Parker just got a brand new spiderman umbrella that he asked for, and has been wanting to use for a few days now. Every day he asks “Is it going to rain today?” The other day he ran through the sprinkler with it to get his fix. So, today when I heard a little rain on our roof in the afternoon, we quickly got boots on and grabbed the umbrella to go and play in the rain. The rain was short lived, but the boys had fun splashing in the puddles!
Posted in Daily Life, Mason, Parker, Photography | Leave a Comment »
When we decided to start looking for our new home, we had an idea of what we wanted. We wanted a real neighborhood. One where kids played in their yards and fun neighbors that we could get to know who were in a similar life stage. Well, God knew what he was doing when he placed us where we are, because we’re surrounded by some wonderful families! You can pick your home, but not your neighbors, and so far we’ve been very happy. I can already tell that our kids (and us) will grow some lasting friendships over the years!
Today was our first really warm day of the season in our new home, so I decided to invite the neighbors over for fun in the sprinkler and with the water table. Our one neighbor Jenn hooked up the slip and slide, and after that, the kids had a blast getting wet! I decided to outfit Sienna in her bathing suit that has been patiently hanging in her closet since before she was born. Remember our little shopping spree Danielle? To my surprise, she’s almost outgrown it already! Little chunkers. I decided to let her toes get a little sprinkled and she didn’t mind at all. It was pretty toasty out, so I think that’s why she enjoyed it. Lots of fun was had by all and it was a great way to kick off the break from school for summertime!
Posted in Neighborhood, Summertime | 1 Comment »
She’s growing up way too fast! Our one and only baby girl, Sienna, is already half way to her first birthday. She’s popped two bottom teeth that are completely cut through the surface and her favorite past times include playing with toes, blowing raspberries, smiling at everyone she sees, sticking out her tongue, and making those gooos and cooos at her two big brothers. She also tried something else that she loves… food! It’s not so surprising since everyone in our family loves to eat. We tried apples for the first time the day before her six month birthday. She gave the typical “What is this strange stuff you’re giving me on a spoon” look, but it didn’t take long before she was intrigued with it, and starting opening her mouth with every spoonful. Just like a pro… So proud.
I used my brand new Breville blender to whip up some nice yummy apples. I made all Parker and Mason’s pureed food with my last Hamilton Beech blender, but this one is 100x better! I love it! It makes me feel better that I’m blending up fresh pureed food for her to eat since I had to wean due to my heavy antibiotic use because of the Lymes diagnosis. This is my last week of antibiotic treatment though, and praying that I continue to feel well.
Here’s a few sweet pics of baby girl and her first taste of solid foods (other than a frozen banana in a mesh feeder a few times).
The anticipation…
I think she loves her new chair.
The first taste…
…and raspberries it is!
Happy girl loves it!
Posted in Feeding, Milestone, Sienna | 1 Comment »
We never intended to stay at our first home so long. We bought at the height of the market and still haven’t been able to recover. With that being said, it was a great home with lots of memories. The first home Dan and I owned together, the home we brought all three of our sweet precious newborn babies home to, and where lots and lots of memories were made in the seven and a half years we lived there. It’s hard to believe we were there that long. It seems like yesterday were were newlyweds, picking out finishes to this new starter home, but needless to say, we outgrew it and needed a change. God has blessed us in many ways, and we are thankful to have spent the time we did in this house! Until the market recovers, we will continue to own the home and rent it out until we feel we can get the money out of it that it deserves. We are using a management company Marketplace Homes to help with peace of mind and allowing us guaranteed rent so we don’t have to bother finding a tenant. Even though we’re still owners, it’s good bye for now and we hope that it provides a family a place for laughter and great memories like it did for us.
Posted in Family, Happy Times | Leave a Comment »
We have had such a busy last few months! However, we had a great time being able to sit and relax, a few days before we were moving to our new home, and enjoy a sweet spring concert our boys put on at school. It was a great escape from the stress at home. They needed it, we needed it. It was so precious!
Mason in the white shirt on the end with his teacher, singing to the music!
Parker in the brown striped shirt beside his best friend Glancy singing Head, Shoulders Knees and Toes!
No Spring Concert would be complete without a sweet ice cream celebratoin! We don’t do a lot of ice cream or sweets in our home, so this was a nice treat for the boys. Of course, they had no objections and loved every bit of it. Of course, so did Dan and I.
Posted in Daily Life, Family, Happy Times, School Days | 1 Comment »
So much has happened since my last blog post that it’s hard to know where to start with catching up! Here’s a little run through of some happenings.
1. I tested positive for Lymes disease from that tick bite back in February. Crazy, right? I took a month long course of antibiotics, but a few days ago I started getting symptoms again (stiff neck and back, extreme exhaustion, nausea, stomach cramps, etc.) So, I went back to get some blood work taken to see if the bacteria is still in my system. Since I’m breastfeeding, they had to give me a different type of antibiotic than they normally give for Lymes since the medicine will transfer in the milk supply. I got the results back from the bloodwork and I tested positive again for the Lymes. Apparently, this monster wants to stick around for quite a bit. I had to make a very difficult decision to stop nursing Sienna and get on IV antibiotics after having horrible neurological symptoms from stopping the oral antibiotic and the new oral antibiotic not working. I now have to go to the doctor every day for IV rocephin antibiotic. I will see another doctor for a second opinion this week to determine if it is advantageous to stay on the antibiotic for longer, or if I should chance it and stick with the 30 day dose. We also got Sienna and Mason tested for Lymes as a precautionary measure. Mason has had a rash on his bottom for quite a while (that appears to be some sort of insect bite mark), and even the steroid cream from the dermatologist will clear it for only a short time and it comes back. Sienna was breastfed, it is somewhat unclear as to whether or not Lymes can be transferred by breastmilk. She too, has had a diaper rash for some time that has been difficult to clear up (keeps coming back) so it is precautionary. We will find out by week’s end the test results. Praying they’re both clear. The Lymes symptoms have been super scary for me. Nothing like I’ve ever experienced before. Stiff neck, sore lower back, brain fog, confusion, severe nausea, and exhaustion are a few of the symptoms that I’ve had. I had to call my Mom to and a friend to help with the kids since Dan was out of town. It was super scary for me. I hope I never have to experience that again. It has certainly given me a new perspective on life and I now am conscience to thank God each and every day for my health. Something that is so easy for all of us to take for granted.
2. We’ve been so busy with getting ready for our big move! We’re are so excited that the new house is coming along nicely. The house is fully bricked, the facade is about 95% complete, and they’ve been working on the inside for the past month or so. Only about two and a half weeks left! I can’t believe we’re so close to moving into our dream home!
3. Last month we celebrated our sweet boy turning two! It’s been so busy that I haven’t been able to blog about it until now, but we are so thankful for this sweet boy, and so glad that God decided to bless us by letting us be his parents. He has his own little personality that can sometimes be challenging, but he is smart, enthusiastic, compassionate and lovable. We had a fun little morning celebrating his birthday at Ihop. We decided to do a “Pancakes and PJ’s” birthday party where we had fun with his little friends listening to a story “Curious George makes Pancakes”, stringing cherrios, and used cookie cutters to cut shapes out in pancakes. It was a fun little party and I think Mason, as well as his little friends had a nice time! 
4. Sienna had her first Easter this year. The weather wasn’t ideal, but we still had a nice day going to church and learning about our risen savior, and visiting family. The boys loved all the little toys they got in their basket and they had fun leaving a carrot out for the bunny. Plus, they looked just as cute as could be. So happy their our kids. Love them to pieces.
Posted in Daily Life, faith, Family, Holidays, Mason, Milestone, New Home | Leave a Comment »
Our membership that we got last year will expire next week, and since Dan will be traveling next week we decided to take a trip to the aquarium. We were hoping to make it there early right when they opened, but I had such a horrible night of sleep. I had a painful plugged milk duct that I noticed while nursing the night before, and it just got progressively worse and worse. I decided to help unplug the milk duct, I would just bring baby girl to bed with us so she could have a buffet of boob if you will and hopefully help me out a bit. I even crawled into a warm bath at 4am hoping the warmth would help ease the pain and let the nursing feel better. I felt somewhat better by the morning, the duct felt unplugged, but the pain was still there. Oh, and the sleepy eyes… Yes the sleepy eyes had me.
Still, the day must go on. And a fun one too! Aquarium! So, I tried to feel better, packed the boys lunches, fed baby girl, and put myself together. Did you know that this post was going to have so much boob talk? I probably should renamed the post “Visiting the Aquarium with three littles and an achy boob”. No, that would scare people away.
So, we head down there and I feel terrible my head throbbing and tired and general achy-ickyness. Thinking it could possibly be from the tick bite I had three days ago (yes, I found a TICK on my body in February-thank you global warming). I thought since the milk duct was unplugged, the nursing was going better and I was okay to go on our little fun family day trip.
We had a nice time! Parker and Mason really loved getting to see all the fish. It’s amazing how much more Mason could enjoy now, than he could this time last year. We went to the main exhibit with the largest aquarium and tunnel first then ate lunch that I brought. We even got tickets to the dolphin show and got to stay for about fifteen minutes before excusing ourselves. We decided to high tail it to the penguins since Mason was being a wiggle worm and wasn’t too keen on the opera singing. The penguins were a big hit too! The fun didn’t skip a beat and the boys were very compliant and nice. Sienna was easy too and just hung out in the stroller or in the Ergo where she slept during the dolphin show. We started to head out about quarter after one because we just knew we would be in for it if we didn’t. Sure enough, Mason passed out on the way home and we were thankful we averted a meltdown! We didn’t stay for a really long time, but it was just enough time for the boys to enjoy something fun before naps!
On the way home, I agreed with Dan that since I still felt terrible that I should go to a doc in the box and see what they have to say. Well, after running through the nursing issues, possibility of pregnancy or reaction to tick bite, he examined me (and found a huge red spot the size of a pancake on the side of my boob) and determined that I have mastitis! For those of you who don’t know what that is, it’s a terrible bacterial infection with flu-like symptoms that starts in your milk ducts. This is my third time nursing (I’m no newbie), and I’ve been through yeast/thrush, milk supply issues, let-down issues, and I never had anything like it. Now I can say I’ve positively had every nursing issue known to man! Aren’t I the lucky one. Fortunately, I got a round of strong antibiotics and I’m on the mend and back to feeding baby girl like a champ! They drew blood to test for Lyme disease just in case, but the antibiotics should get rid of any bacteria from Lyme’s disease as well. Even with the headaches and body aches, I’m still glad the boys had such a nice time at the aquarium and that we were able to enjoy it one last time before the end of our membership. What a great break from all the packing of boxes and being stir crazy at home!
Posted in Daily Life, Family, Photography, Three Month Old | 2 Comments »
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