Sam

Our little man has had quite a week. We have discovered that he is allergic to Amoxicillin. He broke out into a rash that started at his neck and chest and by the afternoon was covering his entire body from head to toe. He is fine except for being extremely itchy. The awesome news of the week is that he knows all of his letters! I couldn't believe it but I noticed he was pointing out letters a couple of months ago and when I sat down with him earlier this week and asked him he knew them all. I give most of the credit to an amazing app on the iPad. You rock Sam-bam! :)

Grace's MRI

We had Grace's MRI on Wednesday afternoon. I took her to St. Mercy's in Toledo. When they got us settled in a room they gave her some numbing cream on her hand where they were going to put her IV. They also did her ECG which looked normal. They put her IV in and did her lab work at the same time. She did so well - she had a couple of whimpers while they were pushing her arm, trying to get enough blood out, but that was it! She was such a brave girl. They then wheeled her down (her favorite part) to have her MRI. Within a minute of being given the Propofol she was completely out. The MRI lasted about 45 minutes and went well. It took her about a half hour to wake up afterward but she was completely normal and happy when she woke up - a little loopy so I wouldn't let her walk until we got home. When I talked to the doctor's office they said that if we didn't hear anything then everything came back normal. I'm confident that if we don't hear anything by tomorrow that everything is fine. When we got done at the hospital I took Grace to Target to pick out a toy for being so brave. She picked out this little kitty that walks and purrs when you pet it's back. Her name is Molly. :) Side note: I loved every nurse/doctor/staff member that worked with us there!

Oh. My. Word.

Things I never thought I'd say...

Scenario 1:

"Seriously kid, quit drinking the puddle water, that's disgusting."

(me to a kindergarten student out at recess)

Lord, please don't let this kid be on my team next year! :) Ha!

Scenario 2:

"Wow. Just don't lick your lips I guess."

(me to a kid that came up to me and said he accidentally thought his glue stick was chap stick)

I loathe going to the health department

On Monday night I mentioned to Steve that after I was done with my after-school intervention on Tuesday I was going to sprint to pick the kids up by 3:45 to get to the health department before they closed at 4 to get Lydia's 6 month shots and Grace's Kindergarten shots (although I'm 99% sure we're going to send her to Clovergarten which is an early 5s program where she will go 5 days a week from 7:10-11:30.) I still wanted to save a later trip and just do both at the same time. As I was telling Steve this I started laughing remembering an earlier trip to the health department when both Grace and Sam had to have shots at the same time. I left carrying Grace in one arm and Sam in the other with a giant 8 month pregnant belly in the middle. :) Of course they both were telling me their leg hurt too bad to walk. Lord have mercy. Anyway, Tuesday rolled around and I did make it to the health department by 3:57 (they probably hated me for that!) but nonetheless got them both signed in and ready to go. Grace mentioned to me once that she didn't like shots but after being reassured that shots do stink but are over fast and are something you just have to do she was fine. 2 other families were also waiting and their kids were all over the place; sprinting around in circles, knocking each other down, turning the lights on and off, grabbing toys out of Lydia's car seat, hitting and kicking their moms when they did make an attempt to calm them down; complete chaos. I couldn't help but think, please do not let me have these kids in school in a few years. At the exact moment when Grace decided to say, (loudly) "Mom, why are those boys acting like that?" I heard the door open and thought to myself, no no no I cannot take any more crazy kids in here (mind you it had been a rough day at school already). I turned to look and it was Steve! Bless him for just showing up on his own. I told him later that it's things like that that I so appreciate and mean a lot to me. I had no idea he was planning on coming but it was so nice to have some backup. Within a few minutes they called us back so I took Grace and Lydia back to the room. Grace went first and sat on my lap and got her 3 shots like a pro. She didn't even make a peep! I was so proud of her. She jumped off my lap and then it was Lydia's turn. Lydia also got 3 shots and cried for about 30 seconds. Then we got the heck out of there! :) Grace and Sam both wanted to ride home with Steve and as soon as we got in the house I looked at them and said "You guys know that you never act like that, you know better and you know the consequences if you would ..." and I was about to keep lecturing when Grace interrupted me with "We know mom, dad already told us on the way home." Ha! I love feeling like I always always have Steve as a teammate in this wild ride known as parenting. :)

Easter Picture

Looking good in their Easter outfits!

I wanted a picture of me with the kids because we have a bunch of them together but not with me or Steve.

Lydia at 6 months

At 6 months Lydia:

• loves squash and pears and has no trouble polishing off a container of each for supper; if I'm not fast enough she'll squawk at me to hurry up!

• loves being talked to
• is in the 27th percentile for height (25 1/4 inches) and 23rd percentile for weight (14 pounds 10 ounces)
• loves patty-cake and peek-a-boo
• can roll over from back to stomach and stomach to back so fast!
• constantly chews on her hands, toys, your fingers, and anything she can get a hold of (but no teeth yet)
• has the most kissable cheeks you've ever seen
• loves baths

• has the best baby thighs you've ever seen :)
• takes 2-3 naps a day and goes to sleep around 7:30 each night
• loves to ride with me in the carrier while I mow the lawn and falls asleep almost immediately
• smiles and giggles so easily
• loves her big brother and sister and laughs and grins at them a ton
• hates pacifiers
• loves my mother's necklace and chews on it as much as she can and holds onto it every time she nurses
• has the smelliest poop and farts you can possibly imagine :)
• still likes her bouncer and play mat
• likes to cuddle and be munched on
• loves to be in the sling while grocery shopping or just doing things around the house
• is still one of the most laid-back babies in the world!

Can't get enough of our Lydia!

The latest

I took Grace to see a pediatric neurologist in Toledo this week. She is still taking Inderal for her migraines but they have backed the dosage back down because when they doubled it she was exhausted and moody all the time. She is also going to have to have quite a bit of lab work done, an ECG and an MRI (both with and without contrast). They are all standard tests that are done when you start going to a neurologist. He also prescribed an additional anti-nausea suppository to give her if she starts to vomit like she typically does during a migraine. I was quite happy about this. We were in his office for over 2 hours and most of that was spent with him or one of his med students. They were very thorough and Grace did fantastic. He spent quite a bit of time talking to me about the fact that Grace is 4 and therefore Steve and I have to be her advocates. I have started keeping a food journal as well as writing down what time she goes to bed and how long she naps every day (lack of sleep can trigger a migraine). He also said that she should not have the big 4 that can trigger migraines: caffeine (no problem - she never has pop, coffee or tea) chocolate (crud), peanut butter or nuts (oh crap), and cheese (oh holy crap). So far she is doing great and has even taken quite a bit of the responsibility and ownership on herself. I will update again after her tests are all done. We go back to the neurologist in 6 weeks. She also started soccer last month. She has practice every Thursday and games once a week. She loves it and her coach is the one and only Steve! :) We love to go and watch her play each week. It's a great way to start teaching good sportsmanship and what being part of a team is all about. Her shirt is the smallest size they had and it still looks like a dress on Grace. It comes down to her knees so I have to tie it in the back so she doesn't look ridiculous. :)

Samuel seems to be growing up more and more each day. I am amazed with how much more he is talking in complete sentences. I wanted to write down a few Sam-isms that I don't want to forget. He now says "timeout" but used to say "mimeout" which I always thought was so funny. He also now says "grandpa" instead of "pampa". He also has an extreme hatred of ladybugs. If he sees one he will run and get a wipe and lay it on top of it. I know if I see a random wipe lying in the middle of the floor that there is going to be a ladybug under it. I'll ask him why he doesn't like ladybugs and he says "badybug get my face!" Ha! He is also doing a great job going to the bathroom. He will even run and go pee himself often now! He stays dry most days. He still poops during his nap almost every day but we'll get there someday. Sam also has a new love in life - Team Umizoomi. At least once a day he'll run up to me asking "Mommy, I watch Umizoomi?!" He also really enjoys playing hide and seek. He can count to 13 and then he skips to 18 and then can go up to 23. He can also name quite a few letters which I think is awesome! He is still in love with cars and chapstick and I almost always find one or the other in his pants pockets and coat pockets. He also has been super interested in helping me in the kitchen which I love! He is always dragging the stool to different counters to help with whatever I'm doing. He is also very into trains and airplanes. Multiple times each day I hear "Mom, I see airpane!" I always reply with "Me too buddy, are you excited to fly on one soon?" He usually just says yeah and keeps looking for more but yesterday he popped off with "Yeah, I fly it self!" (translation - he wants to ride/fly the plane by himself). I looked at him in the rear-view mirror and he had this huge ornery grin on his face. Little turkey. I love that grin.

Lydia is getting so big! I'll have an update on her in her 6 month post in a couple days.

We went down to mom and dad's today and colored Easter eggs with David's girls. Then after naps we hid the eggs outside and the kids had an Easter egg hunt. After that the kids got to go back inside and search for their Easter baskets from Grandma and Grandpa Chupp. What a fun day and always one of my favorite traditions! We missed the Kio's of course but I'm sure they are enjoying the sunshine in Charleston. :)