Happy Easter

Three Months

Our baby girl is three months old today, and when I see that sweet smile I could just eat her up! She's such a happy girl these days and just coos and smiles all the time. Just over the past few days she's discovered her thumb. Sometimes, if she's tired and crying in her car seat and then suddenly just gets quiet she's almost always sucking on her thumb. Today I swaddled her for a nap with one hand free (so she could get to her thumb) and she took a four hour nap! That will probably mess up our night time routine tonight, which has been 11 hours for the past two nights! Twice in a row now she's gone to bed around 8/8:30 and not made a peep until 7/7:30. The jury is still out on whether this was just a fluke or the new norm, but I'm enjoying it while it lasts! Either way, she's our sweet baby girl.

Our New Ride

Remember how we went to test drive a van and couldn't because Sam face planted out of it into the asphalt? Well, we eventually went back for our test drive and ended up bringing it home with us! Our Town & Country was good to us, it's the vehicle that converted me from "why would anyone drive a minivan when there's are SUVs" to "oh how I love minivans and can't imagine driving anything else!" However, it was definitely time to upgrade. We got a 2007 Honda Odyssey and I LOVE it!

It has a removable 8th seat that allows us to move the middle row seats together. That means no more having to crawl under Sam's car seat to get to the back row.

It also has automatic doors (how did I ever get by without those before?) and windows that roll down in the back so my kids don't sweat to death this summer!

I realize that all of these things are pretty standard on most newer minivans, but they are all new to me and they are awesome!

The Birthday

Jack's actual birthday was Monday and it was a whirlwind of a day. I sent cupcakes to school and Jack reported that he got the blue one so we probably could have stopped right there and considered the day a success! We rushed home to eat a quick lunch and finish off the rest of the cupcakes leftover from Saturday's Buzz party.

After lunch, I dropped the kids off with my friend Amy so that I could take Lucy to the hospital for her VCUG. The kids had a blast playing with Jonas and they even had special cookies for Jack's birthday.

After picking the kids up from Amy's house, we rushed home to get ready for Jack's soccer game. He requested to have his birthday dinner at Firehouse, even though we ate there the day before, so we did!

No pictures from the soccer game - not sure why I didn't take any - but I think our new five year old had a great day!

Reflux Free!!

Lucy had a VCUG at the hospital Monday to take a look at her bladder/kidneys as a follow up to her recent UTI and three night stay at the children's hospital. My pediatrician indicated to me earlier in the week that I should expect to have the VCUG confirm that she does have kidney reflux based on the results of the ultrasound she had while in the hospital. Apparently he was wrong - yay! Our girl did such a great job during the whole procedure and only cried a bit when they inserted the catheter. She cooed and smiled at me the rest of the time. The radiologist told me he didn't see any reflux, and we got official word from the doctor yesterday that she's fine. She's pretty happy about the news!

The Buzz Party

We celebrated Jack's 5th birthday this past Saturday - Buzz Lightyear style. His only requests were "a Buzz Lightyear party" and "a bouncy castle." Check and check! The weather was supposed to be horrendous with severe thunderstorms, high winds, and hail so we had to move it indoors. It actually turned out to be a nice day, with just a little bit of brief rain. The bouncy castle was set up in the front yard and the kids played all over the house. Everyone had a great time and Jack was on cloud nine all day long!

Setting up the bouncy castle before the party got started.

Party time!

Jack and his buddy, Dylan.

Who knew the balloons would be such a big hit!

Hanging out on the front porch watching the kids bounce.

Lucy and Andrew checking each other out (he's about six weeks older than her).

Anna and her sweet friend, Finley.

After the guests left, we had lunch and Pop got to open up lots of new toys.

Then there was cake!

Jack got to open a special gift from Pop and Grammy - his own fishing rod and tackle box. Now he's ready to go fishing with Pop!

My boy LOVES puzzles!

This is Anna's first taste of gum ever - she obviously didn't know what to do with it!

Drawing with the 3D chalk after the party.

Four tired kids after a fun-filled day!