Sick

Sorry for the lack of posting. The kids have been sick non-stop for the past few weeks and it has been all consuming. They caught a virus a few weeks ago, never fully got over it, and caught another one. We are definitely keeping the pediatrician in business (we've been there 5 times in the last 2 and 1/2 weeks). The kids were on nebulizer treatments for wheezing when they first got sick and are now on them again (3 times a day). Hazel actually seems to be much more susceptible to lung "issues" when being sick and responds to viruses with asthma. We are praying this isn't a lifelong issue. We were much more concerned about Jude, but he seems to have the stronger lungs at this point. Hazel currently has a sinus infection and bronchiolitis. She coughed non-stop for over 48 hours, threw up several times, and made a trip to the ER. She is on her second round of steroids now and will continue nebulizer treatments twice a day for the next 3 months (hoping to prevent her airways from becoming inflamed when she gets sick). She is on the mend, but is still wheezing. Jude has pneumonia, but is on the mend. His appetite is returning, he no longer has a fever, and he's coughing less. We would appreciate your prayers for them as they have had a rough go at entering the world of germs. I'll try and catch up on more fun posts soon.

Hazel - 22 months

Hazel is full of personality lately. She is very goofy and she knows it. She's always laughing (much of the time it's forced and fake). She is also getting very dramatic and fake crying a lot.

I can't help but crack up every time I look at this picture. It captures Hazel perfectly. She insisted on wearing the sweatshirt, sandals, and sunglasses, none of which match. And she is obsessed with chewing on a carrot from her play food. So here she is, riding her car in all her glory.

This picture also cracks me up. I went to put Nona down for a nap when we got home from church and when I came out, this is what I found: Hazel riding Jude's car in her dress, wearing her backpack, drinking her water.

Sometimes one pair of sunglasses isn't enough. 

Here are some other funny things Hazel's up to:

• Whenever she says "sorry" to Jude, she also gives him a kiss
• She refuses to give kisses at bedtime now (she used to be very generous with her kisses, then she went through a phase where only Nona would get a kiss, now no one)
• Whenever she says "all done" after a meal, and I start to take her tray or plate away, she quickly grabs 2 more pieces of food and stuffs them in her mouth. Seriously, this happens every meal.
• We have magnet letters on the fridge and Hazel always takes both of the "E's" off and wants to put them in her pockets
• She loves to hold my hand wherever we go.
• She still isn't talking but shakes her head "no" and nods her head "yes" a lot. She imitates "yum" and "baby" and today said "yes", but no real words yet. She says "ble-beeeeee" a lot when I think she's trying to say baby.
• She always copies Jude (and vice versa). If Jude blows his nose, she wants to blow her nose.

Jude - 22 months

Jude is definitely getting a mind of his own lately and keeps me on my toes. He is "all boy" according to most people who meet him. 

Jude's first goose-egg! He fell into a door frame when he was trying to follow Noel.

One of Jude's favorite things is to sit on the floor and have me throw the diapers out of the dryer onto him. He thinks it's so funny.

What's Jude up to?

• He is OBSESSED with books. He brings book after book after book to anyone who will sit and read to him. His favorites are "Love You Forever", "Nursery Rhymes", and touch and feel books. 
• He LOVES music. He often points to the CD player and whines. As soon as I turn on the music, he zones out and goes into his own little world.
• He shakes his head no a lot and soon after Hazel stopped giving kisses at bedtime, he did to (shaking his head no anytime I asked him to kiss Nona or Daddy)
• He's finally choosing to walk up stairs with a railing instead of crawl. FINALLY! I've been trying to get him to do this for months. One day, he just did it. And now he wants to practice over and over and over.
• He is a big time wanderer. He refuses to hold hands and insists on running the opposite way we are supposed to be going. This makes it impossible for me to take all the kids someplace by myself.
• He's very affectionate and will randomly come up to me, nuzzle his head against mine and kiss me over and over again. It's hilarious.
• He is a serious limit tester and often gets back to back timeouts (sometimes 7 in a row) for doing the same "bad" behavior. He also recently started refusing to say sorry at the end of a timeout, so he sits there til he says it (sometimes 10 minutes). This really pushes my buttons...just a little...okay, maybe a lot.
• He LOVES to be chased.

Mother's Day Out

All 3 kids started going to Mother's Day Out at church a couple of weeks ago! They go on Tuesday and Thursday for 4 hours. Whoa. Amazingly, the time has gone fast for me. I will admit, it was very hard to take them the first day. I've never really been away from them and no matter how much I want/need a break, it's still hard to trust that they'll be okay with other people. But, they did great! 

Hazel and Jude are in the 18 month classroom and Nona is in the baby room. They learn about colors and shapes, do crafts, color, have a lesson, eat lunch, and play. And when they come home, they are pooped. Hazel and Jude seem to enjoy it! Well, they've only been 2 days because after the first week they got sick and they missed the whole second week. I have a feeling that that will be the pattern for several months. 1 week there, 1 week sick. Anyway, Nona does well there too, but hasn't slept yet. She doesn't drink a bottle so I have to go feed her once, but I'm hoping that her love of solid foods can let me be off-duty during that time frame soon. And I'm hoping she'll learn how to sleep there.

Hazel generally has a hard time going into the classroom (she cries), but settles down within seconds. I've asked her at home if she likes Mother's Day Out and she hasn't shaken her head "no" yet. That's really saying something because she definitely shakes her head no to everything she doesn't like. She's very proud of her crafts, which is so cute.

Jude loves his backpack. If Hazel has hers, he wants his.

And then he tries to take it off.

"Hey, how did this happen? Mom! Help me!"

Since Nona's in her own room, she needs her own backpack too. :)

Sweet little Nona with her ladybug backpack. The workers in the baby room say that she is great. She's so chill, that I believe it. She is usually just sitting there watching what's going on when I check on her.

Hazel and Jude LOVE their new lunch bags (they match their backpacks) and the containers that I pack their lunch in (Lunchbots). They wanted to finish their lunch on the floor after they got home.

I'm so grateful for this program that our church runs! It's GREAT for the kids. They learn so much and get used to interacting with other kids. I'm sure we'll encounter lots of sickness this year, but that's to be expected. Hurray, hurray, hurray for baby school!

Nona - 6 months

Wow! Can Nona really be 6 months old already? Time is flying! She is such a smiley girl and is constantly giggling. She giggles most at Hazel, even if Hazel's not doing anything funny. I think Nona is going to be Hazel's little follower.

I took these pictures of her about a week before she was 6 months old. I think she already has more hair than this because she definitely doesn't look this bald anymore.

Trying to crawl.

What is Nona up to at the grand age of 6 months?

• She gets up around 6 every morning and is THRILLED to see me 
• She sits very well
• She is NUTS about solid food and is still nursing a lot during the day (and night)
• She is still not a great napper, but is getting much better and is frequently taking longer naps
• She usually gets up 1 to 2 times each night, but never at the same time. I think we'll start working on sleep training her soon.
• She would like to crawl but hasn't figured out that she needs to use her arms in addition to her legs
• Her favorite song is "Rubber Ducky"
• She is a drooling, biting, chewing, teething fool

She has her "well-visit" next week, so we'll find out her stats then. However, I took her to the doctor this past week since she was sick and she weighed 14 lbs 14 oz.

Nona's new adventure

We started Nona on rice cereal a couple weeks ago. She was fine with it but not crazy about it. A little over a week ago, we introduced some actual food (sweet potatoes to start). She LOVES it and can't get enough! 

She has now had sweet potatoes, beets, butternut squash, and some random squash that someone gave me from her garden. She has been crazy about all of them! Also, I am so glad to be able to make my own baby food this time! It was something I desired to do with Jude and Hazel, but just couldn't given the difficult circumstances.

The favorite toy

And again...