Hope everyone is having a great summer!

Austin: Had a great first season of T-ball!! He really liked it! We are thinking of enrolling him in a baseball practice/fundamentals type session this fall. It would work more on the skills he would need if he wants to start regular baseball next summer. Lately he's been loving our trips to the library, playing with water outside (water table, slip n slide, splash pad at the park), and watching the hulk (in moderation ha!).

Mason: Had a fun 4th birthday party!! Growing fast! He loved all his presents. :) He finally told us he was ready to convert his crib to a toddler bed. He isn't a fan of change so we didn't want to rush him. It certainly paid off because he loves it and he hasn't pulled any shenigans at bedtime! Lately he also has been loving library trips, playing planes or any animal themed activity and kicking the soccer ball outside! Pretty sure we will be finding some kind of soccer program for him this fall.

Giselle: Her 18 month appt went well! Only downside was her expressive speech. This girl is smart...just need to find the words! We had her evaluation with First Steps and her first session is actually this Thursday (was faster than I figured because paperwork can delay things ha). Lately she's been loving playing with her baby dolls, being read to or looking at her books and being outside!

We are having a good summer and can't believe Kindergarten starts August 11th.

Loooong time, no post. No motivation ha! This will just be a quick kiddo update because I'm sure thats what most come here to read anyways!

Austin: Done with preschool last Thursday! The year went by so fast! He has learned so much and is more confident. We ended up going to Kindergarten roundup and he will be attending kindergarten in the fall. The elementary is about 5-6 minutes away. After parent teacher conferences at preschool his teacher told me that he actually started to be more chatty so hopefully he continues to be more and more social and more comfortable in new situations. He is playing t-ball for the first time and seems to like it so far! He has had 3 games and gets a little better each time. :) It's a fairly short "season" with the last game near the end of June.

Mason: Mason is doing very well with his anxiety and sensory issues. So well that we actually stopped his OT a few weeks ago. It was his OT therapists idea to give him the summer off to see how he does since he has done well for her. Our next appt isnt until mid-August. He saw his other therapist that we've been seeing for anxiety last month and she also has seen good improvement. :) We get to skip seeing her for May. Hard to believe he will be 4 next month! He wants a Planes theme birthday party & is very excited about it! Very into dinosaurs & cheetahs right now as well.

Giselle: Continues to be a very active and sweet girl! Loves to play and be read to. :) Has 9 teeth which she uses to eat anything...rarely does she not want to try something! Still not very talkative so I am concerned about that (says momma, bye, hi & ball). Andy taught her how to blow kisses a week or so ago! So cute! She has her 18mt appt on May 31.

Austin & Mason also went to the dentist for the first time last month and both had great check ups...no cavities!!

We have had soooo much sickness in this house!!! Finally on the tail end of it I believe, thank god! Someone is this house (or many times more than one person) has been sick since around January 24th. Austin has had a cold then bronchitis (just finished his antibiotic today) & will remain on breathing treatments as needed now. Giselle had pneumonia and is still plagued with a runny nose on occasion since then. Mason has had not one but 2 ear infections in 30 days plus pink eye and a sinus infection (he is still currently on meds). I am almost done with my meds for bronchitis and now Andy has been sick for about 3 days. Good lord we need a break.

Giselle had a good 15 month appt on Feb 29. She looks great on every milestone except her speech. We are going to keep an eye on it and reevaluate at her 18mt appt at the end of May. She is supposed to have 3-5 words and she doesn't. She loves to be on the go and loves to leave the house haha! She is a very good eater but you wouldn't guess it since she's not a chubby baby. On my days off she nurses 4 times a day (work days are a combo of 2 nursing sessions and 2 bottles currently). She no longer nurses to sleep which is sad. She is so happy and loves to be held as well. :) She had an appt with the pediatric surgeon Friday and she still looks great so we don't go back for 6 months (this will be our longest stretch between appts with him)!!

Mason is doing very well with his OT sessions and we are working on his anxiety with therapy sessions. He actually doesn't see the child psychologist again til April so that gives us more time to work on her tips. He still loves to play with his siblings and enjoys being a homebody. :)

Austin is still loving school! We had parent teacher conferences on March 7th. She said he is doing well academically but does struggle some socially. She recommended we consider the all day preschool/5 year olds option for next year versus kindergarten. We are still discussing it and aim to have a decision by March 22 (kindergarten registration). His pediatrician has also diagnosed him with intermittent inflammatory asthma due to his cough that he has had for over a month and his hard time recovering from respiratory illnesses every since he had croup back in March 2014.

Really lacking in motivation to update this. Busy busy with life and still struggling with some depression about no more children. I'll hopefully have time this weekend to update on the kiddos. :)

Happy New Year all! :)

Not a whole lot to report. I've just been enoying my kiddos on my days off! Austin had a good first week back at preschool after his Christmas break...wasn't sad at all about returning to school! He is growing into such a awesome big brother. :) Mason has been doing well in his OT. Still having some anxiety and we finally have our child psychology appointment on Wednesday morning...not sure if it'll help since he's still young but she is willing to evaluate him. Prayers for that please. He and Austin have such a close brotherly/friendly bond. Seems to be growing stronger everyday!Giselle is still such a happy active girl! So loving and smiles all the time. :) We are planning to finally get her one year pictures taken on Friday.

Hoping everyone had a Merry Christmas!! Ours was great...went by to fast but we all had lots of fun celebrating and playing with new toys! :)

Giselle's Echo this past Wednesday was essentially unchanged for those wondering. Her PFO is still 2 mm so fairly small. Her mitral valve insufficiency has improved though. We now get to wait a year til our next echo instead of 6 months. She was not a fan of the ultrasound wand on her chest at all so next year should be interesting ha!

Happy New Year!

Late birthday update post but... Austin is FIVE!! Another big milestone birthday!

We had his birthday party Dec 6...Paw Patrol theme and it all went well and he had a lot of fun! As per our tradition he opened his gifts from us on his actual birthday (Dec 16). He then had his 5 year doc appt the 18th.

His stats are to the right and he is 85th% for weight and 38th% for height. She is estimating him to be 5'9 or 5'10 as an adult. He did really well... passed his vision and hearing screen that they do. Thank god he doesn't show signs of inheiriting his mothers crappy vision lol! His doc was impressed that he can write his name, identify more than half of the alphabet and draw some shapes. Need to work on the scissor skills which we knew...just takes a lot of practice!

His current likes:
-Paw Patrol, Ninja Turtles (the toys..we decided the show was a bit much ha), Thomas & Friends, Octonauts
-"reading" books and being read to
-preschool!
-playing with his brother & sister
-being my shopping buddy & cooking helper
-coloring, painting, gluing
-being outside
-eating popcorn while watching a movie...he thinks it's so cool ha!

Time flies and it's still a bit surreal that we have been parents for 5 years now!

Hard to believe that Giselle is ONE!!!

She is so active and happy most of the day. :)

Latest updates:
-walking all over and tries to run
-stomps her foot to make you laugh haha!
-eats a combo of table food and baby food now
-tries to brush her hair
-can climb into and out of her little pink chair as well as on and off the fireplace
-can climb up a few stairs before she tries to turn around (and scare her momma!)
-pets the dogs! ...she gets so animated when petting Lacy especially!
-still loves to be read to
-has her 2 bottom teeth ...the top 2 have just barely poked through

Dislikes:
-sitting down in the bathtub...always on the move even in the water
-being in her high chair after she is finished with her food

Her one year appointment went well and everything looks great. She is a tiny girl but is staying on her growth curve and gained the right amount of weight between her 9mt and 12mt appointments. She was sad of course with her shots and one year blood work. Her hemoglobin/hematocrit came back in the normal range and she passed the lead test (wasnt worried about that one because we have no risks). She saw the pediatric surgeon today and he said she looks great! Had some adhesions on her lady parts (normal baby girl thing and not related to her condition) but her bottom is good. We go back in 3 months. She has another cardiac Echo on the 23rd...praying it's our last Echo.

Next on her agenda is trying cows milk when I don't have enough breast milk pumped for her (like tomorrow). We are still nursing 4-5 times a day when I am home.

Some quick highlights from the past few weeks.....

--Austin is still loving school! He can write his first name now without any help! :) His school pictures should be back this week right in time to pass out at Thanksgiving.

--Mason has been doing pretty well with OT ...I've had to start taking Austin with us because he was having such anxiety about going and that was the only thing that worked without a meltdown! He is such a sweet boy to Giselle..loves his baby sister and frequently likes her to chase him haha!

--Giselle is almost one! Crazy bittersweet. She had a great first birthday party yesterday! She is working on cutting 3 teeth and is very, very active....doesn't even sit down in the bathtub!

Having some issues with listening with both boys...especially when they are together. Any tips for that?! Timeouts are not always working anymore.

I've been struggling hard with Giselle's infancy flying right by. She won't even nurse to sleep many nights during the week now! I blame night shift since I miss bedtime feedings on the nights I work. She just seems like such a big girl lately. Andy is still adamant that we aren't having any more children even though I think Giselle would benefit from a close sibling like Austin and Mason.

I'm sorry for the blogging hiatus. Just a lot going on and having a hard time wanting to update this lately. Be patient. :)

Whoa...how is it already October?! We have been busy...and sick...and busy.

Austin really likes school! Comes home with papers he has colored/painted every day. Tells us about his snack, outside time, who he sat next to, what his "job" was. :) So happy he likes it! When we went to back to school night we learned that he is one of the more quiet kiddos in his class. He's a chatty boy at home so I was a little surprised. His teacher said he doesn't say much but he is a very good listener. :) This week they have a field trip the local fire station (walking there and back) and later this month his class is going to a pumpkin patch. I get to go on that field trip with him and he's pretty excited! He is learning a lot and starting to write his name as well.

Mason is seeming to really enjoy having his brother at school in the morning now haha! He likes to be able to pick a show to watch and not have to share toys. He reminds me that only Austin goes to school....just wait til next year buddy! His OT is going well, she told me last week that she is seeing progress so that's great. He is still pretty picky about things at home but can usually be calmly rationalized with.

Giselle had a great 9 month appt last month! Everything is looking good and it appears that she will be a short girl like her momma ha. :) She also had a great appt with the pediatric surgeon. We actually don't go back to see him until December now. Has had 2 episodes of constipation so far now that we aren't dilating so we are working our way through making sure her diet is appropriate. She also had been taking several steps in a row the last week or so but today she started full on walking while I was at work. Crazy!! She is loving participating in story time at bedtime with the boys even if she only has the attention span for one book. :) Loves to be wherever her brothers are as well.

All 3 have passed around a upper respiratory infection with it taking the longest to clear up in Giselle. Was actually in the ER with her on Saturday evening/night...the walk in clinic sent us over after I told them about some of her color change during coughing fits and hard crying....and them not able to get a good reading on her oxygen level. They did xrays and they were "hazy" (from her respiratory infection) and watched her oxygen level for 2 hours and she stayed stable so they sent us home. Had some breathing treatments this weekend as well. She seems mostly better today thank God.

The new work schedule is working out pretty good. Only downside is that it is harder to get to know the patients as well since we flip from days to nights half way through the month.

Long time no post...sorry about that!

Mason qualified for OT so we've had 2 sessions so far at Parkview Pediatric Rehab (was scheduled for a session today as well but his therapist was sick). He seems to like it so far. Our appt with the Developmental Pediatrician went well. Between the two of them it is decided that he does have Sensory Processing Disorder ---which we knew since he did get some therapy through First Steps a while back. His OT thinks the vestibular dysfunction of it (there are 4 main types of SPD) also is affecting him. Transitions have been an issue lately too. He has already come a long way from when we first started noticing the signs about 2 years ago. :)

Big news for Austin last week...he started going without a diaper at night and has been staying dry! :) He is very proud of himself. He's also very excited about school starting next week. I think he will do well and have a lot of fun! I'll be sad but am happy it's just 3 hours, 4 days a week.

Giselle is now 9 months old! Her 9 month appt is Sept 14 so will have stats then but she weighed in at 17lbs 8oz on Friday when she had a sick visit. She seems back to her smiley happy self today. :) New things for her: crawling all over, walking along furniture, eating puffs and yogurt melts, getting better at the sippy cup and ... saying "mama"!! She started saying mama about 2 weeks ago and it was inconsistent but now it is several times a day. :)

Having a personal life issue of having baby fever again...yes, I know we are done and aren't having anymore. I'm having a bit of a struggle with that. It's actually gotten better. Was in quite a funk about it for a few weeks. Think part of it was the fact that my baby is growing ridiculously fast and my oldest is starting school. 3 close women in my life are having babies...so very happy for them but also want to be back in that position again and tried to justify it by saying that Giselle needs a sibling close to her age just like Austin & Mason. I know I'm blessed and I tell myself that...so maybe if ya could just pray for me.

---Weekend Wrap Up---

--First week of my new work schedule went ok. I limit how much I talk about work on here so we will leave it as that. Advantages and disadvantages to the new schedule just like every new change in life.

--Yesterday was fairly laid back which was great since I was ready for a day off! Andy went grocery shopping in the morning, I got to experience my first Stitch Fix shipment and then we went to Target in the afternoon.

--Today we went to church. :) Haven't been for several weeks so it was good to be back. This afternoon Austin & I went to Old Navy and Carters to do some school clothes shopping. Fun time! Only a few weeks left of summer!

--Tomorrow Mason has his appointment with the development pediatrician and also his first OT session now that the insurance has authorized him for more OT. Stay tuned for a blog post about that. :)

---Weekend Wrap Up---


Weekend went by ridiculously fast like usual. Friday morning the kiddos and I hung out, went on a walk and had lunch before daddy got home from work. My bestie and her little boy came over in the afternoon for a play date while Andy went to the grocery store.

Saturday I worked til almost 4pm (that place is a time stealer...was supposed to leave at 3pm ha). Laidback evening til bathtime when I noticed that the rash Mason has had on his chest had now migrated to also cover his butt and back of his thighs. Put his lotion that we use for his eczema on it and decided I would take him to the walk in clinic in the morning since theres no way I would be able to get a pediatrician appt next week due to the crazy new schedule we are starting.

This morning Mason and I made the trip the walk in clinic run by my hospital (great to not have to utilize the ER for non emergent stuff). Waited 90 minutes to see a doctor even though we arrived about 10 minutes after they opened. Diagnosed as a bad flare up of his eczema so he is on a 5 day oral steroid. No fun. :( It doesn't look like most of his usual flare ups and he's also not had an issue for months so I felt really bad for not catching on sooner to what was going on. Doc said next time I need to use his prescription steroid cream (we have on hand always) when I notice it and use it for 2 weeks. Well yes doc I am educated and do know what to do ....but for whatever reason this flare up didnt look like his others I swear to God!!! I've heard that eliminating Gluten can sometimes eliminate eczema...guess we might be researching that soon as well.

In other news...Giselle is doing pretty good in her crib. Waking at least once a night to eat and/or be snuggled back to sleep. Austin starts preschool in less than a month...what the what?! Crazy!

We start our new work schedule tomorrow so I'm on for the next 5 days (10 hr days). Saturday better come fast!

---8 months!---

Giselle is 8 months old now!

Loves:
-her brothers
-to be on the go
-bath time
-playing with her toys...and her brothers toys

New things:
-crawling
-going from crawling back to a seated position
-trying to climb us
-trying hard to pull to a standing position

Eating:
-she is eating solid food once a day and doing pretty well :)
-new food lately: sweet potatoes, pears, peas, baby yogurt

No teeth yet and she most recently weighed 16lbs 11oz (at the surgeons office on Aug 21).

---Weekend Wrap Up---

~Cook out at my parents on Friday night for a close family friend (my brothers close friend) who is in the military...home on leave. This guy is basically a brother to my own brother and I. Thankful for all the service men and women who work so hard to protect the freedoms we have here in the States. His name is John if you want to pray for him. Just finished a tour of duty in South Korea and will now be stationed in Georgia until his next assignment

~Worked yesterday and today so not much to talk about for this posting ha! Andy did bring the kiddos for lunch today and it was great! :) Giselle just smiles at everyone in the cafeteria and the boys run around and make everyone laugh!

~Mason has an OT eval on Tuesday at Parkview so please be praying about that if you have a spare moment. I will be calling the school later this week when they open for the school year to see when he can get in for an eval there so that we can make a decision on which place to go with.

2 quick updates to wrap up the week...

--Got ahold of Parkview Outpatient rehab and Mason as an appt to be evaluated for OT on July 28th!

--Giselle had her montly appt with the surgeon this morning. He said all still looks great and we can drop down to weekly dilation! She is to go no more than 3 days without pooping. If she does then we have to dilate again and if it becomes a regular thing then we will have to go back to twice a week dilation. Only reason that topic even came up is because baby girl has had a few instances of waiting 48 hours lately and this week she was on day 3 before we saw him. She did poop today a small amount so hopefully things move right along soon.

Long time no post. Oops!

We enjoyed our 4th of July! We've also been enjoying my extra days off this week and last week. Took some PTO days for the first 2 weeks of this month so I've had more days off than usual. Visiting a new (to us) playground and plan to go back there Friday afternoon I think. We've also been to the playground at my work, the book store, the zoo, and of course playing outside whenever it's not raining!

Mason's appointment with the developmental pediatrician isn't til Aug 17...that was the soonest she could see him. Called the OT dept at Parkview outpatient rehab and they were supposed to call me back yesterday...I'll call them back tomorrow and see if they can get him in sooner than the school to be evaluated for therapy. Guessing we will just have him evaluated by both the school & by Parkview and see which one will suite him better. Really praying this will work because he's been having some hard moments.

Parent orientation for Austin's preschool is next month (Aug 13) as well as his "meet the teacher" day (Aug 18)! Crazy!! I think he will do great. :)

Giselle sees the surgeon again Friday. She has been rolling all over the place and is trying very hard to crawl. Our baby is trying to be a big girl...not ready for that!

Totally forgot to do Giselle's 7 month update post! Can ya tell there's been a lot going on in our family and house life?!

Sooo what's new with Giselle?!
--she is rolling both ways and is fast when she wants to be
--she is sitting like a pro
--taking her naps in the crib now almost always (versus some in the swing and occasional crib)
--has tried oatmeal cereal, avocado and banana
--still waiting on her bald spot on the back of her head to start growing some more hair
--loves bathtime and is almost too big for her baby bathtub
--loves to people watch...with her 2 brothers being her favorite to watch :)

Basement is a stressful topic around here ha. In short summary...the carpet was not salvageable and has been apparently messed up from the first flood (meaning Water Out didn't correctly do their job). So Andy and my dad ripped that out on Tuesday night. We looked at new flooring options Wednesday and decided to just go with carpet again. Today the battery backup finally got installed after some confusion about outlets. Carpet peeps are coming to measure on Tuesday and new carpet could be installed as early as the end of the month. We are also still without TV due the the satellite dish getting bent in half during the storm. That is set to be fixed on Monday. Ugh to storms!

So on to Mason's 3 year appointment. The actual appointment went fairly well Tuesday morning. He weighs 33lbs 4oz (67th%) and is 36.5 in (26th%) tall. She said he looks great! :)

We then got to talk about Mason's worsening of his sensory processing disorder symptoms over the last couple of months. His anxiety is higher, his meltdowns are increased in both frequency and intensity, his rocking is about the same and he is now hoarding toys (doesn't play with them, just wants specific ones in a pile). He also is having a hard time coping with Austin teasing him. It's more than typical toddler stuff, trust me. It's disappointing because we were doing so well for a while and we were even discharged from therapy a little over a year ago. So a few things are going to happen. We are getting a referral to the new Developmental Pediatrician here at Parkview (actually got to speak to her nurse today and the paperwork should be arriving at our house tomorrow since they mailed it out the next day after our doc called her). Our pediatrician also wants him evaluated for OT by the elementary school that is in our district. I called them already and they don't open for the year until July 29th. If he doesn't qualify for the free (free...but essentially paid by our tax $) therapy there then we will go to the pediatric outpatient rehab here in Fort Wayne. I am hesitant to go the school route because he is so young and I've heard its geared more towards school age kiddos. I talked to our hospital OT today and she said she knows the OT at our elementary school so that is reassuring and she said she also thinks the OTs at the peds outpatient place are excellent as well so I'm hoping we will be happy where ever we end up. It is a bummer that we don't qualify for First Steps anymore since he's 3 now. Having someone come to our house was nice.

The other big thing our pediatrician is worried about is OCD. She said he is exhibiting some signs of it based on some examples and scenarios I've given her. OCD can't be diagnosed until at least age 4. She did give a recommendation of trying to get him attached to a stuffed animal or small toy to help alleviate some of the toy hoarding. The OT at work that I talked to today also agreed that it would be a great idea.

Pray for us...pray for Mason. I don't feel like my friends really understand what we are going through, which isn't their fault...they either don't have kids, have young kids or just plain don't have any experience with it.