We finally put some recent pictures online.  Here are some from April so far.  This week we will also get up March, February and January.  Following that we have a TON of good videos to put online.

Stay tuned!

It’s been a rough few weeks since Adam’s birthday, healthwise. We’ve been to the pediatrician at least 5 times in the last 3 weeks for fun things like pinkeye and ear infections. It started with Avery waking up from a nap with her eye glued shut and looking like she’d been through a tornado on the Thursday after Adam’s party. Dr. C took one look at her and gave her eyedrops and an oral antibiotic for the upper respiratory part of her cold. She got better very quickly after that. A few days later, the boys were cranky and miserable and not sleeping at night, so we were back in the office suspicious that they had ear infections to go with their coughs and runny noses. Alex had a horrible cough and it was preventing him from sleeping. Adam’s nose was a little snot faucet – so gross. Their ears were clear, but Adam had a questionable cough and was given a 5 day antibiotic. He threw up every dose, and spent Easter Sunday glued to me, whining and not eating other than to nurse every hour or two around the clock. That Monday he was found to have an ear infection and got good old amoxicillin, and I was diagnosed with a sinus infection and got the same medicine. I’ve never had a sinus infection before – wow are they painful. I woke up in the middle of the night feeling like every tooth on the top left side was going to fall out of my head. Slowly but surely, we all recovered.

Everyone seemed relatively healthy over this past weekend and we were all able to enjoy the weather as Don and Uncle Bill built the new playground – more on that to come soon. But over the last week, I’d also noticed that Alex seemed to be having trouble hearing. Don noticed it too on Friday – half the time we’d tell him something, Alex would either ignore it or look at us and ask, “What you said?” or “You said yes or no?” when we’d answer a question of his. We called the doctor and had yet another appointment this morning. I was really worried that he was losing his hearing somehow. When I got to the office, the receptionist fell all over herself apologizing because she’d scheduled me not realizing that they don’t do hearing assessments in that office for kids under 4 years old. I asked her to keep the appointment anyway in the hopes that maybe he just had a lot of wax buildup or something. Turns out, his ears are a hot mess. Both of them are infected and filled with fluid, and the left one (the one Alex said he couldn’t hear out of) is draining. Yuck. Somehow I missed that in my home inspections. But he swears his ears don’t hurt, and the nurse, doctor, and I are amazed at that. He’s really been acting fine, so maybe he has some superhuman pain tolerance. Who knows. At any rate, he’s on a megadose of antibiotics now and we have to go back in 2 weeks to see if the fluid is gone from his middle ear.

And just when we thought we were safe, Avery has developed a nasty, itchy red rash on her neck and arms. I think it’s a sensitivity to the adult sunscreen she wore Sunday and Monday, but I’m not sure since it seems to be getting worse and she had baths both nights, so it shouldn’t still be on her skin. We gave her benedryl and some hydrocortisone tonight, but if it looks bad in the morning, we’ll be back at the doctor again. Ugh. I like the doctors and staff, but seeing them this often is not fun!

My baby boy turned one today. Unbelievable. We’ve all survived and even thrived, which I wasn’t sure was possible on this date in 2008. Sure, in the last month his life has included a call to poison control for eating a dishwasher soap packet, and a headlong dive down an entire flight of stairs but he’s still here, being adorable and sweet (and bruised.) We have a party planned for Saturday.

He still idolizes the twins and I am pretty sure he thinks he turned 3 today instead one 1. He learns so much from them, which is cute at times but more often difficult. Let’s just say I am not the one who screeches at him, pushes him, and hits him in the head over and over, which is how he likes to greet them. But he also likes to give Alex a kiss goodnight at naptime, and it cracks me up every single day when he climbs into Alex’s bed while smacking his lips as I pull down their shade.

He gave me a few night’s relief recently when he slept 11 hours or so, was up at 6 to eat and then slept til 7:30. But it was shortlived. He’s back to waking at 12:30 or so, when Don goes in and settles him, and then I’ve been having to feed him around 3, and he’s up for the day by 7. Soooooo exhausting. I think he’s getting a tooth though, so I am trying to be patient.

Happy Birthday, Adam! You’re an amazing little guy and we love you so very much!

My TV watching is pretty limited these days, so I’ve been pretty selective with what I watch and have nuked a few season passes from the DVR lately.  Two new shows that Jen and I have been into lately are both on the AMC network.  Before recently, I don’t think I ever watched the AMC newtowk for anything.  Now all of the sudden they have 2 great shows that we’re really getting into.

The first, Mad Men, is set in 1960s New York and follows the lives of the ruthlessly competitive men and women of a NYC advertising agency.  The second, Breaking Bad, is about as polar oposite as you can get from the other.  Breaking Bad follows a chemistry teacher who lives in New Mexico with his wife and teenage son who has cerebral palsy. This guy is diagnosed with Stage III cancer and given a prognosis of two years left to live. With a new sense of fearlessness based on his medical prognosis, and a desire to secure his family’s financial security, White chooses to enter a dangerous world of drugs and crime and ascends to power in this world.

We’ve been watching Mad Men on Blu-Ray from Netflix and are catching up on Breaking Bad from a marathon they did over the weekend of the first season (which luckily was only 7 episodes).  They just started the second season of Breaking Bad last night and seem to be running a marathon of season 2 for Mad Men in the next week or so.

If you’re looking for some good shows definitely check these two out.  They’re better than any drama I’ve seen on the other networks lately and definitely always have me excited to see what happens next.

Almost bedtime for Adam.

Ended up playing at home after temper tantrums about not turning the dining room light on and off eleventy billion times, puzzle cleaning, and scooter riding made me afraid to attempt going out in public.

Their creative little minds got to work after they woke up. Alex says they made a party. All of Avery’s bedding and most of their books are in Alex’s bed.

Adams’s down. Avery’s using the potty. Alex is eating Barney Rubble’s feet. Peace and quiet is so close I can smell it!

Screened in porch = the easiest way to play outside.

What happens when you tell your baby brother to go away and hit him in the head.