Off we go again.

Ok this is going to be brief. I just wanted to pop in and let you guys know we are heading out on vacation the day after tomorrow. We are going to Canada to fish. We do this every year and while I do not pride myself on being a fisherwoman (although it can be fun), I love the lake we go to and the water and it is always relaxing. This year will probably be a little less relaxing, but fun nonetheless. I just hope the 3 little ones don't wig out about being on the boat for 3 or 4 hours at a time. Oh well, we shall see......

Quick Kiddo Updates:

Anna

She got a good sized booboo on her chin Memorial Day. It was a gash that could have probably used a stitch or two. I have been putting a couple butterfly strips on it and a bandaid and it looking pretty good. It is all bruised and stuff, the poor thing, she hit it hard. She also got stung by a bee on her finger today, in our house of all places. She kept saying "ladybug give me booboo." This was very much the wrong thing to say because I had just convinced Madeline that ladybugs (i.e. any bug, fly or spider) we nice and liked Madeline.

Other than her booboo's, Anna is doing pretty well. Something odd about her though right now are these scars she has on her tongue. They are a new thing (last 6 months or so) and the run down the left side of her tongue. I am a little concerned about them, but I assume she must be knawing on her tongue or something while she sleeps. I don't know, very odd indeed and I will ask the dr about it the next time we see one.

Gideon

Well, his u/s came back good, so that is good news. We see the GI specialists June 9th and Ryan is going to go with me so that we can both ask everything we need to ask. I really want to get some answers. Gee seems to have gained some weight, but it is so hard to tell because I feel like he fluctuates so much. He poo is still aweful. Very frequent and about 1/3 of the time it is a blowout. Yuck! I told Ryan today that I am all pooped out! He gets to change all the poopie diapers on vacation. I need a break.

Besides the poo issue, Gee seems to be doing well. Kind of whiney, but maybe that is a personality trait. He is really a funny guy that like to be silly. He also like to annoy his sisters, usually by laying on them or pulling on some article of their clothing. I think he is a little "shy" (for lack a better words) also. If he realizes people are looking at him his face gets all expressionless and he looks like a deer in the headlights. It is really funny because he won't even crack a smile.

Ok, well I must go. I have loads of packing to do!

Julie

Camping!

So we went camping at General Butler State Park (in Kentucky) this past weekend.  It was lots of fun!  It poured the whole first day, but the rest of the weekend was really nice.  The campground had a lot of mature trees and we kind of had a whole section to ourselves.  The kids rode their "ride bikes" around and around.  We played some corn hole and rode the big kid bikes and pretty much just relaxed as much as we could.

We just recently got a new camper and that made camping much more feasible for a family of 7.  The 3 little ones had a little bit of a tough time getting a sleep routine down, but all in all it wasn't too bad.  We hope to get plenty of camping trips in this summer/fall.

This park had a choo choo that the kids got to ride.  All 5 seemed to think it was fun, even though I am sure it was boring for the oldest 2.

Anna and Gideon eating Anna's birthday cupcake (yes, her 4th birthday celebration).  Her and mama shared a little party.  It was cute and the cupcakes were a hit with the kiddos.

Anna and Madeline riding in the pull behind on daddy's bike.

Gideon and cousin Katelyn "enjoying" their ride on the back of Uncle Adam's bike (they are only 2 days apart). 

Anna and Leah on the choo choo.

Gideon on the choo choo.

FYI, Gideon had an ultrasound this morning.  They checked his kidneys and bladder.  We should know the results in a few days.

Julie  

An update and WooHoo!

Ok, the "woohoo" is for Anna.  Her new little thing is saying "woohoo" and raising both her hands in the air.  It is so funny and cute.  Like she will say "woohoo, daddy's home" and put her arms up.  I do not know where she gets this stuff at, but it is a hoot!   Oh and something else I wanted to add about Annie is that she is super observant, probably more so than any of the other kids.  Like, she will see our house from far away and say "our home."  Or she will see Ryan's truck through our house window when he is barely in sight.  It is fun to try and figure that girl out.  Sometimes I think she is really a lovey dovey softy (which she is), but other times she just seems to be such a thinker and you can tell she really studies stuff.  I guess maybe she will be well balanced and both!

We too Gee to Children's again on Monday.  We took him to a urologist so that we can get his circumcision done.  The Dr. was super nice.  He thinks that we should hold off on circ'ing him until we find out what his issues are.  He said that since the circ is elective and it won't really matter whether we do it now or a year from now, he thought it best to figure out what is going on with his body first.  That is fine with me.  I'd like to get his circumcision over with, but whatever the Dr. think is best is fine.  The Dr. also wants to do an u/s of Gee's kidneys (scheduled for next week).  He said he mostly wants to do it just to rule out an issue there.  We are also suppose to take Gee in to get a urine sample done the next time he is fevering.  Gideon hasn't been sick in a couple weeks which is good.  His is still having some stool issues though and hasn't gained any notable weight.  

We are leaving to go camping this afternoon and everyone is super excited.  Even the little ones are excited and they have no clue what "going camping" even means.  We are heading to Kentucky, so it will be about a 3 hour drive.  We are going with Ryan's family, so it will be quite the crew.  It is nice though because the kids play well together and we always enjoy visiting with each other.  Plus, it really helps on meals when everyone pitches in!  We will be back on Sunday.

Julie   

Happy Birthday Anna!!!

Sorry, but for some reason, I can't get the pictures to go in after my blogging, so here they are first.

The kids eating lunch on Anna's new picnic table.

Here's her cake.  It was strawberry, which I don't normally do, but it was pink and she picked it out.  I actually thought is was pretty yummy.  The frosting was just regular buttercream and tinted pink.  It was 4 layers with fresh strawberries.  Very rich! 

Anna, being silly.  She gets all goofy now when we ask her to smile.

Oh, dear heavens, Uncle Tim gave her a bowl of salsa and she went to town.  She loved it!

Eating her yummy cake!

Well, at 8:25 pm Anna will be "2."  I wasn't really sure at what time of day she was born, but Leah and Logan were asking me, so yesterday I checked.  We kind of make a big deal around here about the exact time of birth.  Anna's birth mom was probably in labour about now.  I think my overwhelming feeling right now is gratefulness.  I am mostly grateful to God for allowing Anna to become our daughter, but I am also incredibly grateful to Anna's birth mom, especially today.  In Anna's first 6 months of life, her birth mom had to make decisions that I am sure were completely heartbreaking.  But, those heartbreaking decisions gave us this wonderful gift of our beautiful, bright Anna Maria.

Last night we got together with my family and celebrated.  It was a little chaotic, but lots of fun.  My extended family went together and bought a really fun outdoor climber for both Anna's and Gideon's (upcoming) birthday.  We already have the climber outside and the kiddos LOVE it.  We bought Anna a picnic table from us and the kids already ate lunch on it early this week (the one day we didn't have rain).  Tonight we are taking Anna out with just our immediate family.  Leah and Logan got her a little gift and we also bought her a princess outfit.  I really treasure getting to take the kids out on their actual birthdays with just us.  I know it won't always work out this way, but when it does, it is my favorite.  Tomorrow is Anna's princess party.  All the girl cousins on both sides are invited over and we are going to celebrate in true princess style!

So, Anna will be celebrating for 3 days in a row, but hey, why not?  Also, we are going to celebrate next week with Ryan family (when we go camping).  So, Anna is going to have her share of partying!

Anna and sleep.....

The main thing Anna has struggled with since she's been home is sleep.  She has gotten much better over the months.  She falls asleep fine, but she wakes up in the middle of the night crying out.  Sometimes she even wakes up in the middle of her nap crying.  She is getting increasingly better, she maybe only wakes 2 to 3 times a week now.  The reason I am writing this is because she woke up in the middle of her nap today crying out and it was soooo sad.  I heard her crying "mama, mama" and when I got upstairs she was lying in her bed, half asleep with her arms reaching straight up in the air.  She was calling for me and I went over to her, she looked at me and threw her arms around my neck and squeezed hard.  Bless her heart.  It was sweet and sad at the same time.

We have been praying for Anna about this issue for a while.  I am glad it is better, I hope she is totally over it soon though.

Tomorrow is Anna's 2nd birthday, so I will post again then!

Julie