Update

So Kate does indeed have allergies...thankfully there are only 2 (and sort of a third!)!

She is very allergic to dogs...bummer considering we have TWO of them. Chris is also allergic to them but not as bad as she appears to be...so we are going to have to find a new home for at least one of our puppies and it breaks my heart....I don't know that there is any other option.

The doctor also tested her for a milk allergy and she does indeed have that allergy as well! :) Thankfully we figured that one out a while ago and she's been on soy milk, etc. for a quite a while!

The sort of third allergy happens to be quite ironic...she has a small allergy to SOY!!!! But thankfully, the doctor said that if she doesn't seem to be affected by it then we should just leave it be and go with it...thank goodness!!!! She likes her soy milk and we would LOVE to keep it that way! :)

So that is what is going on with Kate....

Now I'm off to change to go for my workout...wish me luck because I may need it!!!! Although I'm ready to get my rear in shape!!!! :)

Until next time....

Allergy Testing...

So today Kate is being tested for allergies...it's been a long time coming and today is the day. She's being tested for everything indoors and some foods...please keep your fingers crossed that all is well and she is allergy free!!!! I'm honestly not holding out hope seeing as how EVERY other person in our family has them but I can dream, can't I? :)

I will update later!

What We've Been Up To! :)

So what have we been up to lately? Here is a quick recap....

*Kate took her first step the other day! I was home in the afternoon with Chris and she turned and took a step away from the couch! :) She's done it one or two other times and other than that...nothing on the walking front! She's one of those kids though that won't do it until she knows she can do it all the way! :)

*Daniel is pretty much cruising along doing what he always does! He has had a little bit of a three year old attitude lately and it is honestly starting to drive me a little batty! :) But he seems to be slowly snapping out of it!

*Chris has been sick. There really is not much else to say about the poor boy lately...he did get a fantastic report card so we are very proud of that!!!! :) Other than that he has been feeling pretty down in the dumps. He seemed to be doing MUCH better last night...running around and playing, etc. (with only minor fits of coughing) but today seems to be exhausted again...not much of an appetite and a runny nose that is about to do him in apparently! :) I really don't know what is wrong with him...I wouldn't worry about the nose or the coughing (since we have those under control)...it's the lack of energy (except for last night!) and the lack of appetite that really has me worried...

*SNOW....we had quite a bit of snow here yesterday...not what we were looking for at the end of March but it is what it is! Luckily it held off until we got home from Math Contest yesterday (which the kiddos did an amazing job at!!!!!!)....I honestly couldn't tell you exactly how much snow we got since it has been blowing and now it's melting! It was enough to make driving a little hazardous...

*There are only 38 days of school left! :) I can't wait for summer this year...Kate is old enough that I can take her outside and let her play while I watch her brothers ride bikes and play with chalk, etc.!!!! She will also be able to go to the wading pool and do more than lay in her car seat or on a blanket! :) The boys are VERY excited for warm weather and the chance to go play outside! :)

Other than that I think things are pretty much the same around here. We are working hard to keep the house in some sort of order while attempting to keep the kids healthy (although we haven't been so successful at that lately!). I have some new pictures that I will get posted a little later on!

Have a good one!

Sickness...

So this winter has been hard on all of us...we have been the sickest household. Between Kate and her ear infections/colds and the rest of us with the stomach bug, colds, etc. we have all just been a mess!

Fortunately, Kate will be getting tubes put in and her adenoids out here pretty soon which should take care of most of the issues she's having...

Currently we are fighting some bug with Chris. The doctor thinks that most of the issues he's had this week are related somehow to his asthma...and who am I to argue...I don't know anything medical. This has been a rough week around here...Chris had what seemed like a stomach bug Sunday and Monday morning, went to school Tuesday but wasn't himself when he got home and then he has been home the rest of the week with a fever, coughing, a tight chest (due to the asthma) and various other complaints that have come and gone....

Stressful? Oh yeah. In fact, I am about at my wits end with everything that has to do with being sick...no one likes to be sick and no one likes it when their family members are sick but I think pretty soon I may very well lose it....

But what doesn't kill ya makes you stronger, right? :) This will hopefully all pass soon and be a distant memory. Better yet not a memory at all (and knowing my memory this may be true!)....

Please keep your fingers crossed that we are on the road to no more sickness!!!!!

Until next time....

Chris's Birthday....

So Chris's birthday party was a week ago! :) It was tons of fun! We had family and friends who joined us in making the day fantastic! Here are some of the highlights of his Star Wars Extravaganza!!!!

Chris got this clone trooper helmet in a princess bag!!!! :) Way too funny Hopie!!!!

At the party, Chris really wanted a pinata....so we found Darth Vader's pinata! Chris was very excited to smack him around! :)

All the yummy candy!

Darth Vader candle...one of the highlights for Chris! :)

Blowing out his candles....

Present time!

THANK YOU to all of our friends and family who made his birthday so special...those that were there and those who couldn't make it!!!! :) We love you all!!!!!

Have a good one!

DisneyWorld Here We Come!!!!

So it's official!!!! We have booked and paid for our vacation to DisneyWorld! :) Reservations for dinners/lunches are made and the kids are COMPLETELY excited to be going!

We have visited the parks before but this is the first time we will be staying on Disney property and I'm very excited for it to get here!

In other news, Kate is going to have surgery on April 24th to get tubes and remove her adenoids...please keep your fingers crossed that this is what is needed to keep her healthy and to keep those nasty ear infections away!!!!

The kids are all doing well...not much has really changed around here! :)

Hope all is going well out there!

Happy 6th Birthday Christopher! :)

So today is Chris's 6th birthday...man how time flies! It seems like just yesterday he was a little guy needing me to do many, many things for him...like put on his shoes, zip his coat, etc. Today he is a very self-sufficient little man who does everything for himself. He can read, he can write, he can do everything that not that long ago I was wishing he would and now I'm wishing he couldn't! :)

So HAPPY BIRTHDAY my little man....you are my loving, sweet little guy who I treasure. I love you so much and I hope that you have the best day!!!!

Here are pictures of my guy through the years:

The day after he came home from the hospital!

At one:

At two:

At three:

At four:

At five:

At almost six:

I hope this next year is good to you and that it is everything you want it to be! :) You are a great little guy who is going to grow up to do something great...I can just feel it. You are smart, funny, and caring, even though you can sometimes be impatient! :) Don't worry...you get it from your mom!!!!! I'm so proud of all that you can do and I love you more everyday! Keep up all of the great work and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

Love, mom (and dad!!!!) :)

6...

So today's thing I'm thankful for:

My friends.

I love you all and I am thankful for everything you bring to our lives and some days...everything you put up with! :) You are my rock and I don't know what I would do without you! We can talk about anything and are completely comfortable being who we are...

My friends.

Have a great night!

A little behind...

We are back from our short trip to St. Louis and I'm a little behind on my "little surprises." Go figure! :) It seems I'm always behind on something! :)

So today's little surprise:

This is what I was told in the van on the way home by my little man Daniel:

"You are a good girl, mommy!"

"Well, thank you Daniel!"

"Mommy? You a good mommy!"

How sweet is that? :)

This is one of his new things...he is constantly saying that people are "good girls and good boys"...including himself! Such a sweet little man!

Hope you have a great day!

The Beast....

So Kate has ANOTHER ear infection...long story short...she just finished antibiotics (last Sunday) and immediately spiked a fever...she started having problems with breathing, etc. so Greg and I took her to the doctor. Turns out that her ears were as bad as they were before the antibiotic and the breathing problems, etc. were almost to a point of needing to go to the hospital (and somehow this is all linked to her ears). Stressful.

Well, since then Kate has been on oral steroids and her nebulizer around the clock to help with her breathing (thank goodness it's working!) and she's on another antibiotic for her ears...

The problem (well, besides all of that!)?

Well, she has gone from being our sweet, always happy, smiling, funny Kate to this beast (for lack of a better word!)....

She's constantly going from happy to mad in 2 seconds flat....she's not happy up, she's not happy down...she's not eating solid foods or baby food anymore...she only wants bottles. She's not wanting to sleep in her bed (although that has gotten better at night...just not during the day for her naps!) and she has just been very temperamental.

I have to admit that I'm not sure what I'm going to do....

To top it all off....she started pulling at her ears again....I think I'm going to have to call the pediatrician again in the morning...but I'm not sure what she can do. Kate's already on an antibiotic and tylenol. Until we can get her in for her tubes I don't know that there is much we can do.

I just feel horrible for her. Is it rough for Greg and I? Well, yeah...having an almost one year old sit around and yell at you constantly is never fun....but I'm more worried about her. She's obviously not feeling quite up to par and she's tired....poor thing is just tired. I wish I could just make it all go away for her...and if anyone knows of a way to do that...please let me know! :( I just wish she were feeling better....she's been a good sport for the most part but I think she's tired of this nagging pain...and who wouldn't be?

Please keep her in your thoughts! :) Here's to hoping the next time we post things are happier for her! :)

Until next time!

Surprise 4

This was the scene at our house 2 nights ago...my two little men sleeping in Daniel's bed...I love the fact that they are close enough to do these kinds of things! :) I hope it stays this way forever!

Little Surprise 2 and 3

So as my sister pointed out, I've already missed a day! I have to admit it was hard yesterday finding a little surprise...but here it is from yesterday! :)

* Friends who are there for you no matter what...you know they are there but in moments of stress, sadness, happiness, etc. you can look at them and know that they care about you and yours. It is one of those moments that you just want to savor forever and never, ever forget....

Today's Little Surprise! :)

*A very cranky little girl who just needs her mom...should that be a surprise? Probably not but when I was the one who made her cranky in the first place (Heaven forbid...I wiped her stuffy little nose!) and THEN she still wanted a good long snuggle it is! :) This is my little girl who doesn't want anything to do with the people who make her mad....until last night late....what a great surprise...the ability to comfort her after I made her upset! :)

Have a great one!

Life...

Sometimes life will just catch you by surprise...there are good surprises and bad surprises...the sad thing is I think the bad surprises tend to stick with us more (or the rough days)...in an effort to bypass that, I'm going to do a version of the 365 Days of Grace that several of my friends are doing on their blogs. I'm going to try daily to post one small surprise that has happened recently...something that caught me off guard...something that I'm afraid I may forget as the years go by. You know, those little moments that you wish you had on videotape. They could be funny, they could be sweet, they could be very serious (to the kiddos!)...

So here is my small surprise for today:

Daniel running up, giving me a huge hug, and telling me "I love you mommy!" It makes me tear up every time....such a sweetie!