Monday, January 22, 2007

One Year Ago

One year ago today, Joshua was the first of our children to come home from the hospital. What an exciting and rewarding time it was! We had the bedroom all ready with a great new paint job thanks to Kelly, new cribs, and a nice dresser/changing table thanks to Grandpa David. We had a new van with car seats ready for someone to ride in. And, finally, the time came. We loaded Joshua up, said goodbye to the NICU, and Christine sat in the back with him as we drove home. We really felt like new parents instead of spectators, and it showed. We fiddled with the thermostat that night, dressed his little 4 lb body in a snowsuit double pajamas, and took turns listening/sleeping by the crib. Our little boy was home.

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Picture Time

Check out my new outfit!

Abby does her "Praise the Lord"

Abby likes to play with her bowl.


Abby playing peek-a-boo from under the piano (which is blocking a doorway).

It's bottle time.

Awesome Christmas gift Mom & Dad!


More Spots

Abby's spots have spread all over her front and back and up on her head. I took her to see the doctor, and the good news is that it is not chicken pox. It's just a Roseola virus that causes a bad rash. It will go away in a couple of days. Chances are the other two kids won't get it either. That's a relief!

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Spots, Spots, Spots

This past weekend Miss Abigail started running a mild fever. Then a couple days ago, she started not wanting to drink anything and rubbing her ear. So, we took her to the doctor yesterday and thought she would be diagnosed with an ear infection......much to my delightful surprise her ears looked good and she "just" had a virus. Well, when she got up from her nap today and I noticed a few red blotches on her tummy which I thought was from her clothes pressing on her skin while sleeping. But, about an hour ago, I checked her tummy and there were MANY little red spots--yikes, I think we may be dealing with chicken pox. Oh, goodness!!!! Well, be praying for us in the days ahead.

Even without the chicken pox, things are pretty exciting around here these days. We have a lot of new teeth.....Josh and Ella each have 7 and Abby has 6. Ella and Josh continue to take quite a few steps, especially when they walk back and forth between Shane and I. They all say mom and dad. And Josh says dog, cat, duck and tries to say something that sounds like kitty, he also is starting to do the sign for "milk". Abby does the signs for "all done" and for "more". And Ella enjoys calling everything and anything "baby"...it is her favorite word (besides mom and dad).
They all enjoy playing peek-a-boo and they LOVE to eat food off my plate (too bad they didn't eat a little more, it might be a nice weight loss plan, hee hee).

I often get asked what it is like to have 3 kiddos at once....let me give you a little example....imagine trying to get all 3 kids from their bedroom to the living room. If you take one at a time that kiddo follows you back to the bedroom while you get the rest.....if you take 2 kiddos out to the living room then they both follow you back to the bedroom.....so the best option is to try to move 3 at once....much like moving pigs from one pen to the next (I grew up on a farm). Usually I carry one kiddo and try to coax the other 2 out into the hallway. When I see that last little kiddo cross the threshold, I quickly close the pigpen gate door. Mission accomplished!

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Hello Again!

Wow, it's been a while since we have written. We had a good holiday season, quite busy as you may have guessed. Sometimes you need a vacation from your vacations. We drove out to Iowa and spent a week for Christmas to visit Christine's family. Mark & Jen, Elizabeth & Kevin, and we were all there at the same time with Grammy & Grandpa Phillips, and that hasn't happened in a long time. It was fun to get together.

The kids are doing very well. They are eating more and more real food, and Josh is on whole milk full-time. There have been very few illnesses so far this winter. They have all taken their first steps, starting with Josh on Christmas! Ella has been the best at trying to walk so far.

We'll write again and get some pictures up soon.