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!