Special Visitors!

Today the kids and I had the special treat of getting to go for a walk with Teresa and her girls!!! They have moved to Texas and were able to come home for a "surpise" visit last minute.  Bob was called to work in Ft. Wayne, so they all came home for the week.  We feel blessed to have been able to spend time with them while they are here!!!  I thought I'd share some pictures from after our walk today:

Allison taking it all in.

Avery was a HUGE help and pushed one of the strollers the entire trip.  He pushed Allison for the first half and then Ashley (shown here) for the rest!

Ashley again.  Aww...

Silas rode here for MOST of our trip!  Ouch, huh?

Ashley trying to figure my children out, while Allison plays in her grandma's flowers.

Allison wants to push the stroller!

They discovered the ROCKS!  They all love rocks...

Avery was pooped from pushing, so this is how they rode the rest of the way home!

My legs were tired from pushing all of this weight home! Nolan 32 lb + Avery 66 lb + Chaille 23 lb +Silas 42 lb = 163 lb!

WH_ _ L _F F_ R T _ N _ !!!!

Would you like to buy a vowel??? Ha ha...

On Saturday, Shelley and I went to the auditions at Indiana Live Casino for the Wheel of Fortune show.  It was a huge event with LOTS of people there trying to get the chance to "audition" for the show.  In a large room with about 1,000 people, there was a one hour "show" where about 25 or 30 people were called (randomly) down to the stage to play a quick puzzle game.  The audition was more based on how people "acted" than it was on any type of skill.  And they were going to pick people from those called to come for a more formal audition in Indy in about a month.  But they said they would also randomly pick people's names who did not get called to come for the second audition.  Either way, chances are slim that you would ever get to formally audition for the show.  But, it was a lot of fun to watch how they do it.  The host and hostess where a lot of fun, very energetic!  And Shelley and I were some of the first people let in at our audition so we watched it from up close and personal.  Here is what the stage looked like before the show began:

Another Check-up

I took Chaille back to the doctor today, because she had a rash all over her trunk, and because she has been grabbing at her ears even though she is on the medicine.  Well, this visit was a much better one!  Her ears are no longer infected, although there is still clear fluid behind them.  The doctor wants to stay the course and finish the last 2 1/2 days of the antibiotic and then go ahead with the allergy medicine.  And he added a topical cream for her rash.  He says that it isn't an allergic reaction to anything she has ingested, but rather appears to be more of a dermatological problem.  :O)  We are happy with that!  I took some pictures of Chaille in the waiting room today.  It was hard to get her to look at me and smile.  She loves the toys.  Here is my first attempt:

Then on my second attempt, I got a silly smile:

And the third was a toothy one, and my favorite:

When I took these pictures from my phone, I also found one that I had taken earlier this week of Nolan.  We had been on a walk and he got out of the stoller to walk home on this trip.  I just loved his hand in his pocket, the other holding his drink, and, of course, the words on his shirt!  Makes me smile to see this little guy growing up:

More Pictures:

Ear Rechecks

This morning I had to take Nolan and Chaille back to Dr. Halter's for ear rechecks following their ear infections from last monday.  Here is a picture of them in the waiting room (gasp... I really DO let my kids play with the toys at the doctor's office!!! I like to live on the edge, ha ha...  and I know that they sanitize them twice a day, for what that's worth...)

So, I expected this to be an uneventful visit, just a quick one where Dr. Halter tells us that the antibiotic did the trick.  Not so much...

He checked Nolan out first, and he said that his ears have cleared up, but his left ear is perforated.  His tube is out and laying in the ear canal, so it is possible that it fell out recently and the ear hasn't healed yet.  But to be sure, he wants to check him again in a couple of months.  If it doesn't heal on its own, we will have to go back to the ENT, to have it repaired.

Chaille was next, and unfortunately after two rounds of antibiotics she STILL has a raging ear infection in BOTH ears.  Poor girl.  He is treating her with yet another antibiotic and some allergy medicine.  If the combination doesn't work this time, she will be seeing the ENT herself. :O(  I just pray that we can get her ears cleared up once and for all.  She doesn't ACT like they bother her, which is a real blessing.

Well, a storm is rolling through, so I'm going to turn the computer off for now.  Have a great weekend everyone!

Funnies...

I keep meaning to document the funny and cute things that happen in our day, but I don't always find time to come online to share.  Today, however I thought I'd jump on and share:

* We were walking home from getting Avery from school and the drummers from the high school were practicing outside.  Silas asked me "is that Spanish?"  ha ha.... I laughed so hard.  I had to tell him that music is the same in all languages... good or bad ;o)

* We walked to the store today after school, and on our way back, Nolan was chasing a butterfly saying "get back here, get back here!" He probably chased it a good 3 blocks!

11 Months Old!

Chaille is 11 Months old today.  Wow, how she is growing and getting so big!  I snapped a picture of her helping me load the dishwasher today.  She is a happy little helper!  So, what is she up to at 11 months?  Here's a little summary:

• She weighs about 22 lbs (not sure how tall???)
• She can willingly repeat some sounds.  She tries to repeat MAMA, but is sounds more like the N sound.
• She pulls up on stuff (namely the dishwasher!) and she will briefly cruise along furniture, but is not attempting to step yet.
• She is eating strictly table food, and only eats off of a spoon if you will let her hold it herself (miss independent!)
• She is drinking her milk from a sippy cup... No more bottles!  Yay Chey!
• She is out of her baby car seat and into a pink "bigger" girl seat :)
• She still army crawls but also crawls on her hands and knees too.
• She loves her baby dolls and kisses on them when she plays with them.
• She tries to blow kisses, and usually rubs her nose when she tries!
• She is a BIG fan of her daddy (and her brothers!)

I'm sure I'm forgetting much of what she is doing.  I will add more later if I come up with some good ones!  And I'll be back soon with pictures of Silas playing soccer and Avery playing baseball.  Spring is officially here!

You know you are the mother in a large family when...

1) You can tell that the seasons are changing by the amount of laundry that is being produced! (I ♥ summer!)
2) You don't even consider using just one pound of hamburger, chicken, etc... any more when making supper (or one batch of pancake batter...)
3) You are playing with the kids when suddenly you realize that one of them is missing, and you aren't sure for how long they've even been missing.
4) You've been changing diapers for 7 years straight (with no apparent end in sight!)
5) You require 2 carts to get enough groceries for the week.
6) A loaf of bread is enough to make one meal for the family!
7) You buy things in bulk, but that really doesn't last any longer than the smaller amounts used to!
8) You can tell by looking in the toilet WHO forgot to flush... (Eww..)
9) You leave the house with multiple snot marks at various heights on your pants from goodbye hugs (this one is for Steve!)
10) You lose count of the number of times someone hugs, kisses, or climbs on you in one day!  (or even tells you "momma, I need you!" like Nolan has lately!)

I don't regret a single one of the above.  And I could probably come up with MANY more with time.  And #10 makes it ALL worth it!  Feel free to comment and add to the list.  I know that many of you relate and could share how YOU know that you have large families. :o) I'd love to hear them!

Easter

We had such a wonderful Easter this year.  The weather was beautiful, our church service was nice, we got to have lunch with my parents and brother, and then spent the evening with Steve's family.  I can't imagine a more perfect day, with the exception of maybe having MORE time so that we could see the rest of the family (we didn't make it to the grandparents.)  We woke up to find Easter eggs hidden in the living room, and I took lots of pictures and then realized how lame it was that I didn't MAKE the kids wear clothes (the boys like to sleep in undies.)  So, I'm going to just share pictures of Chaille, and then of the boys hunting their eggs at Randy and Deb's. 

While @ Randy and Deb's, Steve took Avery (and Silas for a bit) out to learn to shoot a BB Gun.  He did really well, and they are making some fun memories while learning about growing up.  Also, in the background of some of the pictures, you can see the log cabin that Randy is building/having built. 

Tuesday morning the boys all got up and cuddled on the couch to watch cartoons before school.  I thought it was sweet, and these days are so precious.  One day, they won't even all fit on one couch: