie and it was the only time the whole afternoon that she wasn't whining. Glenn's just got in there and cleaned his teeth.  Kaila's was showing her all the different tools and what they did and she did great!  Much better than the screaming fit that happened last time she was there and ended up not having anything done except for fluoride in my memory serves correctly.  They each got a toy (Glenn-basketball hoop little toy and Kaila-heart shaped slinky).  The only thing we need to do is be sure to floss their back molars otherwise they are doing great!!

Boys watching music videos and such

Fun and Prayers

I got to go to knitting tonight! I was so excited to be able to leave the house. The kids were a bit crazy tonight and it was such a relief to get a break. I made some great progress on Addie's hat too. It's super cute! I can't wait for it to get finished. I think it will just take a few more nights. I took Glenn in for his 3 year appointment today. He's getting so big and tall. He's 34.7 lbs and 38inches tall. He got his "nose cleaned out" (flu nasal spray) for the first time today. He did great with it. He was being silly though at the doctors and I had to hold his hand the whole time. Weird!

My friend is having brain surgery in about 8 hours so if you can say a prayer for her that all goes well as they remove her brain tumor that would be great. We are all wearing gray tomorrow in support for her since "grey matters." Also, say a little prayer for her family especially her daughter Hannah (12) who's having a hard time this round with her mommy's cancer.

Update...

Since I'm still working on Paris pictures...I know...I thought I should post about this morning's adventures.

LM and I got hit with the virus I believe DD had. We both had fevers and body aches. We both slept all day long. Sadly as I went upstairs for bed I went to the bathroom and felt like I was going to throw up so I laid on the floor and then sat up. I thought I was doing better so I got up to put my clothes in the laundry basket. I felt faint and just threw them in the basket and turned around to make it the bed to sit down (about 3-4 steps). I never made it. The next thing I remember was DH brushing the hair from my face over and over and saying my name (5-6 times). I finally figured out what he was calling me and opened my eyes. I was surprised to see I was in the corner of the room by the door. I couldn't figure out how I got there. I felt so much better than I had before and told DH I felt much better. He told me not to move and to stay on the floor. From his perspective he was asleep on the bed and heard a loud bang (my body hitting the door closed) and then me sliding down the corner wall with my head twitching and my arms and legs twitching. He jumped across the bed and called my name. He asked if I was okay. I wasn't responding. He opened my eye and they were moving all over the place. He said he was going to lay me down and I was dead weight as he laid me to the floor. It took me about 20-30 seconds to finally come too after being moved down. DH was so worried. He's never been so scared in all his life which is saying something since he's been shot at and seen someone shot and killed right in front of him as a kid (lovely San Bernardino). He called 911 and they sent an ambulance and firefighters to the house. They gave me and IV of fluids and zofran for the nausea. Took my heart rate and blood pressure laying down and then sitting up after 250cc's of fluid. My heart rate laying was 75-78 and then sitting up shot up to 108 and my blood pressure dropped. I laid back down and the re-did the test after more 500cc's and same results. The third time my heart rate went to 98 instead so it was better but still not great. I really didn't want an ambulance ride to the hospital (more out of pocket cost) so they did an EKG and everything was normal, check blood sugar level (normal-100), and then called the doctor. The doctor said a normal person could be dehydrated and still wouldn't have a syncopal episode (faint) so she really wanted to do more test and check me out. Due to liability I needed to go in the ambulance. I left with the paramedics and DH called my parents to come and then brought SP to the hospital so that I could feed her (sucked because she got woken up early 3am normally sleeps till 6:30am) and then she wouldn't go to sleep. We had my dad come to the hospital to give me a blessing. I fed SP and then he took her back home to sleep. After blood tests, urine tests, more blood pressure/ heart checks I was finally released from the ER 4.5 hours later. Everything came back normal except my Calcium level was a little low so I was told to keep taking my prenatal vitamin and some tums for the next few days. We got home at 7:45am and both SP and LM were up already. DH went straight up to bed since he was suppose to work from home today and didn't get much sleep on the stool he was given at the ER and wanted to get two hours of sleep if he could. My Dad made the kids pancakes for breakfast and my mom fed SP before heading home to sleep too. My Dad thankfully came back and took Kai to swimming for me. That was a HUGE blessing. Sadly SP ended up with a fever mid morning and has this same nasty virus. Poor DD tonight was so sad thinking she had gotten SP sick because she was sick first. I told her it was probably more mommy since I'm around her all the time. That helped her.

DD has been complaining of her neck hurting the past few days so DH took her to the chiropractor to get adjusted. 2,3 and a rib were out of place. She's still saying her head hurts though. I hope there's nothing more seriously wrong with her.

Seriously when it rains it pours. I one week DH sprained his ankle, all the kids have been sick, I am sick, DD went to Urgent Care, I went to the ER, DH sliced his finger (again but thankfully not as bad), and DD has a massive headache. I think it's time for our luck to change.

Hush Little Baby...

SP is on a roll! I'm so proud of her. Since DH is gone I am "allowing" the children to learn how to go back to sleep on their own. ;-) After putting them to bed I'm not going up there at all for anything (unless there is MAJOR screaming...which there hasn't yet). LM sometimes wakes up because his binky fell or he can't find it. If I were brave I would get rid of it this week but I'm not...I'd rather DH be the bad guy. He's called out a few times but I just ignored him and he goes back to sleep quickly. SP I haven't heard the last two nights! And DD has been great too. I'm loving this. I hope it keeps up while DH is gone and when he comes back. SP slept Tuesday night 7pm-3am (feeding)- 9:30am which was wonderful and then she did it again Wednesday night 8pm-5am (feeding)-8:30am!!! I hope she does just as well tonight.

Today I took SP in for another weight check and she was 13.11 which was up from 13.9 last time but they said at her age they want them gaining 9oz every month so she should have gained 4.5oz instead of just 2. I don't know what to do with that girl. She seems fine to me though and even has chub on her legs but she has a flat belly and skinny arms. She finally will eat baby food (only homemade though) but she will only eat nibbles of it till she's done so all together about a teaspoon or two. It's terrible. Her favorite is avocado though which they were happy to hear since it's high in fat. She actually almost ate a whole little serving that I made tonight. DD at her age though was eating 2-3 times that amount.

The kids are going to the grandparents house tomorrow to play (I'm going to run errands w_just SP) and then we have a play date with a friend too! We stopped by DH's parent's house this evening and were able to skype with him so the kids loved seeing Daddy and so did I. I love technology! It really helps keep everyone connected.

Anemic

So the doctor called today about SP. Her tests came back normal though she's slightly anemic so they are prescribing her a multivitamin with iron that we are going to pick up tomorrow. She also is scheduled for another weight check at the end of April to see how she is doing. She's so little but thankfully she seems healthy and happy.

Poor SP

Sadly I got a call that the urine sample came back bad. They ended up needing to catheterize SP. They said there were two forms of bacteria in the catch they got before so they said they needed to cath her. I called grandma to come stay with the older two and use her car since DH had just left with ours to go look at another car with his dad. It was my third day in a row taking SP to the doctors. Thankfully I think she had already forgotten what had happened to her since she was happy and smiling at everyone. She HATED having her legs held apart and the cold iodine wipe. Thankfully it went pretty quick and she calmed down when I picked her up until I put her back in her car seat. She really doesn't like being put in there.

Paris Day 3- Doctor Visit, Louvre, Tuileries Garden, Place de la Concorde, and Orsay

Tuesday night I knew my sister wasn't feeling well. She was always looking for somewhere to sit during out cooking class and she had me checking her throat because she felt the same way she had a month ago when she has strep throat. I was PRAYING she didn't have that since it's VERY contagious. That night she had a raging fever and by morning I knew she was sick and needed to see a doctor. I called the front desk and told them my sister was very sick and needed to see a doctor. They asked me how old my sister was and what her symptoms were and then said the doctor would be here in 45 minutes! Impressive. I was so shocked that we didn't have to go somewhere and how nice that Rebecca could just stay in bed and sleep until the doctor arrived. He came, checked her throat, took vitals and then prescribed her pain pills and antibiotic. He gave me the prescription and told me to just find one of the many pharmacies down the street. He charged us 80 Euros (less than $150) for an in home visit! LOVE it. I went down the street with SP and filled the prescriptions and that was about 14.50 Euros. So cheap. I was LOVING the French Health Care System. So much better than what we have in the US where you have to prove you have insurance and if not then you have to go to the ER and pay a fortune. I much prefer the French way. :-)

Rebecca was really bummed about being sick and so was I. The doctor told us that hopefully in 24 hour she would be feeling better but definitely 48 hours. Our plan was to hit up the museums so Rebecca told me I should go on my own. She had been to the Louvre before when she came. She wanted to go again but at least she had been there. I was really nervous about getting lost in the city without Rebecca but took a deep breath and told myself I could do it. So glad we had already spent two days traveling the Metro so I had it figured out (look at the last stop to know which direction you need to go). I bundled up SP and decided to take the stroller since I was the only one going and couldn't trade with the pack if needed. That was not the best choice now after having been there. The louvre is FULLY of all these half, quarter staircases without elevator access to all of them...at least not easy access. I was trying to follow "Rick's" tour and spent about an hour trying to figure out where it started using the elevator going up and down and up again. I finally gave up and started carried the stroller up and down all the stairs. What a workout! I was so exhausted by the time I left the museum. That place is HUGE! It's hard to even comprehend. I was grateful to have SP with me. Even though she was a baby it made me not feel so alone. She was GREAT and went to sleep easily too. I fed her twice while there and she did great. Surprisingly I thought I would see more women breastfeeding but I never saw one. Lots of bottles though. I was hoping they didn't have a law about it that I didn't know but it seemed okay (at least I wasn't arrested).

Views of from the Inside of the Lourve looking out

The Famous PyramidsI entered the Louvre by the inverted one. There were a group of Asians there and they all came over to take pictures of SP and a few of themselves with her. It was too funny. I guess they like the white babies. She is a cute one. I also got to just hurry through the metal detectors due to the baby again. I would have thought they would be even more careful since it was the museum but not really.

The Denon

I spent most of my time in this wing of the building. Most of the famous piece of art are here. I could have gotten VERY lost here. There was room and room down hall after all which lead to more rooms and halls. Unbelievable the amount of art there.

The Winged Victory of Samothrace (190 BC) and the Venus de Milo

Leonardo da Vinci

There was art EVERYWHERE. Some of my favorites were on the ceilings.
The whole building was a piece of art.

Look really closely at the bottom left picture...can you see the people standing by the picture? There's a head at the farthest left corner...this picture is HUGE as were most of the artwork there.

Mona Lisa

I sat down to feed SP outside the room where the Mona Lisa was and I looked to my right and there were these two pictures there...how funny since I was breastfeeding SP at the time. Thankfully there were so many people there in that area of the museum that SP's slight fussing wasn't bothersome. There were also benches in the middle of the hallways for people to sit on which worked out great for me!

Room after Room

To help SP stay quiet while we were in the museum I gave her my water bottle to suck on/play with.  I was surprised when I checked her to see that she was soaked.  She had actually gotten water all over her.  That's impressive since my water bottle is spill proof and you have to squeeze the the spout with your mouth and then suck up at the same time. 

The Sully

The only portion of the medieval Louvre still visible (bottom right pic and the one with me and SP) Amazing stuff there. Loved seeing the Papyra and other ancient artifacts.

The Richelieu

The Three Graces (top right) and Rembrandt's work

On either side of this wing there were two "outside" type spaces with beautiful sculptures. I truly felt like I was outside. LOVED it thought I was exhausted so I couldn't thoroughly enjoy it. I loved the artist that was featured there at that time. He had the funniest sculptures making crazy faces with hilarious descriptions (bad gas, constipated, amused, bored...)

Since I had SP in the stroller those with a stroller or disabled were able to ride this awesome elevator up to exit the museum since there are only stairs for everyone else. The elevator is a circular platform that goes up around the spiral staircase.

In the "Courtyard" of the Louvre

Tuileries Garden

Took an hour to sit at this pond and watch the kids play with their boats. Fed SP and just soaked in Paris. It was fun to pretend that I might live there while I ate my snacks.

Fun playground with some fun new equipment...made me miss my big kids

Place de la ConcordeAfter I got enough strength after touring the length of the gardens and the Ponte I looked up the Orsay...it was fairly close so I headed that way. I was unhappy to find a nasty walking bridge that had shallow yet deep stairs meaning I got to carry the stroller yet some more. It's funny how when there is a metal bridge everyone puts locks on it. I thought this was the love bridge but we came across that a couple days later. The Orsay didn't allow photos so I only got Van Gogh's pictures outside since he was featured at the time. The museum was under construction so the upper level was closed and then the elevators weren't working. I left frustrated but saw some great art. I figured I would come back again with Rebecca.

Beautiful Sunset (outlining the Eiffel Tower)
as I crossed back over the Gardens to get to the Metro