February

Valentines Day

I love celebrating Valentines day with my family.  We have some fun traditions that make the day extra special.  Every year the girls come home from school to find little gifts of love from Mom. This year I made each of the girls a special headband or flower to wear.  Then I send them to the mail box to collect all the wonderful valentines cards that our family sends.   Daddy always brings home something special and this year it was gourmet cupcakes and balloons for the girls and a dozen roses for me. Every year I make gourmet chocolate dipped strawberries for dessert.  

 

 

 

Biddy and the Bug

We all got hit with a very horrible stomach bug (gastro-intestinal virus ).  The Bellie was sick for a week and the rest of us where feeling crummy for days but the bug hit Biddy especially hard.  She would not stop throwing up.   She was so exhausted that she fell asleep with her  head resting on the edge of the toilet bowl between hurling episodes.

After 48 hours of vomiting with no end in sight I took her to the E.R. The doctors were great and got her pumped with Zofran and fluids within the hour.  I was shocked at how sick and  lethargic she really was.  When they put her I.V. in she didn’t even flinch.  The blood work revealed that her glucose levels where far below normal and her hydration level was dangerously low. After three hours on fluids she started to perk up.  When her sugar level reached normal again they let us go home. She spent the next week recovering.  It was a grueling ordeal for her and it sure helped me appreciate the times when my kids are healthy. 

 

JJ’s Snowman

JJ has been talking about building a snowman all winter but was sick every time we had a good snowfall. Then a late February storm dumped 4” and she finally got her chance. She dragged Daddy out to help her and together they built our biggest snowman to date. I especially love his moustache.

8 Months

The Bellie is growing up before our eyes.  She is full of non-stop energy.  We have learned to keep an eye on her as she can find her way into all sorts of stuff.  She will eat anything especially paper so we have to “sweep” up every room before we can set her down to crawl.  I made her some leg warmers because she was crawling holes in all her pants.  She has no fear and will crawl off any edge.  We had to get a gate so she wouldn’t go head first down the stairs.  A quick learner when it comes to getting around, she is pulling up and even starting to climb.  I was shocked when I wandered into the kitchen and discovered that she had climbed right up into the dishwasher.   She loves her bottle and eats lots of yummy food.  She babbles constantly and her favorite sound is adada. Her least favorite thing is getting her diaper and clothes changed as she hates being held still. I am grateful that she is a good sleeper.  She still naps in her car seat so running errands is a breeze. She also sleeps the whole night.  She is so easy and so much fun!  We sure do love our active and happy girl.

January

The girls got to celebrate the New Year with a little independence.  Burke and I were both exhausted so we turned in around 11:00 but JJ and Zana were having so much fun playing video games we let them stay up.  They rang in the new year with a little dance party and then headed to bed all by themselves around 12:30.  They thought it was so cool!

We celebrated Burke’s 35th Birthday.  He needed some help blowing out all the candles on his cheesecake.  We went on a day trip to the Pro Football Hall of fame in Canton OH.  The seven hour round trip drive was long but the cool stuff we saw at the Hall of Fame made the drive worth it.  JJ’s interest in football was sparked. She especially loved all the rare Patriot’s memorabilia. The younger girls got to fill in NFL sticker books and that kept them busy.  The highlight of the day was getting a sneak peek at the Super Bowl trophy for the upcoming game.

Burke got a really big birthday present.  He traded in his Dodge for a different dream vehicle. . . A 1986 Toyota 4Runner.  It needs a little work but that is what Burke loves to do.  It ended up being a blessing that we sold the truck because the transmission in our mini van failed.  We were able to use the money we made on the truck to  help us upgrade to a Honda Odyssey.  I love my new van with leather, heated seats and lots of extra room for kids and cargo. 

Biddy loves riding with me in the new van.  We chat, sing, and laugh.  I enjoy  taking her on errands with me because she is so cute.  She talks to everyone and makes them smile.  Recently I took her to get her flu shot.  She was so horrible she had to be held down by two nurses and she screamed the whole time.  When it was finally over she dried her tears and then turned to the nurse and said “I was so brave.” The nurse laughed and gave her some stickers.  So when we saw another nurse she said the same and thing and lo and behold she got more stickers.  After making the rounds with the nurses she showed her sticker to the receptionist saying “I got my shot and I was so brave” .  She asked Biddy if she cried and she proudly responded “ No, I screamed.” She sure can make us smile. 

The Bellie  is growing by leaps and bounds. She is 7 moths and is speed crawling, pulling up on her knees and babbling like crazy. She loves to play with toys and the girls love paying with her.  With their help she is learning to pull up to a standing position.  She is eating more food and enjoying it.  We flew home to Utah for a week to visit family.  Everyone loved her. I was not surprised she is so happy and will cuddle with anyone. We love our girl!  

Eventually all kids find the garbage can . . .

JJ and Zana are having a blast playing in all the snow here in OH. I am still surprised when they bundle them selves up and head outside in the frigid cold with the neighborhood kids for hours. They go sledding on the hill at the park, build snowmen and forts and have lots of snowball fights. 

It is half way through the school year they are both doing awesome. JJ got to participate in an invention convention. She created a spray brush that sprays your hair with water and brushes it in one step. She got an A and said that a lot of kids really liked her invention. Reading has finally clicked for Zana. She is now reading above grade level and has the confidence that comes from being one of the best readers in her class.

It has been a great month and a very good start to the year 2013.     

Little Sister

The girls were so excited to meet their new sister.     Biddy was especially sweet with her.  She was in awe that Nellie was out of my tummy and that she was so cute!  JJ and Zana were able to help dress her in the special outfit they bought for her. They also  made Nellie special cards to welcome her into the family.

 

Nellie’s First Diaper Change

Love from Mommy

Burke Surprised me with fresh Lobster Tail Pastries from Mike’s Pastry's.  He had them flown in by a co-worker from Boston who was coming to Texas for a meeting.  It was such a wonderful present and so thoughtful.

 

The girls carried on the family tradition of playing with latex gloves when you are bored at the hospital