Its 9am, do you know what my kids are up to?

I can't believe its only Thursday, it has felt like the longest week ever. Here's a little update on the kids for no reason whatsoever.

Corbin is loving school. He is making new friends and becoming slightly less shy and is, of course, doing well with his work. He has come home with 100% on all of his spelling tests so far. In addition to school he's started his anti-wart treatments. He has little clusters of warts around many of his fingernails as well as some on the palm side of his fingers, and one on his toe. They seem to be spreading so we thought it was probably a good time to buy some compound w and take care of them. Here's to hoping he's wart free in twelve weeks. (TMI?)

Dexter is loving school as well. His teacher changed this year because Miss Shyloh (the teacher who said he was stinky before she realized it was his new shoes) left to be a stay at home mom. She was replaced by Miss Megan who seems very nice and on top of things, and he already adores her. This week he has been learning about fire safety and comes home with cute crafts everyday. Dexter's time with Grandma Marde has made a huge difference in our family's sanity. He has been so good the last month or two that I can hardly believe he's the same child! He's simply delightful! He still throws an occasional tantrum, but rather than 5 times a day its like once a week. Maybe my hair wont be gray by the end of the year after all!

Ivy is a superstar! On Tuesday night she told Scott she wanted to go peepee in the potty, so he let her try. She was unsuccessful, but the desire was there, so yesterday I put her in panties and we tried some potty training. Wouldn't you know it, by noon she'd already peed AND pooped in the potty and only had a few accidents throughout the day. I didn't even have to bribe her at all. I put her in a diaper overnight and when she got up this morning she was dry. She peed in the potty right away and hasn't had an accident yet. By george, I think she's got it! She is now my youngest potty trainer. Corbin was about 3 years 4 months old, Dexter was 2 years 11 1/2 months and Ivy is 2 years 10 months. She's amazing! She's been running around the house singing "peepee in the potty!" nonstop.

Echo is now 4 months old! She doesn't look like a newborn anymore, and I'm a little sad. She's so freakin' cute though. She's seriously so happy! She smiles and laughs all the time now and has the cutest little jabbering voice. She loves hearing me talk and smiles like crazy even if I'm not talking to her. Her favorite activities include eating, snuggling, talking and playing with mommy, tummy time, and going for walks. Everyone loves her to death and she's constantly being smothered with kisses by her siblings (especially Ivy). She's been an excellent addition to our family and we love her so much.

Here are some fun pictures from this week.

Corbin and Dexter decked out in twinner clothes for church. I get them confused sometimes now that they look so much alike.

Echo and Ivy enjoying tummy time together

Its weird to have a baby who enjoys tummy time so much after having Ivy who, with good reason, absolutely refused to do it.

Here are a couple of Corbin's wart clusters covered in compound w

Dexter tries out the Uncle Rico pose

Ivy with her new best friend BIG Mickey

Too Many Doctors Makes Mommy Confused

I'm sick of waiting rooms, tiny doctors offices, holding kids down to get shots or blood drawn, giving and re-giving Ivy's health history, and trying to nurse in public areas without exposing old people or small children to my breasts while waiting for doctors to call us . Its exhausting. I might have overrated my own abilities when we decided to have a fourth child.

I have a list on my fridge that contains all the phone numbers for the various doctors we have to see. In the last three years that list has grown by leaps and bounds. It has an ob/gyn, pediatrician, optometrist, cardiologist, physical therapist, speech therapist, gastroenterologist, endocrinologist, and now urologist. Its hard to keep everybody straight. No wonder the insurance company hates us and keeps raising rates.

Last week Ivy met her new endocrinologist, Dr. Marks. He seems like a super nice guy, and comes across as very knowledgeable. Ivy is very short for her age, and hasn't really grown for a long time, so she had to part with some of her blood (she didn't even cry! She's such a champ) and they are testing her for several things to find out why (hypothyroidism, Turner Syndrome, and some others). Hopefully we'll find out in the next few weeks if it is any of those things....or nothing at all besides a heart problem that is causing her to grow slowly. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it is nothing, but I'll take hypothyroidism over Turner Syndrome too. It seems weird to hope for one health problem over another doesn't it? Well, Turner Syndrome makes me depressed so it'd be awesome if it isn't that.

Today Corbin and Dexter had their annual well-checks. They are both very average (both are in the 50th percentile for weight and height), and in general in very good health. The only issue that came up is Corbin's constant need to use the bathroom. They did a urinalysis in the office to check for a bladder problem, but couldn't find one and referred us to a urologist to check for anything else. Hopefully we can figure out what the problem is (if there is one), and get it taken care of soon also.

In the meantime, we'll enjoy our time off from doctors appointments, and toast our apple juice to good health.

I hope you have a good week. We are going to be busy putting up Halloween decorations and working on the kids' costumes, that are sure to be "da bomb". (I know its not 1998, but what can I say? Ever since I heard that middle aged woman at Target using that phrase in a very serious tone I can't help but use it in a joking manner.)

In which Harry Potter takes over, and spiders must die

I recently started reading the Harry Potter series (for the first time, except the first one). Yes, I am 6 weeks shy of 30 years old, and yes, I am IN LOVE with them. I (okay, by 'I' I really mean Scott) got the kindle versions of the books and put them on my phone and our IPAD using a very handy kindle app, so I can read them on a near constant basis. Whether I'm nursing the baby, or waiting for the kids to come out of the school, or sitting at an unusually long stop light, I always have my books to get me through it. I've managed to finish the first five and half of the 6th in just two weeks. Scott is regretting ever helping me acquire them, and constantly threatens to start playing video games like crazy if I don't pay attention to him.

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Speaking of Harry Potter....I had a nightmare about Voldemort. I'm not joking. This just shows how much the books have taken over my life the last few weeks. In my dream Voldemort had invaded Corbin's elementary school and was planning to kill people. I was frantically calling 911 and searching for the kids in the halls. I woke up feeling very embarrassed. I told Scott about it, he made fun of me and told me to take a break from the books. I said I would as soon as I finished the fifth one. I lied.

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Over the weekend Scott and I did a little bit of yard work. I was pulling weeds and unfortunately came a little too close to a very large, very hairy spider. I flipped out, made Scott kill it, and then became too afraid to tackle the rest of the weeds (I'm afraid large-hairy spider's friends and family will seek vengeance), so the weeds remain. Soon after we moved to the backyard where Scott encountered three more equally large and disgusting spiders. I called our pest control service to come respray our yard. They are coming tomorrow. The only bad thing about fall is the spiders searching for warmth and getting closer to my house!

Well, that's all I've really got. Sorry that was such a lame post.

Ps...I need someone to geek out with over Harry Potter! Scott just thinks I'm lame and annoying when I can't stop talking about it! So talk to me fellow fans!

Ivy has a dream

The other day after Ivy woke up from her nap I asked her if she had had a dream. Here is the resulting story. She is seriously so adorable!

Here is Ivy's dream

Bless Ivy's Heart

I started a new blog, quite a while ago. Its finally all caught up. It is dedicated to Ivy. Its called Bless Ivy's Heart and it chronicles her struggles and triumphs over Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. Its mostly for her. When she grows up I want her to know everything about what she's been through, and since I'd already started the family blog before she was born, I have it all written down. I moved all the posts over, and now have her entire life history located in one place. If you're new to my blog and didn't get to read about these events when they happened, or you are interested in looking back, then by all means take a gander at the life of my special little girl!

blessivysheart.blogspot.com

Rapunz-abio?

My kids are obsessed with Rapunzel! And I know what you're thinking, All little girls are obsessed with Rapunzel! But I don't only have little girls. In fact, my SON, Dexter, is probably the most obsessed. He always likes the girl characters the best (for example, his previous obsessions are Jessie (toy story) and Eva (Walle). Should I be worried?). He is currently tromping around the house with his Rapunzel hair "grabbing" things like she does in the movie. Its so funny. Don't get me wrong, the others love her too, in fact Ivy is almost always singing "Mother knows best", and enjoys telling me about when "Mother fell out of the tower and turned to dust", but Dex loves her most. Here he is with his Rapunzel hair.

Anyway, all the Rapunzel-ness going around these days, got me thinking....Wouldn't Rapunzel have, like, the strongest, thickest neck ever from carrying around all that hair? Not only that. Wouldn't she be like, crazy muscly if she had to pull Mother Gothel up the tower every single day?! She is awfully dainty looking in the movie for someone who has that kind of strength. I think she'd look more like this

than this!

Wouldn't you agree? I don't even want to talk about how disgustingly dirty her hair would be with it dragging on the ground all the time. This movie is too illogical. I guess I have no imagination.

Side note: Burly Rapunzel is actually Fabio, in case you were curious.

Back to School, Back to School...

To prove to dad that I'm not a fool. I got my lunch packed up, my shoes tied tight, I hope I don't get in a fight. Oh, back to school.......Sorry about that. Just having a Billy Madison moment.

The boys are back in school. Corbin in first grade, Dex in preschool. I'm so happy. Here are some pictures from both Corbin's first day (tuesday) and Dexter's first day (wednesday). I can already tell its going to be a FANTASTIC year!