Home Day

After the crazy day we had yesterday, I decided we were not leaving the house today. The mail box was as far as I went. It was great. We played and played. Plus, Daddy had been out of town since Monday and we were all happy have him back. Jacob also seems to have a sniffley nose. He went to bed tonight early on his own! You know he is sick or tired if he requests bed.
But look at these cute breakfast pics:This is my new favorite picture of Eli. Oh, I want to gobble him up!And look he tried a sippy cup for the first time:The video is better-

Barbie Bliss

As if having Jessie over to play isn't wonderful enough, today she came over bearing gifts. Barbies! and Lots of them. Paige was so excited. This seems to be the favorite Barbie for the moment. Look how happy she is.

Thanks Jessie- You are always so sweet to think of the kids.

For the Record

Today was a busy day. Seeing how this blog is the family record, I feel the need to post three of the many events of the day.
1) Jacob had to get the last (for now) of his allergy tests done today. The dreaded blood tests. I had been putting this off because I hated the thought of putting him through it. He had his skin testing done over a week ago. His last blood tests were two years ago and the doctor wants to see if there are some new allergies and see how some of his known allergies are doing: better or worse. It took three adults to hold him down and three separate sticks to get all six (yes 6) vials of blood. Poor guy was very upset. He got to watch lots of whatever he wanted after that.
2) Miss Paige also had an unexpected visit to the doctor today. Yesterday, thankfully I was there to see what happened, Jacob pulled Sissy to the floor in the playroom trying to save his toy that she stole from him. She hit the back of her head hard on the floor. It's carpeted but not that padded. She instantly grabbed the front of her head and said her head hurt. Lots of crying and pointing to her forehead. I thought that was odd since she hit the back. I called the nurse, gave Tylenol, watched for concussion symptoms, and gave lots of fluids and she was fine the rest of the night. Then today she kept saying her forehead hurt. Just to be safe we went in to the doctor. The doctor didn't feel the need to do an x-ray and subject her to the radiation since the fall was under 6 ft and she seemed fine. She did a neurological exam in the office and Paige did great. She said there is always a chance she could have a fracture, but unless she starts acting different we might never know. Plus, she could just be re-living it when there is not really pain. It's hard to get a real answer from a toddler of what they are feeling. I can say Paige was so tickled to be getting such undivided attention from the doctor. She thought all the eye exams and reflex testing with the rubber hammer was fun.
3) An lastly, the person who made all these events and others not mentioned today possible, was Miss Kaitlynn. I even let her watch Eli for the first time. It was a bigger deal for me, I know, but it is very hard for me that first time with my baby. She said he did great. I think I texted her twice and called once in the hour he was with her. She was very gracious with me. Paige is a big Kaitlynn fan. Jacob too, but Paige more. Jacob wasn't up for a picture and Eli was napping but Paige was ready and willing.
Thanks Kaitlynn, We love you!

6 Months Check Up

Eli had a good checkup. Weight: 23.7 lbs (Off the chart), Length: 28 in (90%) , and Head: 18.5 in (Off the Chart) He is a very healthy boy.
He had to get 4 shots and a drink. We are going forward with Prevacid for a month to see if it helps, but only once a day as opposed to twice. His right eye crosses a tad when he is looking at an object close up, but the doctor wants to wait until his 9 month checkup to see what his vision screen says. It is not bad, I think I only noticed it because of Jacob's farsightedness. We got more sample formula, which we are always so thankful for.

6 Months

Sweet Eli is 6 months old today. Wow. Hard to believe. On one hand I feel like he is already 6 months because he is so big, but then the other hand I realize this is my baby and the next 6 months go by so fast. He is SO yummy!He is such a good and happy baby. We all love and eat him up. He loves his Mama, that is for sure. He hears my voice and does this funny whimper cry until I get him. I love it. He is so heavy though that I can only hold him for so long.Still only taking bottles and a little cereal. He got a script for prevacid but I haven't started it yet. He has always had reflux, but he is starting to spit up more and his Dr thinks adding the meds might help. I take him in on Monday for his check up and I want to talk to the doctor more before putting him on a daily med.He is just now sleeping through the nights, and it is more because we are making him. Some nights he sleeps through, but most nights he is up at his usual time (3-4) and we make him push through since we know it's not a necessary feeding and he does just fine. He can wait until 7:30 -8 even. He just likes the comfort feeding.He sits up well and will get on his hands and knees and rock every once and a while, but I am not ready for him to start crawling. I like this stage where they stay in the general area you left them in. I think Paige and Jacob will LOVE his crawling though. That will be cute to watch them crawl around with him.
I am eager to find out his stats on Monday and I will post them then.

Last Day

Today is our last day with the girls. It's also Jeff and Leslie's wedding anniversary. They got married here so we thought it would be fun and special to take them to the church where they were married 16 years ago today. Leslie's sister, Aunt JoJo, met us there with her three girlies as well. The kids were so excited to see their other cousins. It's a big church and it has been updated since Jeff and Leslie were married, but it is still such a beautiful church. Walking in-Jolynn brought a picture of Jeff and Leslie and the girls got a picture with it where the original picture was taken.Aunt JoJo's newest baby Megan.leaving the church.When we got outside we passed out 16 balloons we were going to set off to symbolize the 16 year anniversary. The girls tried to write a message on a balloon with a marker but both balloons popped. So we had to scratch that idea and set off 14 remaining. :)Here is the video of them:Watching them float away.Mere Mere waving bye-bye to the balloons.When we got home we had a silly string fight outside before the rain came.Emma made a silly string ball-Then the kids played outside until lunch was ready. Jacob pushed Paige like a sweet big brother.
After lunch Mere Mere and Paige took a nap and Travis took the older girls and Jacob to see Shrek 4. The girls are staying the night with Aunt JoJo and their Nana (Leslie's mom) which means our week with them is over. It was such a fun and bitter sweet time. We hope they had fun.

Thursday

Another good day. We had grand plans that ended up changing at the last minute, but our "go to" plans ended up being a lot of fun. Travis took Emma, Allie, and Jacob swimming while I took Mere Mere, Paige, and Eli to the mall. Sorry to say there are no pictures of our dividing and conquering moments. But I did bump into Jill and Caleb at the mall which was a pleasant surprise.
Then there was a big thunder storm that kept us house bound for the afternoon. Emma said it was a perfect day for knitting.Allie and Uncle Trav played some Wii...When the rain stopped Jessie came over with gifts for Jacob and Paige. She got them some new and very cute swim suits and pj's! It was a total surprise and the kids immediately wanted to try everything on. Since the sun was out we all headed to the pool. We had it all to ourselves for about 30 minutes too. Eli lasted about ten minutes then crashed for the rest of the time. Travis is so good with kids. He always has been. the video shows how well he multitasks playing with everyone.Paige in one of her new swimsuits- I love it!baby pool time-Baths, dinner and a movie! The girls look so sweet in their princess nightgowns.Jacob in his new Buzz Lightyear pj's. (Thank you Jessie!)
The little ones watched Monsters Inc before bed and Uncle Trav took the older two to see The Karate Kid. We have our last day with the girls tomorrow so we want to soak it up.