sick babes

We have had a rough go of it this past week.
PJ had croup last Wednesday and just has not shook it since. We took him in Monday morning and the great Dr. Shawn said he sounded pretty yucky. The Allergy/Lung Dr. wanted to see PJ when he was sick sometime, well no time like the present and she had an opening! yea! Took PJ to her late Monday and she said it was so nice to see him sick but she had to take away her thoughts that he wasn't an asthma kid. When we saw her in October he was healthy and she thought he really did not seem to have asthma. Unfortunately Mondays appt showed a 27% decreased lung function and anything 25% or more equals asthma, plus his pulse ox was 91% = sick boy.  Steroids again, and antibiotics and continued inhaler use plus nebulizers. So bummer for PJ however most of the time he is completely manageable and does fine. I really like his allergist, such a sweetheart. I guess she will remain a part of our lives longer than originally planned.
Gabriellie has been sick since Thursday, she started with the vomiting bug and then seems to catch whatever PJ is willing to share about 2 days later.  Brie started wheezing last night and just has this cough that will not stop. No meds are helping her! She also pipes off with temps up to 103 range at times as well. The poor thing coughs to the point of puking and then is left with broken blood vessels on her face!  we are hoping tomorrow is a better day for her!
Tonight as I seat here typing Maggie comes with a pulled tooth and a temp of 101! ugg!!! I will not toot my horn again about healthy kids! But the blog states we seem to have a sick house the month of February, this year is not any different!

Valentine's 2014

 We had to celebrate Valentine's Day on Sunday as Pete worked the weekend at a conference. I think we more than made up for the delay in holiday. Typically Valentine's is maybe a box of chocolates, and not much fanfare. However, this year is different. Pete has been desperately wanted to take the kids to the beach. We looked at some places and landed a deal on a condo in the Gulf Shores. While the kids do not understand the length of drive nor the fact that this will not be a reality till 4 months from now they are still over the moon excited. The condo owner has been so sweet, sending recommendations and having many photos available.  This was beneficial for the kids as I put together a photo book for them to get a better understanding of what we were going.

 Everyone got new shades! and don't they look cool. Brie reminded us we will have to take sunscreen(this is so Brie!)

 sibling excitement! the kids were just giggly and happy  all day.

Daddy and his loves and...

 momma with her babies.

Granny and Pop sent cards, they were very excited with the contents.

 This is the kids saying "Thank you Granny and Pop", the photo caught them on Pop.

Gifts from Pete and I, again not the usual Valentines this year, however

 everyone needed their own beach towel and new swimsuit!

 Grandma skipped candy this year and added to the vacation fun.

 She gave them 2 sets of beach ball. PJ and Kayla posed for a sweet thank you picture for her.

 Maggie did a good job, Brie not so much. She was feeling pretty tough by this point again, have no fear grandma she too enjoyed her gift and played with it later in the day.

 The kids have acquired a liking for crab so we had a first. Pete made them crab legs for Valentine dinner and kids had a great time with their dinner. Maggie was not sure what to think, Makayla managed to crack her own and Brie ended up eating the most(the one who has not eaten in the last 4 days and tonight decided crab tasted good?.) PJ is coming off a round of steroids and he was just Mr. 21 question guy!

Pete and I cheated and made our crab legs later as to be able to eat ours hot, since we knew we would be helping the kids. A little birdie told me how to view the movie Frozen without problem on the I Pad, so set that up and the kids were set for the time it took Pete and I to enjoy our dinner.

 The final course most definitely contained chocolate covered strawberries and pears! Brie perked up with a little chocolate!
The kids also had fun with the super long Twizzlers their daddy thought they should have as well!

All in all I think the kids had a great Valentines and it was a lot of fun for Pete and I as well to watch the joy on their faces! Next I think we will have to make a paper chain and take off one link a day so they understand how long vacation is away. 

 We are so looking forward to taking our first true family vacation!

babysitter Grandma

 The big girls were out this past Friday and Monday from school and my mom was so kind to come into town to watch them. This woman is still so amazing! Maggie is so attached to my mom, it is sweet to see. Maggie was desperate to make a blanket with her sewing machine and mom spent the day helping her accomplish her goal. Mom and Maggie were often found snuggling in a chair as well.

 We watched the opening Olympic ceremony together and Maggie had made a torch for the event as well. Mom had plenty of time to play many games with each of the kids. It was so fun to have her in town for an extended period of time. Her and I were able to shop on Saturday, we left at 1 and we did not have any curfew to meet. We had such a good time stopping wherever we wanted and taking as much time as we wanted!

We just all want to a say a huge THANK YOU!!! we love you very much as so thrilled we were able to have such a long time hanging out with you! The days were full of many things, most of all LOVE! we appreciate everything you did while you were here as well! from laundry to food to treats to the cookie dough balls you came with.  You are an wonderful lady and we are so thrilled to have as much time with you as we did!

 THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!

Brie is 4!!

    


 Gabriella joined the family 4 years ago today! It has been an amazingly fast 4 years! She requested a Frozen birthday party and her daddy is so creative that he was able to make that happen!

She loved her Frozen outfit!  She also enjoyed all of her gifts from those she loves most. Thank you to all who sent cards, gifts and birthday wishes! She was thrilled with everything and was very happy to be having a birthday!

Brie's godfather Brad came into town to celebrate with her and he was sure to give her birthday spankings! She giggled the whole time and counted with him!

 Her true birthday today was much more low key. Pizza and ice cream cake! She had such a sparkle in her eye tonight. I think she had a great birthday party and excellent birthday!

Happy Birthday my sweet baby Brie, God is good! We love you to pieces!

Makayla's 4th grade performance

Makayla had a performance with her recorder, singing, and dancing. It was a neat little program and nice to see her interacting with her classmates. A quick classroom picture before heading back to class. 

Super Bowl party

Super Bowl 2014 is over and so is the party. We hosted 7 families and had a great time! We had 2 t.v's going with the game and the t.v. in the basement was set up with a movie marathon of Despicable Me for the kids. At various points parents joined the kids as their party was more fun than the game! A fun night and a great group, looking forward to getting together again!

Pop is in town

 Pop came into town to go out to dinner with my Pete and then to a Bill O'Reilly event here in town. Pete and his siblings gave Pop tickets to go. Pop also hung around for a Brie birthday party as well. It was very fun to have him in town for a fast 24 hours but we packed a lot of talking and hugs into that time! The kids had a blast having him here.