A Nice Surprise

Tonight, the Maurers stopped by for a short visit.  They brought Brian and I an angel statue for our losses (his papaw and my uncle).  They also brought Gavin a bag full of goodies for his trip/surgery on Friday.  It was so nice of them to think of us.  We used to spend every weekend with the Maurers and now we struggle to see them once a month:(  It is nice to know that even though we can't see each other as often, we still have great friends!

 Anya colored a card for Gavin

 Gavin's goodies

They even brought Macie a few things so she wouldn't feel left out!

Pulling Up

Lilah is starting to pull up more and more.  Today, she pulled up on the dishwasher door.  Don't worry, I had just emptied the dishwasher and it was clean!

Got Toys?

When I was making dinner the other night, I asked Macie and Gavin to each bring Lilah one toy to keep her happy.  This is what they brought her...

A little much!

New Toys and Tubs

Aunt Allie brought over some new toys for the kids.  My cousin's kids have outgrown them and they passed them on to us.  They sent three big organizing tubs with some new play dishes and food.  They also sent a baby doll and fairy.  Most the the tubs were empty which made me happy.  The kids are thrilled and have been playing with the stuff everyday.  It is kind of taking over my living room until I have time to put it in the kids' rooms and fill it with their junk.  Thank you Chase and Riley (and Aunt Judy and Andrea)!

Catching Up

"My Monday Girl":  My Aunt Nancy has been battling cancer for 7 years.  She isn't doing well, so several people are taking shifts around the clock to be with her.  Allie and I go on Monday nights.  When she first got sick, my sister, Annie, used to visit her on Tuesdays, so Aunt Nancy called her, "My Tuesday Girl".  When I walked in on Monday night, Aunt Nancy smiled and said, "My Monday Girl".

Matt:  Macie has her first crush.  There is a little boy in the butterfly class (meaning he's older than her) that Macie can't get enough of. She lights up when she talks about him (which is all of the time) and pretends that he is here at out house.  She chases him around the playground and tries to hug and kiss him.  We did tell her it wasn't OK to kiss kids at preschool.  The saddest part is, he doesn't seem to feel the same way about her.  He has another girl that he chases around.  Macie gets so bummed.  She even asked the teachers, "How do I get a man to play with me?"  Seriously...where does this come from?  The mom in me wants to protect her from a broken heart and tell her not to worry about boys so early!!

Gavin Funny:  On the way home today, I heard Gavin in the back of the van laughing hysterically.  Then he said, "I crack my mouth up!"  I still don't know what cracked him up, but he was so darn cute.

Anointing of the Sick:  Last Sunday after church, Father Burns did the Anointing of the Sick on Gavin to help him for his upcoming surgery.  I used to think that Anointing of the sick was only for people who were dying.  I now know differently because I've had it twice and so has Gavin.  It is a really neat experience and I'm so glad that Gavin got his blessing.  My mom, dad, and Allie joined us.  Then, we went to eat brunch at Carousel. 

Beer Bread:  Last night, we were eating some beer bread.  Macie asked if there was beer in there.  When I told her yes, she said, "I've never had beer before!!"  It was so funny!

Nothing:  On the way home, Macie was asking Gavin about his day and what he did.  He kept saying, "Macie, I didn't do nothing, all I did was play"  Macie said, "Gavin, playing is a thing!"

EVSC/First Steps Meeting

Last Monday (a week and a half ago), I met with Gavin's First Steps Coordinator.  We also met with someone from EVSC to talk about possible services.  When Gavin turns three, he will no longer be eligible for First Steps.  If he still needs services, he has to get them through the school system.  The only possible service he needs is physical therapy.  I know that he will need some kind of physical therapy and if we can get it through EVSC, it will be free.  
Basically, there are several different possibilities (therapeutic preschool, pt but we would have to take him, no services, we could wait until he starts preschool next year and they could do services there).  It is a long process, so we will just have to wait and see.  Next, they do a home visit, followed by a full evaluation.  Then, we will meet as a team to decide what happens next. 
I'm a little overwhelmed by all of this and can't really focus on it until we get through the stuff on Friday:(

Brenntag Company Picnic

Yesterday, we went to the Brenntag Company picnic.  Since it was near Grammie and Pops' house, we dropped Lilah off.  We knew that there was no way she would last four hours in the sun.  Macie and Gavin did a pretty good job.  They played in some inflatables, got balloon animals, played the gift card walk, and ran around like crazy people.  We ate yummy food and even had cupcakes and ice cream sandwiches!  Brian won two prizes: a $10 gift card to Target and a $50 gift card to Thorntons.  Both are things we could really use!  By the time we left, the kids were wiped. They took a short nap on the way home, but were still pretty grumpy.  It was an early night!

 Daddy even went through the obstacle course twice!

 Macie waited to catch Gavin

More Preschool Art

I don't plan to take pictures of every single thing that Macie does at preschool.  However, I hope to take pictures of lots of it because pictures take up a lot less space than the actual artwork.  I want to make a scrapbook for Macie of all of her preschool art and projects.  

 Humpty Dumpty Puppet

Tent

Nothing beats a blanket tent in the living room!

 My crazy daughter has been asking to wear a sweatshirt and sweatpants to bed!

8 Months Old

Lilah Jean is 8 months old!!  She actually turned 8 months last Sunday, but I am just now getting around to posting.  If it is even possible, my love for little LJ grows each and every day!

• Lilah just got her 6th tooth!  She now has 4 on the bottom and 2 on the top.  I looked up when the other kids got their first teeth.  Macie was 8 1/2 months and Gavin was a little before 8 months.  Lilah was a little before 5 months when she got her first one and has 6 before the other two had a tooth at all!
• Lilah is still a great eater and eats 4 times a day (6, 10, 2, 6).  She is pretty easy in this area and will try just about anything.  The new things this month are avocados, crackers, and baked potatoes.  She holds her own bottle and sucks it down!
• Lilah is a move and a shaker!  She crawls everywhere, sits up, and on her month birthday, PULLED UP!  Holy cow, I'm freaking out!  We've lowered her bed because she is a wild thing.  At this rate, she'll be walking by 10 months!  I'm so not ready for this.  She is my last baby and I just want her to SLOW DOWN!!!!
• Lilah still has a serious side, but has a very happy, playful side.  She loves her big sister Macie.  She can always make Lilah laugh.  She laughs, giggles, and coos.  She also puts her brother and sister in their place when she's not happy.  She screamed at them when they were holding her hands and she didn't want them, too.  It was so funny!
• Lilah is turning into a mama's girl!  She wants me a lot in the evening and is definitely fighting for my attention.  I have to admit that I love it.  As long as she doesn't get too clingy, I'll take any extra cuddles I can get!

 I had to post the pictures like this because she is a woman on the move!

Morganfield Park

Last Saturday, we went to Morganfield.  Uncle John's grandma passed away, so we went to visit him and his family.  We didn't take the kids inside the funeral home, but they were happy to see Grammie, Pops, and Uncle John.  Afterwards, we took them to Morganfield Park to play.  They pretty much had the place to themselves.  It was nice to have some family time.  Our lives have been crazier than ever and we haven't had as much time together just the 5 of us.  Brian and I really value that time and the kids thrive on it!