a big day of appointments

today was a busy day for us.  it started out in the morning with caleb and joshie at the pediatrician.  joshie had a 9 month well-check (which is relative--considering the last few weeks).  his weight was in the 43% which is down a little but i wasn't that surprised because he hasn't been well.  his eyes are all goopy and yucky though it looks like his ears and throat have cleared nicely.  he is, however, in the 95% for his height which makes his daddy oh so proud!  topped off his appointment with four shots and a blood sample....ouch! 

but the bigger news was that caleb got his cast off! i was explaining to him that his arm is fixed and we were going to take his cast off....for good! he got a quizzical look on his face and asked, "dey fissed my arm? wis scwew-dwivers?"  anyway, his arm looks great and caleb is very pleased with his "new arm"  that was fixed with screw-drivers.

(by the way, if you haven't noticed, the new rules around cameras are: don't look at the camera, strange faces are preferable and ah, my favorite - stick out your tongue, distort your face and do a little dance.  and my kids are strict rule followers.)

so this is caleb ready for the moment of truth...

....and then he spies the doctor with a saw in his hands which i reckon for caleb is akin to someone coming up to you firing up a chainsaw and asking you to hold still because this won't hurt.....{obviously}

so there was a brief meltdown.....and then this....

then after lunch, it was finally time to take caleb for his "child find" developmental appointment...we've been waiting for a few months for this one.  i've been concerned about his speech and wanted to get him into speech therapy asap if that is what he needs.  so i set up an appointment with the school district and today was the day! he had an hour and a half appointment where he was evaluated by an occupational therapist and a speech pathologist.  well, he loved it.  it was all playing games and doing puzzles and tricks like jumping and climbing up and down stairs.  the therapists were great and caleb had fun! 

the results....caleb's gross and fine motor skills are really good. he has excellent coordination. yay!  his vocabulary is very good and he communicates well and comprehends and takes direction well.  she did, however, recommend that he has speech therapy to help him with his sounds.  so this fall, he will attend the same elementary school as maryn for a preschool group class one day a week where they will work with him.  i am really glad.  i think that he will enjoy it and i am thrilled that he will be getting the help that he needs. 

then we went swimming, had dinner and watched 'wipe-out'.  i love that show.

summer makes a come-back

hope you're ready for a picture overload.  on eric's day off, we love to go to the pool so that the kiddos can show off their new 'tricks'.  maryn and caleb are some serious water-babies! they LOVE the water!

"CANNONBALL!"

maryn practicing her floating on her back...

okay, so sometimes you have to pin your kid

down in order to get the picture... after a fun time at the pool, we went out on the boat and spent a beautiful evening on chatfield tubing and swimming and having some fun! we got the boat on it's way and realized that we had left the nice adult lifejackets drying out at home and so i got to wear this really classy orange number! but the kids got rides and eric and i had a pretty intense and wild ride too!this is what maryn thought of her ride....

and caleb decided to use grampa's head as a launch pad...

i'm sure that you can tell by all of these pictures that joshie isn't quite back to his usual self yet....we're getting there but just not quite.  i love evenings at chatfield.  nothing soothes my soul like being in the water with a beautiful sunset over the rockies and all my favorite people around me.

sick sick sick

well, i hate not having anything fun or exciting to write about or show pictures of.  this year has been quite a doozy for our family....medically.  you know....ear infections, broken arms, kidney stones, surgeries, not to mention our little preemie! 

....and now, STREP THROAT all around!  maryn got sick before the reunion and the rest after it and we just have had the worst time of it and not been getting better....only to find out, we all have strep throat. this is the first time in my life i've had it and it really stinks.  but it's not only me.....my dad, bryn, maiya, maryn, caleb and joshie all have it.  my mom thinks she's on the verge.  eric went and got tested today.  his came out negative (phew!) and he blames his taking 2000mg of vitamin c everyday! ....but the doctor game his a prescription just in case. our fridge is looking like a pharmacy.

on top of that, caleb has some sort of bug bite on the crown of his head that got infected and pussy and gross.  and the doctor is not thrilled with how joshie's ears are doing and is leaning toward specialists and most likely, tubes in his ears.  as hard as that is, i just want his little ears taken care of. he's had infection after infection...sometimes needing 2 rounds of antibiotics.  he was sleeping through the night like a star but since this ear trouble started, he is restless ALL NIGHT LONG!

i feel so terrible that we have all missed colton's home coming and roy-d getting sworn in as an american citizen due to our infectious diseases.

so instead of beautiful frolicking summer pics, you get me whining. i am just so tired of the doctor's office scene.  i have been at least once a week for a really long time now and i'm ready to have everybody healthy and strong. 

family reunion at jordanelle

we had a ball seeing everyone at the family reunion! regretably, i didn't get pictures of everybody....not even my own family other than caleb. sigh. too many distractions.  but it was fun. 

i was sick all last week and so we are still in recovery phase from the reunion...laundry as high as an elephants eye in the laundry room! i'll be taking that on today! 

and our exciting news.....

baby colton comes home today!

mid-motherhood crisis

recently, i've been going through a crisis of sorts...not like total meltdown....more like panic.  my kiddos are growing at a rate of knots!  i have 3 kids!  THREE! did you know that?  and they are beautiful and have stolen my heart for over 5 years now. 

but in a short month, we are starring kindergarten in the face.  then, next kiddo is starting to talk like a normal human which is exciting and oh so sad at the same time!  then there is my baby.  oh my goodness, this baby makes me weak at the knees!  he is the best of everything! soft.  squishy.  altogether lovely. but most of all, he looks at me like he's in love. (maybe he's just mirroring the image on my face) but i know this is not going to last for much longer.  he will soon--as the others have--realize that his dad is WAY cooler than his mom (on this topic, i whole-heartedly agree)!  i just bought a package of 2T onesies for my 9 month old and they fit him--snugly! my days are numbered. 

so what is a girl to do? keep on having babies? but when does that end? and to be honest, i don't really want more babies.  at least not right now.  i just want these ones. little. and innocent.  the way they are.  i can make them die laughing...not too many teens or adults who laugh at my jokes....some laugh at me...but that's another story. i have found myself wanting to bottle up every moment and preserve it.  i think to myself several times everyday how much i will miss the twinkle in caleb's eye or the way maryn fusses over her brothers and the way joshie lights up as soon as we make eye contact. 

i knew that it would go fast...everyone told me it would!  but this seems a little ridiculous! do you ever have these moments?  share your thoughts with me...and by that i mean, comfort me.

new "do"

yes, i did chop off all of my hair....however the last pic didn't show it very well.  this pic shows it a little better but please ignore the goofy face.  i love love love having short hair!!!  i know you might think i'm crazy, but i feel a lot more feminine with short hair.  i have a crazy mane and it's the only way that i can keep things under control without at least an hour in front of the mirror.  this is 10 minutes....that i can do!

baby colton

before we go to utah, i just wanted to leave you with a little colton update.  she has been doing very well. she has had a little cold but other than that is getting along fine. last night, she was weighing 4 lbs. 7 oz.!  so she is growing nicely.  she has the sweetest little temperament but is obviously strong willed--must be the red hair.  it is hard to leave the hospital.  it's like she just draws you in and you don't want to leave her!  she is so precious.

 

and here i am in all my aunty glory!

sleep tight, baby!