Playing Catch Up

It's been a while since I've posted and so much has gone on. There are tons of pictures to show, so this post will be all about the pictures. Let's see....where do we start? We had family come to town to visit us for a week and we had a fun time going to the baseball game, driving to Amish Country, going into D.C. to see the Cherry Blossoms as well as museums and the Memorials. It was fun to have them here and we celebrated Ryan's Birthday, Easter and Liala's 3rd Birthday all at once. It was a fun time and we were glad to have them!!!

Liala turned the big #3 and she enjoyed her birthday celebrations. I can hardly beleive that it's been three years since she was born. Dax turned 6 months old and we took him to the doctor for his check up. Dax weighs 19 lbs 6 oz and is in the 90th percentile! He is 27 inches long and is in the 75th percentile. He is healthy and growing at a steady rate. Ryan has given him his official nickname: SMILES! He is seriously the most easy going, smiley baby I've ever met. Everyone's first comment is how happy and smiley he is. I just love it!!! We love seeing him so happy.

At gymnastics last week, Dax was literally laughing at the Coach. She would jump up and down and do the stretches and he was laughing a laugh that came from his gut. It was adorable!!! Liala is really enjoying gymnastics and we started preschool again this week. We've decided that she needs a little bit of structure in her days to help with behavior and so we're trying our hands at something new. We'll see how it goes.

I'm sure I'm leaving something out, but that's all I can think about right now. Enjoy the pictures.

The Princess and the GIANT

Dax had his four month check-up this week and he weighed in at 16 lbs 1 oz! He measures 25 1/2 inches long, and his head circumference is 17 inches. He is in the 75th percentile for all three! In comparison to Liala at his age, he is a GIANT!

There was a couple in the waiting room of the pediatricians office who were asking me about Dax and how old he is. They were amazed that he is only 4 months old and were making comments about how large his hands are and I think they called him "an adorable brute"! He is a happy, healthy boy and we are so happy that he's ours!

We took Princess Liala to see a local high school play this past weekend. It was so much fun because she got to dress up and even meet Cinderella at the end. We waited in the crazy line and when it was finally our turn, she froze. I think she was super tired from having missed her nap that day. And she was coming off of a sugar high as well. But I think she and Sienna enjoyed it!

That same weekend, we happened upon a Cinderella dress at the Disney store and we bought it for Liala. She wakes up every morning, and the first thing she does is put on her dress, gloves, and princess shoes! So adorable. These are some pictures to show you how adorable it is! I just wish it was glitter free. I am finding glitter in the fat rolls on Dax's legs!!

Christmas Day and the Princess Kitchen

All Liala wanted for Christmas this year was the Princess Piano Vanity that she saw one day during a commercial break. We, being new at playing Santa Clause, waited until the week of Christmas to purchase the vanity. To our surprise, it was SOLD OUT. HUH?! What other kid in the world wants a bright pink princess piano vanity?

Apparently, every other 2-5 year old girl in the nation did! Ryan spent many early mornings waiting in the parking lot of Toys R' Us to be the first one in the doors checking to see if they had a shipment come in the night before. Ryan even checked in West Virginia while he was on a business trip to see if they had the dumb thing. NADA, nothing, zero. So we ended up getting Liala a BRIGHT PINK Princess Kitchen instead! And she loved it! She even called Santa on her pretend phone on Christmas Day and said, "thank you Santa for my beautiful princess kitchen." How sweet!

The one thing about getting to Toys R' Us early is you get your pick of popular toys that DO come in on shipments. The ZuZu pet she got was a hit! Liala really enjoyed the little hampster she named "Hammy". We really enjoyed watching Liala enjoy Christmas this year. We even stuck to our new tradition and sang "Happy Birthday" to Jesus and ate some cupcakes in his honor. Christmas just isn't the same unless you have kids to watch. The joy on their faces makes the day perfect. It was a great holiday! Can't wait for next year when Dax will be crawling around getting into everything!

Just some pictures of Dax over the past few months. He is getting so big and he is a very happy, smily baby! Don't let the pictures fool you though- he is not a very good sleeper. At least since he got the swine flu. We've had trouble getting him back on a regular routine. At least he's not a cranky baby though. I will count my blessings. We just love having him in our family!

Just a few pictures from the beginning of December. We are big on traditions and have tried to implement a few good ones with Liala around the holidays. As you can see, we did the gingerbread house and Liala spent most of the time just eating the frosting. We never really got a good picture of the finished product. We also tried reading "The Night Before Christmas" book everynight before bedtime. We also got Liala her own Little People Nativity so she can have one that is not "off limits"! She really enjoyed setting Baby Jesus in the manger with Mary and Jospeph. We also took time to just relax during the month and we tried not to make it so hectic- so we could really help Liala understand the true meaning of the season! More pictures to come!

Emergency Room Regulars

Instead of spending our early morning hours sweetly snoring away, we were in the Emergency Room- AGAIN. We woke up with Dax around 1 am and his fever was 104. The pediatrician sent up straight to the ER for follow up. While there, Dax was tested again for the Swine Flu. He also had to have a cathedar to take a urine sample to test for a Urinary Tract Infection. While we waited for the results from the tests, he was given another breathing treatment to open up his airways. The ER doctor said he has "baby bronchitis" and then she returned with the diagnosis...... SWINE FLU.
We thought we were so good about keeping germs away. Seriously. We have been hibernating for the past 8 weeks! Sadly, we can't prevent everything. So we had to cancel Liala's surgery because the anesthesiologist does not feel comfortable doing surgery when her recovery would be in a home with the virus. So it has been rescheduled for later in the month. Agghhh. Have I mentioned that I HATE WINTER TIME?!! When will summer be here again. I need it to come quickly.

Rough Weekend

What a weekend! After taking Dax to the doctor for the 2nd time this week, our pediatrician sent us to the Emergency Room to have a chest Xray, some blood work, and the swineflu test done. It broke our hearts to hear that she thought he needed to be seen in the ER. We thought he just had a little cold like everyone else has had.

To our surprise, Dax has been put on nebulizer treatments to clear out his bronchial passageways and to help his cough become more productive. It is so sad to see a 2 month old being zapped by radiation for a chest xray. :( It is hard to be a parent sometimes!

We go in for a follow up tomorrow for both kids. Dax will be seen for his cough and fever. And Liala will be seen to make certain she is okay to be put under anesthesia on Tuesday for her surgery. We pray that she okay so that we can FINALLY get the ear tubes put in and get the ear infections under control. I now know what people mean when they say "without your health you have nothing". These are just minor things, but it sure has been a busy November full of doctor visits, tissues, sneezes, and coughs. We will be glad when everyone is better!