Afternoon Snack

I've been giving the kids an afternoon snack and Macie and Gavin created this little setup. Too cute!

Funny Macie Quotes

I got off the phone with Allie and Macie asked who I was talking to. I told her it was Aunt Allie and that she was sick and her belly was hurting. She said, "She needs to eat a prune". (Macie has constipation problems and we give her prunes to help her belly)
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Brian took Macie into the bathroom at Chuck E Cheese and she said, "I want to wash my hands in there". (referring to the urinal)
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Last week, Gavin's steroids caused him to be crazy at times. We told Macie that he couldn't help how his was acting, that his medicine was causing it. One day on the way home from daycare, he started crying and Macie looked at him and said, "Gavin, your medicine's kicking in."
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Tonight, Macie said, "I need medicine cuz my eyes are watered."

Chuck E Cheese

We buy Chuck E Cheese string cheese. Macie was shopping with us one day and asked for it. Turns out, it is the cheapest and on the back of the package is a coupon for 12 free tokens. Can't beat that! We waited until we had two coupons. This afternoon, we, along with Aunt Allie, headed to cash in our coupons. The place was packed, but we expected it. We stayed for an hour and a half and that was plenty of time. We cashed in some tickets for sweet tarts and a fun straw. We left with about 35 tickets and 4 tokens. My kids don't need much to keep them entertained. How can we complain for a completely free afternoon of fun!
The only disappointment was Chuck E himself. When we told Macie we were going, she said that she wanted to dance with Chuck E. He came out for a brief moment and she was thrilled and squealing, but it was mainly for the birthday parties. He never came out for his dance even though we were told by several employees he was coming. Macie was sad, but she handled it pretty well. She's mentioned it several times, but hopefully she will get to dance with Chuck E next time!

Thrilled to see Chuck E

Gavin will ride almost anything!

Freezer Cooking

This morning, I woke up and went straight to work! It'd been a few weeks since I'd done any freezer cooking/food prep so today was the day. I made pasta bake, chili, mashed potatoes, sugar cookie dough, and Brian made pancakes to freeze. I also boiled/shredded chicken for tomorrow's dinner, cut up salad and cantaloupe, and cleaned grapes. Not to mention, I made lunches, washed laundry, and took care of the kids. Busy morning, but very productive! I love having a stocked freezer because it makes my evenings so much easier. It also helps us not be tempted to go out to eat. I just hope I can keep this up the remainder of the pregnancy because when I was done, my feet were really swollen and I was wiped!!

Babies

Macie has been very into playing with her baby dolls lately. She has elaborate set ups and story lines. I love watching her because it shows me how much she is growing up. Gavin wants to do everything Macie does, so he also loves to play with babies. Brian thought it would be most appropriate if Gavin played with his childhood doll, Bobby. I think Macie and Gavin are both just getting ready to help with Lilah!

Brushing Bobby's hair

Gavin's 18 Month Pictures

A few weeks ago, Allie took Gavin's 18 month pictures at Garvin park. She gave me a disc with 95 pictures on it! It is so hard to narrow them down! Gavin is a natural model....he started posing without even being prompted. Such a cutie!!

Annointing of the Sick

After finding out that I had a two vessel cord several weeks ago, I went to Father Burns and asked him to pray for me and the baby. I went after our staff Mass and he performed the Annointing of the Sick. It was the second time I've had it and it is an experience I won't ever forget. It is so powerful! Little Lilah and I need all of the prayers we can get!

Just like Grandpa

Yesterday morning when Macie was at my parent's house, she spent a lot of time with Grandpa. They went shopping at Schnucks together, shared lunch, and she called him her buddy. When she got home, she came in the kitchen and said, "I'm drinking a coke and this is my beard (pointing to her chin)". I started cracking up. What will come out of that girl's mouth next??

Emergency Room Visit

Yesterday, Gavin started getting a runny nose and was a little cranky. Last night, he slept, but sounded like he was snoring a lot. We didn't worry about it too much. This morning when Brian got him out of bed, his breathing was labored and he was making a seal like sound. He looked and sounded like he did when he was in the hospital. Brian and I were both scared. We knew we had to take him somewhere, but we didn't know where. We didn't know if we should wait a few hours until Convenient Care opened or take him straight to the ER. I called Dr. Voyles' office to talk to the on call nurse. When she heard his symptoms and history, she sent us straight to the ER. We rushed around to get showers (in case he was admitted), pack bags, and make arrangements for Macie. We dropped Macie off at my parents' house and were checked in around 7:50am. They checked Gavin's vitals and did paperwork immediately. I barely had a chance to use the restroom before he was taken back to a room in triage. The nurse saw and heard what we did, but when the respiratory therapist checked him out, she didn't. It was so frustrating.

Luckily, the doctor was concerned enough that he ordered a breathing treatment and a dose of steroids. Brian and I were worried because that particular breathing treatment can only be administered at the hospital. We really didn't want him to be admitted. However, the doctor had no intention of keeping him and diagnosed him with Croup. He sent us home with two prescriptions (steroids and an oral decongestant). I would like to pretend that's how easy it was, but of course it wasn't. When we got to the ER, they weren't busy, but that quickly changed! I think they forgot about us! Between breathing for people, a man passing out in the lobby, and other emergencies, we moved to low man on the totem pole. Don't get me wrong, I think those things are more important, but Gavin had had enough! It took 3 and 1/2 hours and three nurses before we got out of there.

Overall, Gavin was great and is the model patient! He cooperated with all procedures and did pretty well being confined in the small space for so long. Brian and I took turns keeping him occupied and we pretty much let him do anything that wasn't dangerous! I am super concerned about the steroids though. When he was on them before, he got major roid rage and was super strong and wild. He is going to be on them for a week. The breathing treatment also got him wound up and at one point he was slapping me in the face and laughing at the hospital. Fun stuff! Not to mention, the decongestant should make him wired...seriously people!

Gavin didn't take a very good nap today, but he's been eating good. He also looks really pale/yellow and it worries me. He was sound asleep a little after 6pm. The doctor did warn us that tonight would be rough. He gave us some tips as to what to do if it happens again (take him in the bathroom and turn on a warm shower; walk around outside). If those things don't work, we are to take him back to the ER. Hopefully, all will go well and we will get some sleep.

Brian's parents came to town when they heard Gavin was sick. They were kind enough to meet us at our house with McDonalds for lunch. Brian and I were starving because we hadn't eaten yet. They brought a ton of food and we seemed to inhale it all! Aunt Katie also came to town and brought the kids new pjs. We had a nice long visit with Brian's family. After they left, Allie stopped by for dinner. Brian made fried chicken, corn on the cob, and mashed potatoes. She left right away so the kids could sleep. Macie hadn't napped all day with all of the excitement. She was so good and I'm so proud of how grown up she is becoming!

Unfortunately, we missed Emmy's birthday party and the Sills' Open House because of this mess. Hopefully, Gavin will be back to himself soon and we can put all of this behind us!

It's a Lilah!

Tuesday morning, I had my appointment at the Maternal Fetal Medicine and Genetic Disorder office. I was very nervous and my stomach was super tight. Brian wasn't able to go because of his new job, but my mom was able to be there with me. When I got there, I had to check in downstairs and in the actual office. I thought that it was odd that they took my picture. They later told me that it was one of the best pictures they'd ever seen because I was smiling. I said it was just a nervous smile. I was called back pretty quickly and they asked me more questions and took my weight and blood pressure. My blood pressure was surprisingly low considering how nervous I was. Next, they took me into the ultrasound room. The tech and genetic counselor came in at the same time. The genetic counselor asked me a million questions and talked the whole time. The tech barely said a word. I wish it was the other way around. Even though I've seen a million ultrasounds, it's always nice to be reminded what you are looking at. We did get some awesome pictures though and I love seeing the baby!

Before I was even pregnant, Brian and I decided that if we had another baby, we weren't going to find out the sex. I stuck to my guns and was totally cool with not finding out. Then, it just seemed like one thing after another kept happening. I've already had four ultrasounds and I could have as many as 8-12 more. How was I realistically not going to find out? Brian and I talked about it and decided to just do it. All along I thought the baby was a boy (although at the last ultrasound I thought I saw it was a girl, but I didn't tell anyone but Brian) and I was WRONG. We had a poll on the side and it was close, but they were wrong too. This baby is a GIRL! Lilah Jean Mitchell will be joining our family in a few short months. Brian was excited because he was right! Macie is beside her self and talks about "Liwah" every day!

After the ultrasound, they asked us to wait in a room for Dr. Turquest. They warned us that she'd been called for an emergency, but acted like it wouldn't be too long. We waited an hour and forty minutes. Thank God my mom was in the room with me or I would have gone crazy. When she finally came in, she went over all of the possible complications that could happen with a two vessel cord (malformations with heart, kidneys, and other organs; growth restrictions; preterm labor). She went on to say that Lilah's growth was good (she weighs 1 pound) and that no malformations were detected. The pictures of the heart were a little fuzzy, so she called for a repeat on those. I go back in 6 weeks for another ultrasound to measure growth and to get a closer look at the heart. Now, the big concern is her continued growth. Because I also have high blood pressure, I will have lots of ultrasounds for growth and close monitoring. Nothing can be guaranteed though. There are some things that can't be detected by ultrasound (like all of Gavin's issues) and they also offered me an amniocentesis. I declined because it is risky and it wouldn't change anything. I go back to see Dr. Crutcher in a few weeks, so I'm anxious to talk to her and see what she was to say.

Face: Same nose and forehead as the other two and same mouth as Gavin!
Profile: She's already talking!

Foot

Profile

It's a girl!

Arm and Finger pointing!

Catholic Triplets

One of my student's moms came in the other morning and congratulated me on my pregnancy. She told me that she also had three kids in three years. Next she said, "We call them the Catholic Triplets". I started cracking up. What a funny way to look at it!
When I went to the doctor the other day,the lady who checked me in had triplets. When she realized that I was having my third child in three years, she said that I had it a lot harder than her because with triplets they all have the same needs. With "Catholic Triplets", they are all needy with different needs.

30 Years

On August 8th, my parents celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary. My sisters and I decided to throw them a party. We invited their siblings and spouses, their parents, and friends who were in the wedding. Instead of making it a surprise party, we sent them an invitation in the mail. They were quite shocked! We had the party on Sunday, August 14th at Allie's house. We had a table full of food and everyone had a great time. I'm so glad that we were able to do something special for them!
*I decided to post the pictures not rotated. Pardon the problem until I figure out what I'm doing wrong.

Mom was teary eyed within minutes of being there!
In typical Boyles girl fashion, we had to add a funny twist. We came up with 30 reasons why we were surprised they were still married. Everyone got a kick out of it!

This was their guest book from the wedding. We had people sign in at the party.

Mom's wedding dress

The shirt dad was wearing when my parent's met

Opening gifts...notice Macie isn't too far away!

Macie posing

Macie even got to help open one gift!

The happy couple!

Backyard Fun

Due to the hot, nasty weather and me not feeling 100%, the kids hadn't played in the backyard for weeks.  Thursday night, it was actually cool enough to go outside and play.  It felt so nice to sit and watch the kiddos run around and they were thrilled to say the least!  I love to spend a lot of time outside and I'm hoping we will be able to do more of it now!  

I love these pictures of Brian with the kids! 

 Pointing out a bunny

 Macie took her shoes off and said that she was bare foot.  Then she said, "I have feet like a bear!"  Next thing I know she is walking like a bear across the yard.

Of course, Gavin had to do it too!