Leftover Thursday

The kitties hardly ever come in the house anymore. The only way is to lock Jax out and bring them in. Unfortunately it seems that Carrots is no longer with us. :(  :(  :(  He disappeared around Christmas. We aren't sure what happened. 

Poor Peanut. Both of the cats we've lost have been hers which seems even more tragic because she is the one who cares most about the cats and spends the most time with them! Ugh. 

She brought Peanut Butter in this day and Lou was so happy! She loves the kitties. 

She was trying to give him hugs.

And pick him up.

When she couldn't pick him up she gave up and laid down to snuggle with him. So sweet!

She is finally starting to be a little bit of a snuggler! It's not very often, but I'll take any snuggles I can get!

Boo got student of the month!!

Noni, Peanut, and Peaches got invited to a tea party! So sweet!

Lou is so funny. Whenever she is walking to someone she holds her hands up in the air.

"Pick me up! Pick me up!"

The other night the wind really started howling and it was whistling in and around the front door. I looked over to find both the baby and the puppy had gone over there and were staring at it like, "What in the world is that?!"

Happy Thursday! :)

Wordless Wednesday

Sick Baby

Well we made it through our late January sickness. I don't know what it is but every single year we go through a really bad sickness at the end of January/early February. This was the first time in 4 years we haven't had to get someone on antibiotics though so maybe we're improving. :P 

Peaches came down with an extra nasty cold and ended up staying home and missing school and all activities for a full week. We pushed the vitamins hard and no one else seemed to get it. Then on Saturday at the basketball games Lou's nose started running like a faucet. I must have wiped it two dozen times. 

She continued to drip for the rest of the day and felt slightly warm that night so Daddy stayed home from church with her the next day. She had a good nap, but when Grandma and Grandpa came over she definitely wasn't feeling great. She kept going over to Grandpa for snuggles and back-rubs. 

 

If he put her down she would just toddle right back and lift her arms up.

 

The guys headed outside to work. Lou brought Grandma books to read.

And wanted lots of snuggles.

She did perk up enough to get into the pantry while I was making dinner. :P Apparently I wasn't making it quick enough for her.

She got feverish again Sunday night and Monday woke up very warm. She ended up being completely lethargic for the next three days. :( All she did was sleep or lay in someone's arms. The girls had spent Sunday night at Noni's since Monday was Martin Luther King Jr. day and when Noni brought them back Lou wanted nothing but to lay there and look around.

Thankfully she nursed really well, for longer periods, and had an extra feeding each of the three days. She slept long hours in her bed, and then would wake up and eat and I would hold her and she would fall right to sleep again. Poor baby. :(

Right when I took these pictures the big girls ran loudly through the house. She didn't open her eyes, but you can see her little furrowed brow.

Day 5 she was still completely laid out. I had been holding her any waking minute. If I had to do something that required two hands Boo would hold her for me.

She'd been hovering between 101-102 for the three days and then at the end of the third day she jumped up to 103 so we started Tylenol and I put a cooling patch on her head. She was still falling asleep at the drop of a hat. It was so sad to see her feeling so poorly. :(

Once the Tylenol kicked in she perked up a bit and even wanted down to play. She had been so lethargic and sick that she couldn't even get enough balance to stand. She sat and played with blocks for a few minutes.

And even gave us a half smile! It was so nice to see her looking better!

Unfortunately as soon as the Tylenol wore off her fever went right back up.

T had been texting with one of the PA's at the hospital and he figured it was viral and nothing could be done so we didn't take her in, but on Thursday she woke up at 4:30 in the morning completely inconsolable. The only time she wasn't screaming was when she was nursing. It was awful. She was screaming so loud and would reach for me, but as soon as I picked her up and tried to hold her she would throw her head back, pushing away, arching her back, and screaming like we were trying to kill her. Nothing I did (besides nursing) could calm her, and that only lasted so long. We gave her more Tylenol and she finally cried herself to back to sleep for an hour. 

As soon as the clinic opened we went over and they squeezed her in. I thought surely she must have an ear infection with all that wild banshee screaming. I was surprised to find out that she didn't have an ear infection. Her fever had finally broken at that point...day 6.  

The doctor said he had to really listen, but heard a tiny bit of fluid in her right lung. He gave me the option of getting her swabbed for flu, and getting a chest x-ray. He explained that the swab is very invasive and they don't like to expose them to the x-ray radiation unless absolutely necessary. Since she was already improving on her own her suggested we give it a little more time. We kept a close eye on her for the next 24 hours and she continued to improve slightly and the fever never went above 100 so we stuck with the decision to let it take it's course.

She wasn't as lethargic but she definitely wasn't happy. She just kind of zoned out and started crying at the drop of a hat. I was kind of happy that she felt well enough to be fussy though. She had been so quiet and still for the three days before.

The other thing bad thing was that she lost a full pound from her last visit in November. Thankfully she didn't cross any growth lines, but we have to go back next week to make sure she's gaining it back again. 

She ate about two bites of food that entire week. I kept trying to tempt her with her favorites but she wouldn't even touch them.

The only nice thing about her illness was she was way more snuggly and sweet than usual.

Friday (day 7) she was SUPER fussy and I was trying to clean the house in preparation for the double birthday party the next day. It seemed like one thing after another was going wrong. I went to take out the garbage and someone needed something so I put it down. It tipped over and dumped garbage, egg shells, blobs of frosting, and a full bowl of soggy Cheerios all over the floor.

 

Lou wouldn't let me put her down hardly at all that day. 

Peaches was getting things out faster than I could put them away. Bug was so helpful and made the birthday cakes for me, but that meant instead of being able to clean the kitchen it was getting messier by the second. 

All this on top of being cooped up in the house for a full two weeks (with Peaches sick the week before) had me about at my whit's end. I admit my attitude was just about as bad as Lou's. Our Youth Pastor's wife texted a funny Never Have I Ever - Mom version game to our bible study group and after responding and reading everyone else's funny answers I felt so much better. 

It's amazing what a few smiles, and camaraderie can do to improve one's mood. T was also so helpful during our confinement and several times left work just to come home and pick up one big girl or another and take them to basketball practice or dance and then went back to work. It was definitely a rough two weeks that I don't want to repeat any time soon, but we made it through just like we always do. A great reminder that this sinful world is not our home.

Basketball!

Both Boo and Peaches decided they wanted to do basketball this year! 

Bug actually wanted to play as well but this little league version only goes up through 6th grade. Whoops. This is something I really struggle with. I feel like we just can't do everything. Especially with five kids! If we did everything offered we would never be home on weeknights or weekends. We would be going in five different directions all the time and we would all be utterly exhausted. But the downfall of being choosy in our activities is that sometimes one or more of the girls misses out on something. 

Poor Buggy definitely gets the short end of that stick, being the oldest. By the time I get around to accepting that this is a busy season of life and I am going to have to give up more of our precious time she has "missed the boat" in certain areas. Definitely feeling some "mom guilt" over that. :{ 

Anyway...Boo and Peanut were able to join and while it has been a huge learning curve and not the easiest sport to jump into, they are both working hard and doing very well for beginners! Peanut's team is mostly beginners so she is learning right along with the rest of them. 

I really don't understand why they don't lower the hoop for this age. That thing is so high for these little girls!

She did finally figure out how to heft it up there, but it definitely takes every muscle in her little body!

Sometimes during practice we will hang out at the gym. Here is Lou's "what can I destroy" face. :P

Peanut is working hard, but it's really hard to pick up on all the intricacies of the game with only one short practice a week. The refs are high school girls who give them pointers during the game and try to help them figure out where to go so that is really nice.

Boo has had a harder road because she is one of only two new girls. The rest played last year and also started playing in a city league last Fall. We didn't allow her to join that league because their games have all been in the city (an hour away) at 7:45PM, on AWANA nights. She is trying so hard, but it is definitely not easy coming in what seems like mid-season (even though it's not) because all these girls have been playing together for months. 

She gets an A+ for effort and hustle though! She is almost always the first one back down the court...now we just have to get her to turn and plant so she can stop the girl running with the ball. ;)

 

I've been bringing the little ones to the home games. They are very busy in the stands, but they do pretty well. This little one does not like sitting still. Haha.

 

Daddy has been taking them to the away games. I think it is his propensity for chatting, but they are almost always 30-60 minutes later than I expect them to be. :P I usually text if it's been more than 30 minutes...the worrier in me I guess. Hey, it's winter which means icy, snowy roads in a squirrely pickup...I think I have the right to worry a little. He sent me this picture with the title "proof of life" one day after I asked him if they were ok. :P

Because they are such beginners it's easy to see the improvement from week to week. Each week they are better and understand more of the rules. The first week one of Peanut's teammates just grabbed the ball and started running down the court...with all the parents and the coach yelling "Dribble!" and another one went the wrong way and tried to shoot into our own basket, thankfully it missed. ;)

Here the other team shot and made a basket. Peanut caught the ball as it came down and started dribbling out of the key with the biggest smile on her face! She was so happy that she got the ball. It was so sweet. The ref kindly explained that she needed to bring the ball out of bounds and throw it in to a teammate.

She did a good job and was the one to pass in the ball for the rest of the time she was in. :)

Peanut plays on the 2nd/3rd grade team. The 2nd graders technically don't have games so they play at 9 with the 3rd graders. Boo plays at 10 every week with the 4th grade team, and then (since we only have two 5th graders) they turn right around and play another game (the 5th grade game) at 11. 

Since we are there for three hours of basketball I make sure to bring a bag of tricks for the waiting sisters. This is what our spot in the stands looks like.

Lou does surprisingly well being cooped up in the stands. Especially considering she is supposed to nap at 10! Right after this picture I put her on my lap and wondered why she felt so warm. The large wet spot on my jeans soon answered that question so we headed to the bathroom for a diaper and outfit change. Too bad I didn't pack myself another pair of pants. :P

I am so proud of these girls for trying something new! It's definitely not easy to be the beginner, but they are taking on the challenge and doing great.

We are looking forward to watching them grow in this new sport!

The season for this league is short...only 5 weeks...so we are already done with Saturday games. All they have left now is a tournament in a couple weeks. Go team!

Lost Videos

For some reason I never posted these. They are from back in October when Lou was only 10 months. The first is her grunting/talking. The second and third were they first time she started waving.