Fancy Abby

When I got Clara dressed this morning I laid out cloths for Abby like I usually do. Abby decided she wanted to be "fancy" today and put on this instead...

Two shirts, two frilly skirts, pants and go-go boots! What a gal!

Abby-isms:

Abby talks about her birthday on a regular basis. Today she told me she was ready to turn 5. She told me she wished she could be 5 while Andrew, our neighbor, is 5.  She then told me "it's not that I'm in love with him. Dad says no in-love-ers in the family until I'm as big as him."

No "in-love-ers"!? 

Love her!

Dan was telling me about something that happened in an elementary school lunch room in Utah, of all places, that made national news. I responded, "some people are so messed up..." to which Abby chimed in, "Like You?" without missing a beat. Dan laughed so hard he was crying.

Driving over to Bonnie's house Abby told us, "I have a long idea! Lets count all the chimneys in the world!" It's not a long drive. She has some great, random, ideas.

122. What's that, oh just Abby's favorite number. Seriously, she has stuck with that number for a while now.

Abby wanted another piece of chocolate. When I told her no more she says, "ok, I"ll cool my jets down!" I guess I've used that phrase cool your jets. Made me laugh.

A week of doctor visits and sickness.

Dan had a physical this week, complete with blood work. He is healthy.

Tuesday morning I was trying to pull down the Tilex from a high shelf and sprayed myself right in the eye. I immediately started rinsing out my right eye. I read the bottle and did as it directed--20 minutes of continual rinsing. After an hour my eye burned with just as much intensity and was swelling shut. Not realizing the severity of what I'd done I luckily had the thought to call my eye doctor and was going to just ask how long it would burn. I was told to come in immediately. I drove very slowly with one eye open. I dropped the girls off with Aunt Bonnie and then headed to the doctor. The doctor immediately put the most heavenly drops in my eye that took away the burning temporarily.  I love numbing medicine. She continued to rinse out my eye for what seemed like forever and then did a thorough exam. The good news, my eye will heal, the bad news--I chemically burned half of my cornea (and this accident would cost a pretty penny). She prescribed two different drops, one to use every hour and than an antibiotic to use 4x a day.
This experience has taught me several things: chemicals labeled dangerous to the eye are really dangerous to the eye, I will be more diligent about making sure my cleaning chemicals are properly closed after using them, it could have been so much worse, I am so very grateful for two working eyes, and lastly our bodies are amazing things. By the next morning the burning was gone! I could open my eye again. My vision was still blurry in the one eye but the doctor assured me that day that I had begun the healing process and would be good to go within a couple days.

(not at all flattering but documented)

 Jacob had a procedure done today at the dermatologist. He has had a raised bump at the bottom of his neck for a long time now. We decided to get it checked out a couple weeks ago because it had become painful. This bump needed to be removed. The doctor prescribed some numbing cream that I applied an hour before his appointment. Jacob was very nervous. I'm afraid he might just have my kind of stomach, very sensitive to anxiety. Jacob was very tough. He teared up a couple times but fought to keep his composure. I prayed to keep mine. First Dr Yeager tested the area to be sure it was numb and it wasn't, which brought tears. Jake got a shot to completely numb the area and was so brave through that scary part. Then the nurse came in and set up all the tools. I saw Jacob's face begin to turn pale as he looked at the scary instruments and again he forced the tears away, his lip quivering. It took the doctor 20 minutes to drain out the benign tumor. Jake didn't feel pain but a lot of pressure. The doctor believes it is Pilomatricoma, a benign tumor. The lab results will be in when we go back in 2 weeks to have the stitches removed.

I was nervous for Jake as we sat in the waiting room. My tough exterior little boy held my hand tightly. Made my heart hurt for him. Then when I saw him fighting tears I about lost it myself. I'm so grateful for the power of prayer. I wish I could take all the pain and anxiety away for my children. 

He was very brave and will be just fine.

*Update for original post*

We had the Blue and Gold banquet tonight. I recommended we take two cars just in case... Well at 830 I left to take Benjamin home with all the kids in the minivan. Dan called me minutes into my drive to tell me he'd thrown away his keys (with his wedding ring attatched). He and Val Rohn started going through the bags of leftover lazagna disgustingness and then he realized he'd left them in a bag some place else. After getting the kids to bed late I woke up a couple times to help a coughing Abby and then  to a sick Jacob. He vomit all night with a stomach bug. 

It's Friday morning. Jake's doing better. Dan and I are tired. And Buddy is at the vet getting "fixed". 

What's next???

Love my 18month old Clara!

Combo of 2 things she loves: being naked and shoes. 

She loves shoes. She finds shoes and stashes them away for me to find days later. 

She is such a cuddle-bug. Dan and I love it. She enjoys being held and gives lots of hugs and kisses.

She is learning so much every single day! She loves to sing songs, dance with Abby, and play peek-a-boo. Her vocabulary is bursting with new words. She mimics our sounds and catches onto the new word immediately.  She still loves to babble and say Abby about 50 times a day. She calls Buddy- Bubby- it is my new favorite name for our big puppy. She loves to copy me and says "Bubby NO!" after I do or just when she wants to. She can say "mommy, I wan..." or "all gone", and "pa-pee"for passey. She has her version of all the kids names. Abby is as clear as can be. Tess sounds like Dez and Jacob is Dacob. It's cute.  I love that she is able to communicate with us now. It makes life so much happier.

She says "go" all day long. She'll reach for my hand and take me where she wants to "go" (usually the door to go outside).

She has a fiery personality to match her hair I do believe. She can be very stubborn but then melts into tears when I reprimand her. I have to be sure that she never gets a hold of a pencil/pen/crayon. I let her color in her high chair but have had to magic erase the walls too many times. She constantly climbs on the kitchen table or up on the drawer handle just below the oven/stove. I now put her in her room for timeout when she does this over and over.  The other day she was upset with me and slapped my face (not hard). I immediately put her down. She started to cry and Dan told her to say sorry to me. For the first time she said, amidst the biggest tears "Sowey Mommy". Melt my heart. She now likes to use that phrase.

She is finally saying Daddy when requested! Happy Daddy. Clara has been in nursery since May with Dan but she is finally at the age where she can really enjoy it. (So does Dan)

Dan will make to "guns" with his hands and make a clicking sound at her. She responds with two pointed fingers and her own clicking sound.

 She loves Abby. Abby enjoys her most of the time. 

 She hates to get washed in the tub. I don't know why we have weeks where she is okay with getting her hair washed and then weeks where I'm torturing her. Abby loves baths and so Clara is never on her own in the tub (which might be part of the problem). Abby and Clara love to be naked. They love to run naked! After dinner or after baths they will run in circles naked squealing with laughter!

She takes one nap (at random times of the day thanks to having 3 older siblings). She is using a sippy cup more and the bottle only at sleeping time. She has mastered using a fork and loves it. She isn't a big eater still. I have a hard time getting her to eat much of anything. She does love sugar, just like her mama. 

She loves to play the piano, especially when Jake and Tess are suppose to be practicing.  Tess doesn't mind. 

Clara has had 3 ear infections in the past two months. This last one the pediatrician put her on antibiotics for 20 days. Dan has read several articles about the over use of antibiotics and we have become concerned with how much she has had over the past 5 months. If she gets another ear infection she will be going to a specialist for tubes.  December has been a rough month for her, and me at night. She wasn't sleeping well because of fevers, ear infections or coughing from a cold. She is attached to my hip when she is sick.

 She was getting pretty good at balancing on the tramp and started to "jump" before the snow hit.

I can't imagine life without this beautiful baby girl. I just had a traumatic, almost car accident with only Clara in the car with me. The women was looking down at something else and as I veered out of her way she veered the same direction. It wasn't until I honked that she looked up and slammed on her breaks. In those few seconds of me dodging the on-coming car my thoughts were " my baby, don't hit my baby!" I spent a good 15 minutes shaking and crying to Dan on the phone...and we weren't hit. I pray daily that Heavenly Father will help me keep my children safe. I know at that moment the angels intervened for me and my Clair-Bear!

Aimee's Christmas Visit

Aimee came for her traditional Christmas visit right after Christmas this year. It was just what I needed to look forward to.  At the top of our to-do list was visiting Monticello, something we've wanted to do for years now. We all loved Monticello. It seemed so much more progressive than Mt Vernon. I loved the big rooms, Thomas Jefferson believed in having the latest and greatest. He didn't want to take away from the beautiful scenery, on top the highest hill around, and put all the space needed to keep his  home running under his home. The view was gorgeous, even in the Winter.

  I caught on camera a really cute interaction between Abby and Dan. Melt your heart cute!

After seeing Monticello we had to drive by our old stomping grounds. I think I was about 4 when we lived in Charlottesville so I don't remember much but Aimee sure did. We saw her old elementary school and the townhouse we lived in. We took pictures and reminisced about the time Chuck and Steve built a snowman in front of the neighbors door, when Aimee searched the nearby park with her best friend trying to find her pet ginny-pig, and Aimee and Emily hiding love notes to the neighborhood boy in the dirt. It was the second time we've been able to visit a place we've lived. Then Aimee treated us to Coldstone before we headed home. YUM. We stopped at Cafe Rio for dinner. It was a fun day, even though Dan had a head cold (which turned into a sinus infection).

Because of all the sickness leading up to Christmas we had to postpone making our gingerbread houses until after Christmas. We invited our neighbors, the Conovers, and lucky Aimee made gingerbread houses for the 4th time this season (first time this year though). After the kids finished piling on the candy Tara and I sat down and made one. I'll never be to old to decorate a gingerbread house. It's a lot of work being now that I'm the one doing the prep work but it's totally worth it.

Abby and Andrew

Jake and Michael

Emma and Tess

Mike and Emma

For New Years Eve Aimee made 3 difference ice cream pies, we played games and headed to bed before midnight. Actually I stayed up past the new year finishing a book but Dan's sinus infection was really bad so we called it a night early. 

It didn't take long for Clara to warm up to Aimee. 

Clara loves her Aunt Aimee and chose to be in her lap/arms often! 

 Tess was very excited to have Aimee meet Buddy. And Dan and Buddy are still mourning her departure!! Aimee helped Dan in loving on this big puppy. I sure wish she lived closer so Buddy could enjoy the animal lover that she is (so does Dan)!

Every time the kids see Aimee they request the "tickle blanket" game. 

They love it. She is so good to them!

Aimee and I took the three older kids to see Frozen.  It is so fun to go the theater with little kids, since it hardly ever happens it is a big treat. Our week with Aimee went way to fast.  Poor Dan was sick the entire time so we didn't do as much site seeing as we'd planned. But we sure loved all the game playing, movie watching (Here Comes the Boom is a new favorite), eating and chatting.

I'm so grateful for her! After taking her to the airport I came home totally bummed. My sisters are my best friends, it's just so easy with them. I miss them.