Baby Matthew is ONE (tomorrow)!

We have had to postpone the actual birthday celebration today due to Matthew still struggling with fever, cough and runny nose. . . but I wanted to write a little something to my precious fuzzy-haired baby and post some cute pics back when he actually was healthy and used to smile all the time.

Dear Matthew:
My precious baby boy. You have been such a welcome addition to our busy family. Alivia and Will just adore you and dote on you. And I just can't seem to hold you enough. Your sweet temperament and easy going way has blessed us. Who could have imagined how much we would love you when I found out I was pregnant so long ago?

You will be my "last" of everything so that will always bring with it some sadness and joy. I don't think I will be able to wean you off the bottle for a long long time!

I pray that you will continue to grow into a God-fearing man who puts the Lord first in his life. A man who is not afraid to stand up for what is right and has a tender heart for his family. I pray now for your wife, that she would be a woman of character and would bring you joy.

I pray that I will be a mother who helps give you confidence and freedom to make mistakes and learn from them and help you find your gifts and mold them.

Happy 1st Birthday Baby Matthew!

Love,
Mom

My friend and mentor, Dr. Patterson sent this shirt for Matthew

Seeing these pics reminds me how sick he has been lately - I have not seen a smile like this in about 2 weeks

No Training Wheels!

We give all the credit to the balance bike that we had. . .that thing is awesome. Once she got the hang of the balance bike, she literally jumped on her bike and took off without training wheels.

Update!

Alivia has now joined the ranks of needing antibiotics as well. She started complaining about ear pain around dinnertime and of course I knew what it was . . .she had been struggling with congestion and a cough for a few days. I looked in her ear and it was definitely infected. So I called the on call doctor (who thankfully knows me) and she agreed to just call in Amoxicillin for us to spare us from having to go to the after hours clinic at ARC.

Baby girl, I hope you feel better soon!

SICK of being SICK

We have been sick sick sick around this house. It started with a terrible GI bug that went through our family about 2 weeks ago. We ALL got it in various forms or another. Thankfully Matt and I never had it at the same time. I think that weakened all the kids' immune systems enough to be susceptible to RSV. I just dread the coughing because it seems to hit John especially hard.

This year was no exception because on Friday, January 25th around 10 pm Matt and I took John to Dell Children's ER. I tried everything to prevent us from going since I knew it would be filled with kids with the flu, but it had to be done. John just looked terrible. He was breathing so fast and was not himself and seemed SO TIRED. It turned out he had RSV and pneumonia. He was placed on Augmentin and has been slowly improving but I must say it has brought out the stinker in him. He just has not been himself these last 2 weeks.

Will woke up from body rest time right around the same day holding his ear and crying. I knew it was serious so I got a last minute appt with our pediatrician who told me Will had a double ear infection and pink eye - oh and one of his ears was so infected that it may actually rupture. AHHH! (Thankfully it never did). Will was placed on Augmentin, too.

And lastly, baby Matthew. . . oh sweet baby Matthew. He started wheezing and coughing about a week ago and has had fevers on and off all this week. I just couldn't take it anymore so Matt took him in to see Dr. Dawson who said HE had a double ear infection and RSV, too. So to treat him for the ear infection and to prevent pneumonia if it was brewing (like John), baby Matthew was placed on Augmentin. The Augmentin has caused a terrible scalding diaper rash on my precious boy to the point that he did not want to be held or consoled or even touched on his bottom. He was so miserable tonight. OH, it just breaks my heart. I think he is the most comfortable when he is asleep on his tummy because there is finally no pressure on his bottom.

I'm so sick of neb treatments and Advil and Tylenol and Augmentin and checking fevers and WORRY. It really has brought out my need for control and a feeling of absolute helplessness when my precious children are sick. Lord, help me to lean on YOU and not myself.

So, in the last 2 weeks THREE of my FOUR kids have been on Augmentin. I'm assuming it is all from RSV that just manifests itself differently in each kiddo.

Oh, and starting yesterday, Alivia started to get the dreaded cough and wheezing. I raced to start her on her inhaled Azmanex and hope to head it off from the start. . . here's hoping she won't need Augmentin too!

Some lighter moments in the bath!

At least we don't have to worry about one of them catching anything from the other - they all have it!

Alivia is SEVEN! Will is FIVE!

The Interview for Will:

Q: What is your favorite color?

A: Black

Q: What is your favorite food?

A: Mac and Cheese

Q: What is your favorite book?

A: Superheroes Batman

Q: What do you want to be when you grow up?

A: Trash Man

Q: What is your favorite toy?

A: My iPad (InnoTab)

Q: What is your favorite thing to do?

A: Play on my iPad (InnoTab)

Q: What is your favorite memory from this year?

A: Opening presents on Christmas Day

Q: What is your favorite thing about pre-K?

A: Trying to fight Dark Vader (Wyatt)

Q: What is your favorite TV show?

A: Curious George

Q: Who are your favorite friends?

A: Charlotte (neighbor), Paige and Avery, Grandpa and Mimi

The Interview for Alivia:

Q: What is your favorite color?

A: Turquoise

Q: What is your favorite food?

A: spaghetti without sauce

Q: What is your favorite book?

A: Little House on the Prairie

Q: What do you want to be when you grow up?

A: A mom with four children 

Q: What is your favorite toy?

A: My Barbie Dream House

Q: What is your favorite thing to do?

A: Play with my family

Q: What is your favorite memory from this year?

A: Opening gifts on Christmas morning

Q: What is your favorite thing about First Grade?

A: Playing "cheetahs" with Kyra

Q: What is your favorite TV show?

A: Curious George

Q: Who are your favorite friends?

A: Kyra, Charis, Avery and Paige

Girl Scout Cookies!

Alivia has had a great time selling Girl Scout cookies. I volunteered to be the cookie coordinator for our troop which has helped me get to know the other troop moms so much better. The boys have loved helping Alivia carry her cookies door to door around the neighborhood and she asks almost every day if we can go out and sell cookies! It has been a fun experience.

Alivia is still too shy to ring the doorbells by herself so Will does it for her!

This picture is about 10 minutes before John threw up. . . he was such a trooper now that I know he felt horrible

Alivia's Birthday Playdate

Since Alivia did not get to invite all her friends to her Build A Bear party, she wanted to invite two good friends from school for a playdate. We had originally thought about an overnight, but thankfully no one really seemed up to it. In the end, I am not sure we are ready for those, either.

Charis and Lucy came over for the day and despite the rain, they seemed to have a fun time. They painted fingernails, played with Barbies, had snacks and rode the electric cars up and down the sidewalks.

We love almost all aspects about Veritas, except that it is so far and her friends live so far away from us.

From L-->R: Charis, Lucy and Alivia