Off to the doctor we go......

Today, I took Robert, Hannah, and Wesley for their annual well child checks. I love our doctor because we very rarely have to wait. Today, I had not even paid yet when they were calling our names. The best part was that their appointments were spread out over 2 hours, but our incredible doctor saw each of them at the same time - no going back to the waiting room and waiting until the appointment time. From the moment we drove into the parking lot until we were buckling our seat belts on the way out, was a whopping 45 minutes!

When we first arrived, the boys were quite hopeful that they would get shots. Why they wanted them, I will never know, but they did. Hannah, on the other hand, was terrified that she would get one. As our fabulous doctor made his rounds through each child, the boys became upset and Hannah became happy - NO shots for anyone.... I was grateful for this because though they thought that shots would be 'fun' I knew they would be followed by tears.... lots of tears!

We also went through and looked at each kiddos stats and growth curve...or lack thereof!

Robert (7): 42lbs (8%) and 44.5in (6%)

 Hannah (5): 36lbs (23%) and 41in (19%)

Wesley (3): 28lns (12%) and 35.5in (6%)

 
Since they were all so good, I took them to a park down the road from the Family Medicine Clinic. I had packed up some old biscuits, monkey bread, hamburger buns, and bread so that  could feed the ducks. All of the kiddos loved this and at times, I had to remind Hannah and Wesley that the bread was old and meant for the ducks NOT them! Once we ran out of bread, all of us ventured to the playground where they climbed, ran, and played on the swings.

While we were swinging, we were greeted by a lady with a microphone and a man with a camera - they were from channel 4 news and wanted to interview us in regards to how the smoke was affecting us. The funny thing was, I had just given the kiddos the 2 minute warning as it was starting to give me a headache! Anyhow, they interviewed me and filmed the kiddos playing. It should air Wednesday morning during the 6:30 segment. As soon as I *hopefully* find it, I will post it on here!

So, it was a great morning. Our kiddos are healthy, happy, and albeit slowly, they are growing! I found myself doing the math today to see just how much they have grown since that first day ....

Robert: 7 times bigger than he was 7yrs ago

Hannah: 6 times bigger than she was 5yrs ago

Wesley: 6 times bigger than he was 3yrs ago

Thank you, God for Robert Edwin Hannah Elizabeth, and Wesley Keegan.

Birthday Party.... #1!

This is the first time that we have had a 'real' party for all of the kiddos. We rented a bounce house, bought 3 separate cakes, concocted a deal with Sno Biz to have sno cones, etc etc. We created and sent invitations to family and a handful of our intimate friends.... since this was the first real party, we did not want to overwhelm ourselves with the possible chaos of inviting a large group of people.....

The air dancers

After deciding to have the party, we chose a date - March 31. It is a Saturday between all 3 birthdays (March 2, March 22, and April 8) and it worked for our extended family. Well, we never planned on inclimate weather and as the week progressed and the chance of rain rose from 10% on Monday to 70% last night to 100% this morning, we knew that things were not looking good. When the rain first started, Hannah and I ran inside, grabbed our Rosaries and said 2 decades. By the time we were done, not only was it raining, but now it was thundering and lightening as well - UGH! Daddy and I went back and forth and finally, after seeking the counsel of an outside party, the decision was made to move it to tomorrow.....

Little Robert's Dinosaur Cake

Daddy and I made all of the phone calls and were ever so grateful when all but 4 families would not be able to join us tomorrow. The kiddos were quite bummed about this, so Daddy and I spoke for a moment and then decided to have those families over today instead.....

Hannah's Cinderella Cake (decorations will be added tomorrow)

So, after these decisions were made, Daddy made the trek to Publix to pick up the 3 birthday cakes for the birthday boys and girl. As he was turning into the driveway at 1:50 (party was to begin at 2), the sun began to peek through the clouds. By 2:45, it was out in all of its glory, so Daddy and 2 other daddies went out with brooms and towels and cleaned the bounce house so that the kiddos could play. And that they did until just before 4 (When the party was to end!). So, I guess that we could have still had the party today since our prayers were answered, but in the end I am glad that we did it this way.... It was much more intimate and a way to test the waters for tomorrow!

Wesley's Monster Truck Cake - He wanted to use his for our Mini-Party today!

Praise God, all of them, Robert, Hannah, and Wesley had a great time. I am so glad that those few families were able to join us today because the kiddos were so very upset about not having any party today.

Wesley testing out the bounce house on Friday!

Mommy and Hannah

Hollis, Robert, Lucas

Big Wesley, Robert, Lucas

Enjoying the bounce house!

Hannah and Robert having a great time!

Big Wesley and Robert

Wesley going.....

....going.....

.....gone!

Cake time!

"Happy Birthday to ya'll! Happy Birthday to ya'll! Happy Birthday Robert, Hannah, and Wesley! Happy Birthday to ya'll!"

It took *multiple* attempts to light the candles thanks to a few anxious kiddos!

We had to sing 3 separate times so that each kiddos could have a turn blowing out the candles!

The cake was good :-)

Aside from the bounce house, the presents were a huge hit! Thank you to all for pampering my kiddos!

SO much fun was had by all!

Robert received airplanes and Hannah a kitty cat that purrs! Wesley was given puzzles! Thank you Mrs. Gretchen, Mr. Troy, Hollis, and Hayes!

Robert trying to break into his transformer - Thank you Mrs. Marsha, Mr. Tim, Wesley and Cooper!

Hannah and Robert playing and Big Wesley swing high as the sky while I get super sweet snuggles from Baby Emerson - Thank you, Mrs. Julia, Mr. Andrew, Xavier, and Felix for coming and sharing your sweet one with Mama Mary!

A huge thank you to all that came out and celebrated with us today. It was so much fun to celebrate each one of our children. To let them know just how very important and special they are.  We love you all!

Our Big Boy

Well, I think that my baby is not such a baby anymore - and that makes me so very sad. . .

Yesterday, when he woke up, he decided that he wanted to wear undies. I agreed, but was not expecting much success and boy was I surprised when he had NO accidents all day and I did NOT remind him a single time! He had done it all by himself - with the exception of nap and night, of course. I even posted on facebook last night that I think it might have 'clicked.'

Well, this morning I was not sure what to expect, but when he came into the bathroom shortly after waking and took his diaper off, I had a feeling that he had figured it out. Then he did something I was not expecting - he pooped on the potty!!!! For those of you with kiddos that are/have potty trained, you understand just how BIG this is and he did it all on his own! I did not remind him or ask him, he just knew what his body was telling him!

A little later, we were preparing for  Science Club at our leader's house. I tried to put a diaper on him, but it turned into a HUGE battle, so I just packed extra clothes and, once again, he did great! I reminded him because I did not want to be cleaning carpet's, but he did awesome!

Tonight we are going to celebrate his new accomplishment with a little celebration and cake, much like we have with the other two. I am so very excited, but so very sad at the same time. Very soon, all signs of a baby will be out of this house. . .Luckily, Wesley knows that he will always be my baby and even insists that I call him baby most of the time!

I truly did not think that we would see this day for quite some time, but he was ready. He chose the time. He did it on his own. And I am a very proud mommy of my special baby!

He LOVES his 'big boys'