Good-bye, Friend

Neo with Leah (5 weeks old)

Neo with Leah (2 months old)

Neo with Kiersten (1 week old)

Neo with Hattie (5 months old)

Yesterday, I had to say good-bye to one of my dearest friends...my dog, Neo. He was almost twelve years old, and more loyal than most. To say that he had been with me through some tough times would be an understatement. There aren't even words for how much I am going to miss him. He moved cross country with me more than once and was such a good sport about it. From Illinois to Arizona in 2004, from Arizona to Illinois in 2006, From Illinois to New Jersey in 2008 and then from New Jersey back to Illinois in 2011.

Mitch learned quickly when we started dating in 2006 that I was a package deal. And lucky for me he loved Neo and Sandy as much as I did. Saying good-bye was equally difficult for him. I love that he recognized what a special boy he was. And for Neo the feeling was mutual. He began to favor Mitch and I would often joke that he became Mitch's dog. Truth be told, he loved us all. When we were expecting Leah we had some serious concerns about how Neo would respond to having a baby/child in the house. Afterall, he was nearly 7 years old by then. But he couldn't have adjusted any better. From the day we brought Leah home, he was gentle and loving and protected her as if she had always been there. The same was then true for Kiersten and Hattie. He loved to give them kisses. He was a good sport when they would pull on his ears and tail and he LOVED...LOVED to steal their cheese sticks.

As hard as saying good bye is for an adult, it was especially hard for Leah. She had several meltdowns, and keeps asking if we can go to visit Neo in heaven. And I just keep thinking of the country song "If heaven wasn't so far away..." We tried to explain to her that now Neo gets to run and play in heaven because his legs don't hurt anymore, and my smart girl said "If his legs are all better, than he can run home." If only it were that simple. We miss you, bub and thank you for all the love and loyalty over the years. Good-bye, dear friend.

My Not So Little, 9 Month Old!

STOP!!! Why can't my baby stay a baby just a little bit longer. We just had her 9 month check-up and even Dr. Branham commented that she is looking less and less like a baby, Sigh! It's going much too fast. I sure love her little baby girls snuggles and noises and her gummy toothless grin was almost too cute for words. But alas, that is no more. She finally got her first tooth. It popped through on March 10th, and the second one is not far behind. That puts her on the same tooth schedule as Kiersten (8 mo. old with the first one) and way ahead of Leah who didn't get her first tooth until the day of her 1st birthday. She also picked up some new tricks this month. Like shaking her head no. It's adorable, and I try not to indulge too much and am trying to teach her yes, but like most kids...NO is her favorite. She has also mastered the open hand clap (March 18th) and is getting pretty good at giving high fives.


Like I said, we went to the doctor this morning and baby girl is growing good, just like she should. She is in the 75th percentile for height and weight. She tipped the scales at 20lbs 1 oz. and measured 29 inches. She doesn't take any baby food anymore. She eats table food, and the doc said to start giving her a sippy cup of water. Developmentally she is on track, if not ahead of the curve. She is crawling and trying to stand. Making steady consonant and vowel sounds, grasping and tracking objects. Lately she is having a little bit of separation anxiety. Not gonna lie, I don't mind that one. Before you know it I will be planning her first birthday party...tear. I love this sweet girl and her big sisters too. Just don't be in such a hurry to grow up, Hattie cakes!

"Ted E. Bear"

This past weekend Leah got to bring home a friend from school, Ted E. Bear. He is the class bear and he alternates weekends visiting different students homes. Well, this was our weekend. He comes with a notebook where you document all the fun stuff you do with Ted. This is what Leah wanted to write:

Ted was super excited to come visit Leah at home. They started off playing "rock band" on Friday afternoon and then went outside to play. Ted didn't have a coat, so he had to borrow one from baby Hattie. He sure thought the trampoline was fun! On Saturday morning, Leah had an eye doctor appointment. She was a little bit nervous, but Ted told her it would be okay and boy was he right. The doctor gave Ted and Leah both a lollipop for being such good patients.

Saturday afternoon was a special treat. We had tickets to go see "The Wizard of Oz" at the Decatur Civic Center. Logan, from preschool, came too! Leah likes to dress up for special events and she thought that Ted needed "to wear a dress because you have to be fancy at the theatre." They loved the show. Glinda the Good Witch,  was Leah's favorite character and Ted loved Toto. On Sunday the snow started to fall so we were stuck inside but Leah and Ted enjoyed lots of snuggles. Thanks for coming to stay with us, Ted.

White Out

Five days into spring and we are SNOW covered. Seriously, why couldnt we have this in December or January. Even February would have been preferable. It started Saturday night late, and when I woke up Sunday morning we just had a light dusting. But by 11 AM it was falling fast and furious. Around 1 I had to run to Wal-mart and there was zero visibility and the roads were starting to get bad. Within a few short hours you could tell we were in for a doozy. We settled down for the evening and got a fire going...Hattie was slightly amused. She couldnt' get enough of it. I was pretty happy with it myself.

Come morning we had a good 13 inches. In one of the pictures below you can see it stacked up on top of the air conditioner unit. The dogs are struggling to go outside and Leah and Kiersten are begging to build a snowman. Mitch is at work, but most of Decatur is off today. No public school, No St. Paul's, even RCC and U of I are closed. Most of the schools around us are closed as well. Be safe out there folks. I'm sure most of it will be gone by Sunday (Easter) so I will enjoy the beauty of it while it lasts.

 

 

4's Preschool

At the end of February, Leah had school pictures. I rarely buy them but this time I couldn't refuse. The cap and gown is just too stinkin cute. I love it. Especially the thumbs up one. I joke that it's a "National Lampoons" type of picture. She needs to be wearing the trademark "COLLEGE" sweatshirt that John Belushi wears in the movie. And what mom doesn't need a picture of her princess petting a  frog?!?!? Priceless, I tell you. I have an appointment to get the girls photographed together in May. I just know they are going to be amazing...and just wait until you see the dresses!

Busy Weekend

We had one of those weekends when you barely have time to stop and take a breath. The kind that's so busy, you need an extra day just to recover. But that's okay. You need weekends like that once in a while and in the end we always look back and say "that was fun!" That's what kind of weekend this was.

It started on Saturday morning. I got up and went to the gym, because that's what I do on Saturday morning. We had talked about taking the girls to the St. Patrick's Day Parade downtown Decatur, but frankly I had forgotten about it. Luckily Mitch was on the ball, and when I got home he had the girls ready to go. Of course Hattie was in the middle of a nap so I stayed home with her, but what a dad!!! The girls didn't have much in the way of green clothes, but thankfully I was able to find  a few green scarves in the closet so they wouldnt' stick out like sore thumbs. As Mitch was walking out the door I said "take a bag for candy" to which he replied "I have pockets." I convinced him to take a bag anyway and good thing I did. When the girls got back home that bag was overflowing with sweet goodness in the form of tootsie rolls and dum-dums.

We got Bug down for a nap and when she woke up it was time to get them to Gigi's house since Mitch and I had plans. Mitch took them to Sullivan while I was getting ready. We were invited as guest to the LSA Dinner Auction and I was really looking forward to it. After the big girls got settled with Gigi, Mitch came home and we took Hattie over to Mandi and Blakes. Then we were off to the Decatur Convention Center and Hotel. It was my first time there and it's a nice place. We browsed the auction tables and talked to a few people that we knew. We were sitting with the Karsten's, Jeanne who is the school nurse, and Kyle the Executive Director. And our friend Tim and Denise White. Their daughter Camryn was in Leah's preschool class last year and will be in Kindergarten with her next year. We had a good time chatting at the table and getting to know everyone better...and we even bid a time or two, but sadly went home empty handed.

On Sunday Mitch and I buckled down with our spring cleaning. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to really get to cleaning since Leah and Kiersten were gone. After noon we showered up and headed to Charleston. This year Kiersten's birthday was the birthday that wouldn't end!!! We had her party on March 3rd and then for her actual birthday we all had the flu. We took her for birthday ice cream on the 9th and then when Gigi got the flu we had to reschedule her birthday dinner for Sunday the 17th. We were all VERY birthday'd out. But it was fun all the same. Kiersten got a super cute potterybarn anywhere chair with her name embroidered on it and of course the traditional birthday bag FULL of clothes. We love Gigi!

Birthday Ice Cream

On Saturday night, we finally got to take Bug out for her Birthday Ice Cream. It was only a day late, but I felt bad. She could have cared less. She was super excited. It was a busy day. Mitch was still struggling with the stomach bug so while he stayed home to get some rest, I took Leah and Kiersten to Tatum's birthday party. We got home and were waiting for Hattie to wake up from her nap and as soon as she did, we loaded up and headed out. The girls were so well behaved. They loved eating their kids meals but of course the ice cream cones stole the show. Leah is already counting down to her birthday ice cream cone.

On Sunday we were supposed to head to Charleston for Gigi's Birthday Dinner. On Thursday when she was asking Bug what she wanted Kiersten kept telling her "cupcakes and cake" and we kept asking her "cheeseburgers, ravioli, chicken nuggets?" and she kept insisting "cupcakes and cake". Well, on Friday she decided she wanted a big salad with olives...she loves the ones at Olive Garden. Gigi was all ready to go, but then she started to feel sick. We ended up postponing "Birthday dinner". We are rescheduling for Wednesday night, and hopefully everyone is healthy. Bug climbed into my lap last night and said "I'm sorry I gave my germs to Gigi and made her sick." Awww, poor girl feels so bad. It's been a rough week, but hopefully it will still be a birthday to remember.

Flu, Round 2

We are sick...again. This is starting to get ridiculous. On Sunday night, actually Monday morning very early Leah threw up in her bed...again. Mitch left for work early and then hopped a flight to Florida leaving me home with sick kids. Leah threw up all day long. The doctor actually wanted me to take her to the hospital for fluids, but by then she had started keeping some fluids down so we stayed home to wait it out. Tuesday night/Wednesday morning Kiersten woke up around 4 AM and had thrown up in her bed. So Mitch (who got home late Tuesday night) took Leah to preschool on Wed. and then Mandi brought her home. Kiersten was better by Wed. night. I took Leah to dance on Wed. afternoon, but she wouldn't eat any dinner Wed. night and sure enough. Thursday morning around 3 AM she was throwing up again. But come morning she seemed fine. I kept her home from school. Gigi came to Decatur for the day. We went and had Bug's Birthday lunch at Olive Garden and then went shopping for Easter dresses at Von Maur.

Thursday night I had a MOPS Steering Committee meeting and I was so cold, I felt fine, just cold.Before I left for the meeting Hattie had gotten sick. I thought maybe it was just a fluke, you know, baby spit up. But I got a text from Mitch around 7 pm that it wasn't a fluke and she was sick. I got home had some dinner and not long after I started to feel it. Poor Hattie was dry heaving in our arms but finally settled for the night after 10. By 11 PM I knew  I was sick. I stayed on the couch that night and had to make several trips to the bathroom. Around 3am Bug threw up in her bed again. When Mitch came down with the laundry I told him I was sick and he was going to have to stay home. He went in to work right then to grab his laptop. Good thing because by 10 AM he was pretty sick too. And on Bug's birthday. We have a tradition that we started, that is only a few years old, but the girls really look forward to it. We take them to Dairy Queen for their birthday and they get an ice cream cone. Well, we have postpone for little Bug this year but hopefully we can take her tomorrow. I'm so over this winter and all the illness.

At least Bug got some special birthday gifts in the mail. A new Periwinkle Fairy Costume from Brian, Lisa, Rylee and Bradyn and a purple fairy princess dress in the mail from our old neighbors, Mike and Julie Altavilla in New Jersey. What a lucky little Bug. She is in heaven and doesn't even mind that she has to wait for ice cream. Happy Birthday, sweet sweet girl!

Children's Museum Party

While the Birthday Party was a hit, I think the kids really couldn't wait to get out of the party room and out into the museum. Can you blame them? It's such a fun place. It worked out really well that almost all of the kids we invited already knew one another from either MOPS or Preschool. They had so much fun playing together. Kiersten of course, had her own agenda and went from exhibit to exhibit, but she was one of the younger ones there. Those in attendance were Roman and Ryder Hilton, Logan and Holden Albritton, Tatum Gray, Charlee and Van Hunt, Henry Fawer, Macy and Colby, Ellen Burtschi and even Papa came too. Gigi was on a trip but she is coming this week to take Bug out to dinner for her birthday, and having birthday dinner at her house this weekend.

The bubble room is always so much fun, and the water table always gets lots of action. I couldn't believe how much the kids played in the "supermarket" and "post office" area. They were really doing great with their imaginary play. It was fun for us to watch. We got a membership to the Children's museum this year and are looking forward to totally taking advantage of science Sunday's and the Fairy Tale Ball in April. Our next trip will be this weekend for Tatum's birthday party. Kiersten says "Ba-Tatum is my best friend" LOL!