Pictures, pictures and more pictures

The first one is Sarah this morning (she had just woken up and gotten dressed so don't mind the unkemptness of her!) The shirt says "Future President" - due to her birth she can't be President (yet!) Maybe someday that law will change. :)

The next are of my Halloween cuties! Brandon was a vampire, Hannah a princess and Sarah a ladybug (cutest ones around!) Sarah was so thrilled to be getting candy. She couldn't believe her luck that Mommy was letting people just keep putting treats in her bag.


Sarah found this bear in our Halloween decoration bin. She can now say "baaar"


Hannah's pumpkin:

Sarah's first In-n-Out (we loved that she was wearing her hood - she wouldn't let us take it off)
Brent's work did a Rocket Launch at a local park here so afterwards Brandon had to build a rocket to launch. The next day this is what we did: Running in the park
Brandon explaining what was going to happen
The launch

93 degrees!!!

This first picture is of Sarah "helping" Daddy fix the entertainment center door that she broke the week before. It had to be glued back together and the brackets put back on the unit. She was right in the way and loving it.
We went to a local pumpkin patch today. Not like the one we are used to where our parents live - there you go out into the field on a horse drawn wagon and pick your pumpkin right off the vine. We have gone there every year for 13 years except for this year because we just couldn't get down there to do it.
So, to the local patch we go - where they have already picked pumpkins :( They did have a corn maze though and Brent took Brandon and Hannah out for about 45 minutes or so. It was just too hot for Sarah to be out there. It should never be 93 degrees on the day you go to the pumpkin patch. We were looking for the cooler weather we had a few weeks ago when we were visiting our parents for the local "cultural festival".
The kids had a ball! Brandon and Hannah ventured into the maze gung ho looking for the 6 hole punch stations to punch their cards so they could put it into the drawing for a Best Buy gift card. (Brandon has high hopes for it!) Meanwhile, Sarah and I enjoyed sitting in the shade people watching.
Brandon and Hannah rode on the barrel train while Sarah waved.
Then the all the kids jumped in the bounce house and Sarah played in the sand for a bit.
We picked up 3 pumpkins and were off. All in all a fun filled afternoon.

First day...

today's picture is Hannah ready to go to Pre-school. She was so excited and nervous this morning - just like her Mommy! It isn't a great picture since we were in a real hurry to get out and going - I wasn't sure how the transition would be at the daycare but all went fairly well.

My day went well - met most of the kids and some of the teachers. It seems like it will work out okay. Hoping that next week we will know more about it being a full time position.

When I went to pick up the girls it was during "nap time" Everyone is settled down for a period of time in the afternoon throughout the center. Hannah wasn't asleep and started crying when she saw me - so much for the excitement. The teachers said she did well - she, however, said she had a bad day. Not too sure yet how it was bad except she didn't want to share something with someone and someone pulled her sweater. She also didn't like taking a "nap". I told her she didn't need to sleep but did need to stay on her mat quietly. I'll be picking her up during this time until my position becomes full time so it isn't a horrible thing for her to be quiet for a while.

Sarah was asleep on a mat on the floor when I went to get her - I was surprised since she doesn't like to lay down for me like that but it worked for them today. Her teachers said she did well but was a bit teary a few times - not surprising.
I sure missed them today but it was nice to get out and back into the classroom. Keep praying all goes well with the girls and the job changes to full-time soon!

Want to see a cutie? or two?

We have been home with Sarah for 3 months now and she is growing and changing daily! These were taken this afternoon. The older two were playing with their small stuffed animals - putting them in the back of their shirts and "taking them for a walk". (See Brandon's picture) Sarah thought it would be fun to do but wanted her "babies" in the front. She was so proud of herself. She has two animals because the first one was Hannah's baby and she wanted him back so we put MingMing (the duck) in her shirt instead. I didn't get a picture of Hannah with her babies in her shirt because by the time I got around to taking pictures she had striped down to her undies.
(Check out the hair on Sarah - it is getting much thicker!)

The kids are teaching her many "tricks" -
*she loves to play chase (they run screaming away from each other, usually the older kids from her).
*If you say "If you love Mommy raise your hand." She says, "me me me" with her hand in the air - yup loving that one! You can insert Daddy as well and she will do it too.
*She identifies her eyes, ears, nose, mouth, teeth, belly, hand, and foot
*She "sings" Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star - even trying to make a diamond with her fingers.
*She still says "mama" for most things - I think it is the default word but it does definitely mean me when she is excited, hurt, wanting out of her crib, etc.
*She says "dada" and "gege" but has started saying "nana" this afternoon for Hannah (Brandon loves being called "gege" and Hannah was feeling a bit left out) She also says duck, da (dog), and uh (up)
*She is starting to imitate language more and more - still not much concrete but getting there!
*She will go get her baby doll if you ask her where it is and bring it to you as well as "sing" to her and take her for a walk in the stroller and feed it from a bottle.
*She waves bye-bye when we are going somewhere or we tell her someone is leaving as well as blowing a kiss to whomever is leaving or we are leaving
*She says nigh-nigh at bedtime knowing that it is late.
*She knows what she wants and wants it right now - the little scream and grunts mean a WHOLE lot!
*She is starting to take comfort in us - laying her head on my shoulder when I rock her in the evening especially. This is a big change because before she would really fight us cuddling with her and want to lay down facing away from us. I love the few snuggles I'm starting to receive.
*She also gives kisses - not always on request but definitely if someone kisses Mommy she wants some of that action as well and will give kisses to me and whomever just kissed me. Such a sweet girl!

The girls start daycare tomorrow. Hannah is quite excited about being in preschool although is disappointed that she is not in a "big class like Brandon". Not sure what that means - maybe going to a real school? But, she will be able to start Kindergarten next year in the district I am working in - not in the one we live in. Employees also get free afterschool care through the kids programs so I'll be looking into that as well. Hoping the plans all fall into place!

New Job!!

So, went in for the interview that was postponed until 3 p.m. instead of 1 p.m. and met someone I had worked with a few years ago. This will be her last year because she is retiring but it will be nice to have someone I already know at the job - but I'm getting ahead of myself!

I was pretty nervous - I haven't done an interview since my last teaching job and that was back in 1998! They asked most of the basic questions and since I've already taught in the district my answers fit with their expectations. They didn't ask my weaknesses with is pretty unusual - I had an answer too! They also didn't ask if I had any questions - not that mine were important I just came up with some so I looked interested in the position - I'm sort of glad I didn't have to ask them. Then they asked me to sit in the lobby while they "chatted". When the principal asked me back in she said I am a very strong candidate (thank goodness I interviewed well!) and the district must offer the position but they are going to recommend hiring me on. So, the special ed teacher who is already there (and will remain) showed me the room we will share - reminiscent of when Erin and I shared a room at my last job in the district. The teacher, Beth, seems really nice and I'm glad I'll have someone to help me out with the paperwork part of the job. The long-term sub will probably be available for the first few days I work to help me get to know the kids and where they are academically so that is a relief!

The position will start as a part-time position and hopefully open to a full-time very soon. The school has the numbers but the district hasn't process 2 of the children so until that happens it will remain part-time. Pray they get that done quickly! I don't want this job only to cover daycare otherwise it won't be worth it to me and I will need to finish the year anyway because I will have a contract.

I registered the girls in a daycare by my last school - it was clean, bright and the staff was very friendly. The rooms are huge and there are tons of toys. Each program has lesson plans that look fun for them. I voiced my concerns about Sarah adapting to the programs and asked how they will handle her - they had the best answers I could ask for and I pray they will follow through. I'm afraid she will think I am abandoning her those first few days. Hannah should be fine - she is excited about starting preschool. We visited her class and several of the kids came up and asked who she was. They were talking about dogs this week. My concern with her is that they provide food (breakfast and lunch and a snack) and I'm not sure she will eat it all. They told me they would let me know what is going on and if I need to I will provide something for her to eat. But what a relief not to have to make 3 more lunches during the week - only mine!

Brandon is still a little concerning. At first he only needs afternoon care but will eventually need morning and afternoon care. His school is on break next week and I can't get in contact with anyone until they start up again. A little stressful for me!

The district did call me at about 4:30 and offered the position which I accepted because it gets me in the district. I have paperwork to complete a week from Monday and I start on the 15th.

October 3

today at 1:00 p.m. I have a job interview for a Resource position. I'm really nervous about the interview itself - just because I stress out about those kinds of things. Think about me at 1:00 please!

Update

Doctor's appointment today:

Brandon - healthy, keeping ADHD meds where they are for now, nothing new to report for him.

Hannah - still some white blood cells in her urine but nothing that is of concern at this point. We are going to make an appointment with a pediatric urologist in the next few months and see what he/she says. She only has a day left of her antibiotic - thank goodness because I'm really tired of her saying "you can give me the medicine but I will spit it out!" Then proceeding to do so. Yeah, fun times! She weighs 31 pounds and is 38 inches tall - 25th %ile for both. She is about the same height and weight I was at her age. Hoping she doesn't get some of my genes and stays proportional. Dr. says she is incredibly smart after hearing all the things she can do - but we knew that!

Sarah - had an MMR shot today and did great - cried for a few minutes but all smiles shortly after. She is up to date on her shots for a few months at least. She'll need the next round of shots at her 18 month appointment sometime in November or December. She weighs 22 pounds and is about 30 inches (maybe a little shorter - it was really hard to get her to stand still for that part) I forgot to ask where that puts her on the scales, of course it doesn't really matter much since she should be on the Chinese scales and not American baby scales but it is nice to have an idea of how she is growing. Again Dr. says she is doing great! Her receptive language is wonderful as she understands quite a bit. He isn't at all worried that she doesn't say too much - mama, dada, ball?, dog? She gets her point across and understands so much that it won't be long before she is speaking well. We just have to be sure the other two aren't speaking for her and are talking to her in correct sentences and words.

We have some "mostly" healthy kiddos here!

sick

Sarah has a runny nose
I have a fever of 101 - 102, runny nose, sore throat and laryngitis. It has been an interesting morning.

Hannah has not taken her medicine well the last day - she thought she would only have to take it one day so it has been a fight again to get her to take anything. Sometimes I can get her to take it in chocolate milk - without telling her of course - or in chocolate syrup. She sees the dropper coming and says "I'll take it but I'm spitting it out" and sure enough see spits it out - taking it is another story we are still forcing it into her. Only 2 and a half more days of medicine for her.

e. coli

yup, that's what she has in her system according to the hospital who called me on Friday.

After fighting with her for 3 days and tearful calls (my tears along with hers) to our doctor regarding what we should do they (our doctor) said bring her in and do another urinalysis to see what the antibiotics are doing for her. Turns out - nothing because in the 10.5 tsp she should have gotten into her system we are guessing she got MAYBE 2 tsp. We tried everything - hiding it, holding her down, bribing, you name it we tried it. So, they decided to give her a shot - I can't remember the name of the antibiotic they gave her off hand but it is a potent one and they have to give it in her hip because it is just too much for her arm or leg. Luckily, they diluted it with novicane so while she felt the initial poke it didn't hurt nearly as much as it could have. On top of that they said once the novicane wore off she would be sore but she wasn't. Our doctor prescribed Amoxicillian as well to make sure that the infection was completely gone and we will go back on Tuesday for another urinalysis to see what is going on. Great plan - I thought - since she SAYS she likes the pink medicine and won't fight me on it - she PROMISES - because she does NOT want another shot.

Load the girls up in the car, drive to Walgreens to get the prescription filled. Miss a phone call from the hospital but rather than call while I'm in the car - drive home to put Sarah to bed since she has fallen asleep in the car. Call the hospital to find out what they need and they tell me the antibiotic they prescribed on Tuesday will not work for the germs that grew. I told them what we had done - they said they were going to ask us to bring her in to have the same shot so we didn't have to do that but that Amoxicillan will NOT work on the strain of e.coli that she has in her system and they are prescribing ANOTHER antibiotic. Find out it is Furadantin one she has taken in the past and HATES!! Dandy. Back to square one.

Apparently, e.coli is in everyone's system to some extent but it is a pain to get rid of when it causes a UTI - at least this strain. I made the mistake of googling and have really pushed the antibiotic today. (We waited until today to start the Furadantin because of the shot being so powerful. We didn't want her tummy to get too upset.)

We have figured out how to get MOST of the tsp into her though. The prescription is for 1 tsp 4 times a day - 4 TIMES!! - for 5 days - thank goodness only 5 days but I'm not sure how it will go when Brent isn't around. Anyway, back to my unorthodox way of getting her to take the medicine. She loves Mary Poppins and was watching it the other day. Remember the song "A Spoonful of Sugar" and how it helps the medicine go down? Well, I take the 1 tsp and mix it with about a half a tablespoon of sugar. A little gritty but it makes it super sweet. She still doesn't like it and it makes it more volume wise than a tsp. So I draw up a half to 3/4 tsp into the dropper and force that in her because she likes her "treat" for when she finishes little does she know that it has the rest of the antibiotic mixed in. The treat is chocolate syrup mixed with the remainder of the antibiotic. Yup, very unorthodox and she would NEVER get to drink 2 tsps of pure chocolate syrup any other time especially 4 times a day and the first dose at breakfast. But at this point whatever works we will do. I can't just give her the chocolate with medicine in it because if she knew that it had the medicine in it she wouldn't take it on principle. The stuff we force into her is messy and we may only be getting a portion of it in but at least she is getting much more than she was before. I'm hoping and praying this all works and she is clear on her urinalysis on Tuesday. Sure would be nice if she would go to the bathroom in the toilet again though. We have had more "accidents" in the last few days because it hurts for her to go to the bathroom. She holds it so long and then just dribbles to relieve the pressure. She has been wearing pullups - which I hate to do but I'm tired of cleaning my couch, the carpet, her bed and the 10 pairs of underwear and complete outfits she must change every day.

On top of all this Sarah has a cold - runny nose, slight cough (although that hasn't gone away since we got her) I just want the kids to be healthy.

So, pray for Hannah to get better, Sarah to get over her cold, all of them not to drive me crazy with the bickering while Brandon is off for 2 weeks, and I'm looking for a teaching position - our plate is full!

4 years ago today

at 8:16 a.m. beautiful Hannah was born at 6lbs 14oz and perfect! (look how little Brandon looked!)

Her one year old picture taken by Patrick Grimes Photography

Two years old -

Three years old -
And last weekend.

We have had a stinky birthday for her though so far. We didn't get home until 11:30 last night because we were in the ER with her. She wouldn't go potty all day - if you remember last year at this time we were planning on her surgery for the reflux and we had been battling UTI's for months. Well, last night we discovered she has another one. Luckily, she has not had one for a while but this one is bad because it burns a lot for her. We've tried everything - even sitting in the tub with cool water in it to go. She did end up going a very little bit at the hospital last night so they wouldn't do anything invasive - poor baby is petrified of that. The medicine they prescribed is nasty tasting. The nurse at our doctor's office said to mask it with jelly - which might work if she liked jelly but she doesn't. She also suggested trying to get it down her throat without it touching her tongue which makes sense until you try it and she spits out everything that goes in. She is supposed to take 1.5tsp 2 times a day. So far today I might have gotten in a quarter of a tsp the other 1 and a quarter tsp ended up down her dress, neck, my pants, the floor, her hair. Yeah, not too pretty. I'm going to try again this evening when Brent is home and then call the doctor in the morning. I'm afraid they may have to give her a shot of antibiotic. I hate UTI's.

2 months ago today....

they handed us this beautiful, scared, grieving little girl.

And now look at her! Her hair is thicker and getting long, her skin is glowing, her eyes are bright. This picture was taken on Sunday morning when we had her baptized in a dress that my great aunt crocheted for my sister and me. My sister and I both wore it, my niece K wore it, my cousins daughter (same side of the family) wore it, Hannah wore it and now Sarah. It will be passed to K, Hannah and Sarah's daughters so they can each wear it when they are the right size.

And a few more pictures from her day -
She was a little nervous with all the new faces but did great during the baptism. You can see Brandon peeking on from below and the back of Hannah's head. You can't see the pastor because the elder that is holding the baptismal bowl is in front of him but I love the look on Sarah. She isn't sure but hey is that water! She loves water. I kept thinking she would love to get her hands in that bowl and splash around a bit. (The elder holding the bowl - you can see the back of him - was one of both of our Sunday School teachers a long time ago. He told me he was thrilled to be able to participate in Sarah's baptism.)
And Sarah with Pastor Ted after the service.
It was such a great day: One of my best friends was able to come to the service then to my parents house later for more celebration. We figured out we have known each other for about 14 years and have been through so much together. It was great being able to introduce her to Sarah.
Most of our family and friends that live where we had the service were able to come save a few that had other commitments or health issues. I think we may have overwhelmed the church - our family alone had brought 10 kids to the service and 8 or 9 of them went to Sunday School. I think they are used to having about 5-6 kids and we doubled it easily. Good thing the kids are all pretty well-behaved!
It was also Brent's grandpa's birthday and he would have been so thrilled to see all the kids together and meet the grandchildren he wasn't able to.

This one makes me laugh! My parents went to Scotland for 2 weeks to visit/sightsee. My mom has a cousin that still lives in Scotland so she and my aunt (and my dad) went to visit. They brought Sarah back a Tam. So, here is Sarah connecting with her great-grandmother's heritage.

Wednesday is another big day in our family....

ps: thanks Susie for the pictures!

Pictures

my camera is broken - well, not so much that I can't take any pictures - I just can't see the pictures until I download them on the computer. The problem with that is the little green light that tells me that the picture is in focus is on the screen which is the broken part. I am rough on my camera. I admit it. I put it in the diaper bag or my purse and go. Someone stepped on the diaper bag causing the screen to get broken. My own fault since a) I put the camera in there b) I put the bag on the floor of the car and c) didn't remind anyone not to step on my bag for the millionth time. When I take pictures now I just snap and snap and snap hoping for one or two good ones when I download. Unfortunately a new camera isn't in the plans for the next bit so it will have to do. Because I have no camera my sister will have to take pictures this weekend because Sarah is being baptized - don't want to miss those pictures!
Anyway - the photos from this week:
Sarah likes pushing her baby in the stroller - luckily Grandma bought a new stroller for Hannah for her birthday and we will have 2 strollers in the house next week! Yay!

Sarah has discovered juice boxes - good thing Mommy saved the juice box holders from Brandon and Hannah because we haven't gotten the hang of not squeezing the box!

She has also mastered the rocking horse! She is so proud of herself.

Hannah in the heart glasses.

Sarah in the heart glasses.

and kissing Sarah's monkey. They are so cute!

Hannah teaching Sarah how to climb. You can't see it in the picture but there is a little blue couch next to the crib that Hannah climbs up on to get into the crib with Sarah. In the picture Sarah is standing on the seat of the couch. She loves going in there and climbing up on it now. My little monkeys! Luckily we have had no falls - trying to keep it that way is tough!

My sister has great news on her blog - see the links to the right. It isn't posted yet as of 9:40 a.m. today but will be very shortly.

I'm really happy for her and Ric.

Updated: Susie has updated her blog - so I'll post the news here - Ric's PET scan came back clear! He is officially cancer free. I think she said he has to go back in about 3 months for another check. The goal now is for him to gain back some of the weight he lost and get his strength up then he can start taking longer runs.

Official...

can you see what they are holding in this picture? It is her official U.S. Citizenship papers! We stink at getting the mail in this house so the box was full and I have no idea when this arrived - could have been Friday, Saturday or Monday - no clue and it doesn't really matter in the end - it is here!!! There was a form letter from the President as well - something for her scrapbook that I really need to work on because I haven't since before we went to China and I have the whole trip to put in it.


Brandon and Hannah started swimming lessons tonight. Hannah went under water willingly and seemed to have a good time. Brandon had a hard time with going under when he took his goggles off and they floated down the gutter on the side of the pool. But, I think he had fun too.

And finally a picture of all three kids, together, all looking somewhat in the same direction and mostly with "good" faces. I never thought it would be that hard to get a picture of all three of them. I happen to like this one with the dress in Sarah's mouth - material is her pacifier and she walked around for a while with her dress pulled up. We try to discourage the dress and shirt in the mouth because it is messy (and a bit gross!) when there is Sarah slime on things. We have a few blanket pieces that my Aunt Susan serged for her to carry around - the dress was just handy this afternoon.