Kate's 4 Month Check Up

Today Kate and I ventured out to her 4 month well baby check. She was a little angel for the Dr. until the nurse came in with the shots. Wasn't so happy then but recovered quickly. We'll see how the next few hours go. At two months she was great until about 4 hours later and then it was 3 hours of screaming. This time we'll stay on top of the pain reliever.

She is right on track developmentally, the doc ok'd her tummy sleeping (I was floored) and commented on her beautiful hair (it was standing straight up as usual).

She is 13 lbs 11 oz (60th %) for weight
24.5 inches (60th %) for height



A little clarification on the last post about "Hannahella". My very witty sister in law, Carrie, informed me that the name could easily be confused with Hanna hella. Sorry for the confusion, I in no way am calling my Hannah hella, she is a perfect little angel and I meant it to be like Cinderella. KWIM?

Hannahella lost her slipper at the "after Oscar" party...

Notice her evening bag by "Carter" (pronounced Car tee eh)

This picture really started to put it all together for me this morning. You see the girls seemed really restless last night and they woke up pretty frazzled this morning. Now I know why, they were out too late celebrating the Oscars!

On a more "real" note, we are all doing very well. Everyone is healthy and happy again. We have realized in these last two weeks how much personality Mulligan brought to our house. The hole is still very prominent and I don't know if it will every be filled the same way again. We took a family trip to the park on Saturday and while we all had fun, it just wasn't the same without Mully.

Kate turned 4 months on Saturday. We go to the Doc this week for her check up. More shots=one very unhappy child + unhappy mother. How's that for a math equation? She has discovered her hands and can sit for quite awhile just watching them move. Kate is also grabbing for toys and very interested in what her sisters are doing. She is working on sitting up and can do it for about 2.5 seconds before falling over.

Megan, just this morning, went #2 on the potty for the very first time. She has #1 down pat and has stayed dry for several days and naps. Still working on night time but she loves her new big girl panties. Since she has recovered from her virus two weeks ago, she has had hives. Tomorrow I am taking her to a Pediatric specialist to do some very in depth testing for allergies. Her fascination with her Uncle Wes is as strong as ever. Every day she asks, "Uncle Wes come over today?" Several times throughout the day she'll randomly state that Uncle Wes is at work or sleeping. She knows her uncle very well. I asked Charlie why she loves Wes so much and his response was "every time he comes, he brings presents. Wouldn't you love him too?" I do have to say, one of her favorite things to do was a present from him. He gave her a necklace making bead kit. Every night Meg and daddy sit at the kitchen table and string beads. Meg would sit there for hours if you let her.

Notice who is gazing up at her beloved UW. Megan of course.

But while Megan is making necklaces, Hannah begs to help mommy bathe Kate. If you have ever seen Hannah's happy jig (which I hope to capture on video one of these days), she does it all the way up the stairs for Kate's bath time. She has always been my little helper but she takes it to a whole new level now. Her favorite things to do are, taking Kate's diaper off, setting up the PJ's, lotion, and new diaper, then she washes Kate's toes and tummy. While I really wash Kate, Hannah combs her hair, and does a mighty fine job too! Hannah also has mastered squeezing out the tiniest amount of urine for an M&M. Both girls are allowed to make a phone call to a person of their choice if they go #2 on the potty. So....be prepared for a phone call if Uncle Wes doesn't answer his phone.

We recently drove up to see my grandparents for lunch. I am amazed that at 90 years old, they are both still living on their own. Last Friday they celebrated their 68th wedding anniversary. Hannah has always had a special place in her heart for her Great Grandpa (that is why I think she would have really loved my dad). One of the first times she met him, afraid of all others, she climbed right up to him and sat on his lap. She still does this as soon as we walk in the door. He is the only person that she will sit and listen to an unending amount of stories on his lap. His health wasn't the best last week. I hope they can find the cause for his not feeling well, it was the first time that I haven't seen him looking so hot.

I will try and post after Kate's appt on Wednesday....

Wearing their beautiful Valentines day shirts from Grandma Nama.

Kate Laughing at herself on her play mat.

My three very healthy and happy girls!

If you don't love dogs, skip this post!

About 7.5 years ago Charlie and I were married and moved into our first little house. Very quickly that house seemed a little boring and we decided to liven it up with a furry black bundle of energy. Mulligan was the last little female left in the liter and their was one little guy left too. The breeders were going to keep Mulligan as their dog to breed later but since we only wanted a female they gave her to us. Charlie said it very well one night last week, "Linz, we will never know a dog like we know her." He is so right. We know her every thought, desire, dislike. She is our first born and will always have a special place in our heartss.

Like most parents we think she is the most beautiful black lab, with the cutest expressions and quirks. Most of you won't believe this but at first Mulligan was afraid of the water. A friend of ours put on his full waiters and carried her into a small pond. That was the end of that fear. At the sight of H20 that dog is soaked. Once when we were visiting some friends, they had a little Koi pond (by little I mean 2 feet by 3 feet). Mulligan could hardly fit herself in...but she did. And by golly, she wanted to catch those fish.

Or how about the two times Mulligan ate so much we had to take her to the emergency vets to have her stomach pumped. The dog LOVED to eat. But probably not as much as she liked to play. Mulligan was already to fetch, anything. Her favorite toys were balls but if those were in short demand, a stick, a frisbee, a kids toy, a sock, you name it...she loved to chase it. She loved to take our socks off, the girls thought this especially funny. She would often root through our laundry basket in search of charlie's socks to toss around in the family room. Mulligan was our built in alarm clock. Somewhere between 5 and 6 am there was always a low moan next to the bed and if that didn't wake you up, she'd jump on the bed and whine right by your head. Speaking of her being on the bed. She slept with us almost every night since we brought her home at 7 weeks. We tried the cage at first but she was just too sweet and well, before we knew it there was an 84 pound dog in between us every night. However, as soon as you coughed, she left, but only temporarily. My favorite times with Mully happened when Charlie was out of town. Some time around 3am she would ask to go under the covers and curl up right next to me. It was really nice until around 5 when she thought it was time to eat.

Thanks for listening to my rambling. I found it very theraputic. I say all of this because it will be much easier to say here then repeat in person. In fact, it will be much easier on us if you don't ask us about her. I know this all sounds very silly considering she was just a dog but she meant a great deal to us, so humor us please.

Almost two weeks ago we noticed a lump on Mulligans back, down by her tail. She also started to limp and also had a fever. I took her in to the vet, and after a couple more visits and medications we determined that she had an infection. The infection moved and settled in her spine, down by the base. Last weekend before I left for KS I went to say goodbye to her at the vet. However, by Friday afternoon when Charlie was going to put her down, her fever was gone and they saw improvement. She came home and seemed to be getting better this week. When Charlie was leaving for Chicago last night, he thought she seemed a little warm again but she was still acting ok. This morning, however, she developed a fever again and her pain returned. She struggled to move at all. I took her to the vet, got some new meds but this afternoon her temp continued to rise and she was clearly in a lot of pain. Tonight I took her back to the vet and stayed with her while they put her to sleep. It was horrible saying goodbye but it is so nice to know that she isn't in pain anymore.

Mulligan July 4, 2000-February 14, 2008 We love you, Bug!

We've been hit....

While I was away in the beautiful Kansas City with Kate, things didn't go as well as planned on the homefront. Instead of my mom just helping Charlie out with the girls during the work day on monday and friday, she had to practically live here. Thank goodness for a mom who is a nurse, who gets along so well with my husband, and for a church cancellation due to snow.

Kate and I left early friday morning and arrived at the airport only to find out that a suspicious package was found and the bomb squad was on the way. I knew there was a problem as soon as I saw TV vans and state troopers parked outside of the airport. Well, that only delayed things about two hours. I missed my connection in Cincinatti but that was a huge blessing and allowed me to change and feed Kate, eat, and let Kate nap for about two hours. She continued to sleep through most of the second flight and my ride was waiting for me right outside the door of the airport.

I really enjoyed my time at Abby and Brandon's. Their girls are just darling, getting way to big and smart. Sophie (almost 6) is now reading and wowed me with her word flash cards and counting ability. Grace (now 4) is just as precious as ever. She is as smart as a whip and the most affectionate and loving little lady. Georgia (2) is her own little lady. She can play with either of her sisters or with her little people by herself and be very content. Baby Ainsley (2 months) is just as sweet as pie. Well actually as a butterball turkey. She is just beautiful but makes her cousin Kate look like a wimp. She had her check up today and she is 15 pounds (90th % for weight and 95% for height). Pretty good considering she is 1.5 months behind Kate. As always I love going to my sisters because not only do I not have to cook but the food is restaurant quality and I never go hungry. I had a ton of fun and can't wait to do it again....if Charlie lets me.

Which leads me to why he might not....I left friday morning and by friday evening Meg had a decently high fevor. She continued that all weekend, along with hives, a horrible cough, runny nose, and a painful headach. Her throat just had to be raw, or sounded that way atleast. She hardly slept, which meant neither did daddy and poor grandma had to put up with her constant moaning/whine. By the time I got home both Grandma and daddy were exhausted and so was Meg. I knew she started to feel better when she went back to bed on Tuesday morning, took a long nap and then went to bed early last night. This morning she came right down stairs, sat in her reading chair with a bright smile on her face and was back to her cheery self. Hannah however isn't so cheery...she now has what Meg had. So, after a strong dose of meds, they are both in bed and hopefully I will be soon. Kate is showing signs and so are Charlie and I. Grandma has escaped so far.

I am glad to be home with my family. I missed them a ton. Can't wait until this summer when we will all be together again. Thanks Ab!

Disclaimer: Spell check isn't working and I am too lazy to go back and edit myself. Sorry...

Thank You, Kate!

Just after Christmas, when Kate was two months old, she started only waking up once a night to be fed. Well...last night Kate went from 8pm to 8am without waking once! How nice for this mom! Actually, I woke up at four, five, six and seven wondering when she was going to wake up, then wondering if something was wrong. Nope, just snoozing away up there. I don't think it will continue, I believe it is just a growth spurt but it was a nice surprise.

Randomly there are two great baby books that I would recommend and I used a combination of them for H/M/K. They are called Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child and The Baby Whisperer. Both have very good ideas but aren't as rigid as some sleep/eating books for babies.

Just when we think we have some relief from the snow, it keeps on coming. We are suppose to get around a foot. Hopefully not because Kate and I are off to visit Aunt Abby for the weekend.

I found Megan like this the other day. It isn't uncommon to find her reading but she was very seriously reading this book.

This is Hannah in her Valentine's Day outfit from her Cousin Alicia. She spent hours drawing on her Magna Doodle. Her favorite thing to draw is a waffle. Also, notice Rudy covered up in the background. That was Megan's doing.

Kate finds her sisters especially entertaining. One of Hannah and Megan's favorite things to do is to say "Kate" and watch her turn towards them. Kate LOVES familiar faces and smiles!

Pics from last weekend...and the new arrivals

When Charlie was in college his dad gave him a 60 gallon octagonal fish tank for his birthday. Well, it has been collecting dust in this house so Charlie decided to set it up for the girls this week. They couldn't wait to go and pick out their fish. Meg wanted an orange fish and Hannah was insistent on a black fish. We have no idea why she wanted a black one but we hope it isn't the beginning of a facination with the whole "goth" thing. Just kidding, she loves colors.

Getting fish did confirm one thing for us. We have always thought our lab Rudy was part cat, that was confirmed when she spend the afternoon trying to catch the orange fish in the tank.

So far each girl has a fish and we won't add any more until we can keep these guys alive for more then a week.

This is a picture of the mound of presents that the girls got from Grandpa Chuck and Grandma Peggy. They were very spoiled and love to play with all of their new toys but the horses are their favorite.

I am such a typical mother who never takes pictures of the third child. Kate is now three months old and I just took her first bath picture. How horrible is that. We think she looks the most like her great grandfather L.

On friday for the girls birthday we took them sledding at a local park. They loved using their snow tubes from their Great Aunt Laura. Here are a couple of pics from their birthday.

This is a daughter after her mother's heart. I love to clean and sadly enough, now the girls do too. This is Meg rockin' with her new vacuum.

My good friend Jill came to see me one day this week. Thankfully it was a snow day and her kids, M & M could come too. Here are some pics of the kids holding Kate, their first time meeting her. The girls had an absolute blast with their friends and we can't wait for the next time we see them. Thanks Jill for taking the time to see us!!!