Small Group Lake Trip!

A couple of weeks ago a family from our church small group offered to host us all at their family lake house for a weekend away. It was a blast! Thankfully, we had almost all day on Saturday without rain (which was impressive considering how much it rained all of May) so we were able to enjoy all there was to offer out there. We fished, we tubed, we shared lots of yummy meals, we rode the boat and jet ski, we roasted s'mores (with Peeps Levi had saved since Easter just for s'mores), we grilled, we played outside and we had a wonderful time relaxing with our friends! On Sunday morning we had a short devotional, sang hymns and shared communion. It was a wonderful time together. Thank you so much Adams for opening your home and giving us a a great weekend away. All 5 of us really enjoyed our visit!

 

 

 

So Sick!

My Poor little Nathan is finally getting over being very sick! He started getting a fever around 9 or 10am on Tuesday and was not acting like his normal happy self. As the day went on he became more cranky and clingy and his fever crept up to 102.7. He had a rough night of sleep, and as I was nursing him one of the times he woke up I noticed his anterior fontanelle (soft spot) was tight, swollen and bulging. I called the 24 hour nurse line at the pediatrician's office and they confirmed what I feared, he needed to be seen in the ER to make sure he didn't have meningitis which could be causing the swelling in his head. Philip stayed home with the older two boys because it was about 3am, Wednesday morning, and I loaded Nate up and drove downtown to the children's hospital. We got right in to be seen and the meningitis work up was started right away. Poor Natey had to have an IV started (just in case he needed fluids and to draw blood work), spinal tap and catheter inserted for a sterile urine sample. It was so sad to watch him be held down, poked and prodded. Of course he cried and cried during the procedures, but as soon as I was able to hold him he calmed right down each time. He is just such a sweet baby.

Tuesday...first signs of illness

Thankfully, all the lab work came back negative for sepsis or meningitis and only showed that his white blood cells were elevated in response to something, likely a virus. As relieved as I was that nothing too serious was going on, I also felt so guilty that I had "allowed" him to have so many awful tests done on him "all for nothing." We were discharged home at about 5:10am and got home and back to bed at about 5:30. Although all the lab work was reassuring, Nathan ended up getting worse the 24 hours following the hospital visit. His fever would not go down despite medications and stayed between 102 and 104 all day. He was lethargic, clingy, cranky and seemed to be having body/head aches. His fontanelle stayed swollen all day and actually didn't get better until Thursday evening. Who knows why. Thursday he was a little better, as long as I stayed on his medication, but continued to be fussy and not acting like himself at all. So sad. Finally, on Friday he turned the corner and had normal temperatures most of the day. He seemed almost like himself at bedtime and I am hoping he will wake up tomorrow and be our happy, easy going baby again! Trials like this make me realize how wonderful it is to have 3 healthy boys. What a challenge it would be to have a child with chronic illness! Nate's recovery is a huge answered prayer! I hope to never see my little love that sick ever again!

saw this often :(

We did this all day Tuesday and Thursday while both brothers were at school

Nathan at 7 Months!

Our Tor-Nate-O is 7 months old. That is more than half a year! Unfortunately, he has had a fever all day today and has wanted to spend the day sleeping while I hold him (I didn't mind that part one bit, especially since both big brothers were at school - more on this crazy illness in another post). A lot has changed for Nathan this month and he is really seeming older. About 3 weeks ago he started getting two teeth on the bottom and they are now all the way through and getting longer by the minute. So cute! He continues to be a super sweet and smiley baby who goes with the flow in this crazy house.

Cheering on Levi at baseball with Moe, such a happy baby no matter where we go

 

 

waiting for Levi to get out of school (in the rain)

New Skills:
getting better at scooting every day and pushes up really high when on his tummy
eats all kinds of solid food now and can even pick up and feed himself cheerios
can pass and object from one hand to the other
loves to make silly sounds with his hands against his mouth
seems to be saying mama and dada
has slept all night 11 or 12 hours several nights (although rarely consecutive)

Favorite Things:
playing in his exersaucer
eating bananas, apple sauce, sweet potatoes, peas, cheerios and avocado
having his belly tickled or blown on
chewing on rubbery toys
his maracas
tricks with Dad

tiny Red Raider

Playing with his buddy Jack (7 weeks apart in age)

We love Nate so very much and are so glad he is part of our family. I wish I could slow down time just a little bit because he is at such a fun age! Won't be long and we will have a crawler in our house and my life will get even a little bit busier!

Celebrating 4 Years of Joel!

We had a backyard birthday party for Joel the evening before his birthday. He invited the kids from his bible class and his cousins/family. Several weeks before his birthday Joel started planning every little detail. He was very specific! The theme needed to be Incredible Vegetables (his favorite Veggie Tales movie) and his cake had to be Thingamabob. He wanted everyone else to have Bob and Larry cupcakes and Veggie Tales party favors. However, he insisted on a Avengers pinata with Ninja Turtles goodie bags for the kids to use to collect their candy.

We had Levi wait until last...and he didn't disappoint!

The meal was also very well planned out. Joel requested penne pasta with meat balls, celery, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers and ranch dressing for dip, whole apples (they must not be cut up!) and strawberries. Other than all of those details Joel was happy for his friends to just play in his back yard on his play set and driveway. Thankfully the weather was beautiful and we had a wonderful party! Joel had a blast having his family and friends over and received several very thoughtful gifts.

Joel LOVES to dress up, he made several costume changes during the party :)

The next day was his actual birthday, and we let the celebrating continue. As is traditional in our family, we had every meal of the day include some of Joel's favorites. I treated us all to breakfast before church, Joel chose cheese burgers for lunch and then we brought ice cream sundae fixings to small groups that evening. It was a fun and yummy day! Joel is sweet, hilarious, smart and creative. We love him so much. I still can't believe my baby is four!

Father son bonding with one of Joel's gifts, a new Lego set!

a sweet celebration ending for a sweet boy!

Joel is FOUR!

Joel turned 4 on Sunday! It is increasingly apparent as my years in parenting add up, that kids grow up so quickly. Wow, these past 4 years with Joel sure did fly by! He is no longer my little toddler, but is a big kid! Joel is such a wonderful part of our family, and we really love so much about him! Joel is smart, observant, funny and adorable. He keeps us laughing with his thoughts on the world and things in his life and warms our hearts with the best hugs and sweetest comments at just the right moment. Joel has a beautiful, tender heart and I pray that I can nurture all the good in him as he grows. Right now he is working a lot on listening and obeying as well as having appropriate responses when things don't go exactly as he planned. Otherwise, he is a great, easy kid!

We had his 4 year check up on Monday and as always he passed all the "tests" and impressed Dr. D with his verbal skills. Getting those 4 year old shots was no fun, but he took them like the tough guy that he is and hardly even cried. He remains our little middle and has stayed on his growth curve (on the short side of things).

New Stats:
heights 38.5 inches (15%)
weight 36 lbs (50%)

Favorite Things:
staying in his pajamas all day
tiny toys he can create or build with (legos, mini super guys, tinker toys etc)
veggie tales, curious george and wild kratts
coloring and painting
"reading"/being read to
playing with play dough, moon sand or goo
riding his scooter (and showing off tricks)
dressing up in his super suits

New Skills:
wiping himself on the potty, yay!
writing his name
draws people with many parts
can almost swing by himself
cut things with a knife and fork
count to 20 (sometimes skips 12 and 16)
knows most of his letters and numbers

An Interview with Joel:
best friend: Brady and Caleb
favorite food: celery, quiche, cucumber
favorite dessert: chocolate cake
favorite color: yellow
favorite thing to do with Daddy: watch "The Dark Crystal"
favorite thing to do with Levi: play tag
favorite thing to do with Nathan: play peek a boo with him
favorite thing to do with Momma: go to the park
favorite toy: super heros and legos
favorite place to go: Children's Musuem and church
favorite book: Curious George
favorite TV show: Wild Kratts

How did this tiny baby get to be 4 years old so quick?!

We sure do love our Joely Poley and are so glad that God chose us as his family! He has grown up so much this year, and I cannot wait to see how much he learns and changes over the next year as he goes through pre-K and gets ready for Kindergarten.