Sunday, July 31, 2011

July 2011

The girls made me dress Finn up as "Prince Charming" when they were playing princesses...poor boy

Finn discovered his toes and loves to eat them!

everyone loves story time before bed...Finn makes it hard to read because he is constantly grabbing the book!

Hanging out with the Deisings...this day we went for pizza and then to Home Goods in Port Orange- such great kids!

Pizza in Port Orange!  Finn loves the crust...and all the kids love Finn!

These are the greatest kids- I hope they stay this close forever!

Kenny took the girls to a Daytona Cubs baseball game- Delaney loved Cubbie!

We have thoroughly been enjoying summer here...no rush in getting out of the house, planning playdates with our friends, and taking each day at a time!  Finn is becoming more active and more of a person, the girls still can't get enough of him!

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Delaney's ER Trip



Delaney started complaining of not feeling well and headaches recently, at the end of May.  We went to the doctor, and he diagnosed her with Bronchitis.  After going through steroids, nebulizer treatments, and an antibiotic, the headaches still remained.  We went back and he decided he wanted to get her an MRI, see a neurologist, and get bloodwork done.  She was fatigued, very emotional, and lethargic; I was wondering if it was emotional, with school just ending and heading to Kindergarten, but then that night she woke up in the middle of the night crying saying her head hurt.  I called the doctor the next morning (Saturday 6/11/11) and he told me to take her right to Halifax ER for a CT scan.  So Dan and Rhonda came over to watch Lucy and Finn, and I took her in.  She did great in the CT scan, she didn't more a bit.  Her CT was normal, and the doctor didn't seem too concerned that it was anything more serious.  She ended up getting diagnosed with migraines, which I don't agree with.  They gave her medication (one for pain relief, another migraine preventative).  She loved being in the hospital!  They gave her ice cream, and she loved their blanket, which they ended up letting her KEEP!  She still sleeps with it!  She has continued to feel bad, so we kept with the scheduled MRI and blood work.  She did the blood work like a champ, even though they took 6 vials!  The MRI locally got cancelled.  I guess she will need to be sedated because the procedure is 30 minutes, so we will be going to Orlando.  The blood work showed slightly low white blood cell count (4, normal is 5-17), dehydration, slight milk allergy, and that she has had microplasma infection.  Our pediatrician didn't seem too concerned, but I am worried sick.  We decided to put the MRI off since we were leaving on our vacation.  During the vacation, the headaches seemed to have stopped.  I had even stopped giving her the medications because they were not working.  I talked to Jim Castellone, and he thinks it could have been viral and will go away on its own.  We are still going through with seeing a neurologist and getting the MRI done.

Update: Delaney and I went to the Neurologist in Orlando today (7/11/11).  We saw Dr. Arthur Nwaubani and he was great.  Her neuro exam was normal, and he did want her to continue to get the MRI.  His guesses were either hydrocephalus or a virus of some time.  He was pretty sure the MRI would be normal.  I am in good spirits after this visit, considering she isn't complaining of headaches anymore, either.  He said it would be a rare case if she did have hydrocephalus and her headaches went away.  ALSO, we got a flat tire on I-4 the way to Orlando.  I called Kenny and he was in Sanford thankfully, so he found us on the interstate, out on the spare tire, and she and I were off again...only a few minutes late to the appointment time.  He is our hero! We stopped at Whole Foods on the way home and bought him a carrot cake cupcake!

Update #2: Delaney and I went to Orlando today (7/15/11) for the MRI.  The nurse called the day before to see if we thought Delaney could do the MRI without being sedated.  If she wasn't, I could be in the room with her, and she would be able to watch a movie during the test.  I thought she definitely could stay still for 20 min...I was dreading the sedation part the most...who wants to see their child sedated?  So we arrived, got called in, talked with the techs, and handed over the movie we brought (Tangled, of course).  She did great!  She wiggled her toes a bit, but my job was to lean on her a bit to remind her not to move her toes.  Before we knew it, we were done and on our way home!  I was so proud of her and relieved we didn't have to go through the sedation and recovery!  Whew!  Now on to wait for the results!

Update #3: (7/19/11) MRI results normal!  Relieved!  Now just supposed to follow up with neurologist and repeat bloodwork in 1-2 months.  Whew!  Neurologist believes it is viral since we have now ruled out hydrocephalus.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Finn is 6 Months Old!


Wow!  I can’t believe Finn has been a part of this family for half a year!  It seems like he’s been with us forever…but then again, seems like he’s just a baby, doing new things every day!  He now wears 9 months clothes, size 3 diapers, weighs 18 lb (75th percentile) and is 26" long (50-75th percentile).  He is our smallest of all the kids at this point!  Weird!  He has started babbling (“Oh Mama”). He is rolling all over the house, is able to sit up on his own, with a bit of support at times.  When he sits, he is grabbing for things, so he tends to topple over a lot.  We went to the beach last weekend, and he sat in a little pool that Kenny dug for him forever!  He was so into splashing and digging in the sand with his fingers!  Adorable!  No sunburn this time!  Such a Florida boy already!  When we go out shopping, he is now able to sit in the shopping cart.  The other day at Publix, he rode in the double cart with Lucy and was driving the cart, and also leaning his forehead on the steering wheel peering at the floor as we shopped!  So funny!  He also now rides in the big carseat rear-facing!  No more baby carseat!
Finn is our piggy boy…he loves the fruits and veggies, especially the roasted fruits! He tolerates green beans, but loves everything else!  He starts screaching as soon as we put him in his highchair, and as long as he has something in his hands, he is happy.  He has teether biscuits and MumMums which bide his time until I can get the food in his mouth.  I have started traveling with Puffs, which can also distract him for a little bit!  The doctor said that he can now start eating ground up meats and yogurt, and can be eating 3 meals per day, which I know Finn will appreciate!  

Today was the first day that Finn acknowledged me when I got home from work.  I don't think I'll ever forget it!  I walked in, he was in his walker, and he turned his head and shrieked!  Then he couldn't get his body turned around, so he started to cry.  As soon as Delaney turned his around, he was squealing!  I picked him up, and he was just so happy!  Melted my heart!  


Also, we found out something new about Finn this month- he has a BIRTHMARK on his leg that Kenny or I never saw!  My friend Maria was holding him and mentioned "Oh, he has a birthmark!"  and I had no idea what she was talking about...I even tried to rub it off thinking it was some dried on sweet potatoes!  It's on his right calf...poor third child!

Saturday, July 9, 2011

What Finn is Up To!

Finn just started babbling today! "Oh mama...mama...oh mama!"  It is so cute!  He is also rolling like crazy, loves chewing on food, like edamame pods, pizza crust, mums, and teether biscuits!  He is definately an eater!  Since we've been home from vacation, I am into making baby food again, with some great combinations!  I've roasted apples, bananas, mango, and peaches.  He still isn't crazy about green beans, but he loves peas!

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

MA Trip Part 2

Tuesday, June 28th was spent in BOSTON!!!  The girls easily navigated our way into the city and met Annie at the Boston Commons Garden.  Our first stop was the Swan Boats, which were great!  It was a bit hot, but so much fun!  A nice, relaxing ride around the pond.  We then walked around the Commons, and saw the Mrs. Mallard and her ducklings statues.  We walked down Newberry St. looking for a lunch place, and decided on “Snappy Sushi”.  We all had a great meal, and once again, I was so proud of how grown up my girls are- well-behaved and willing to try everything!  We then departed the restaurant and decided to head to the Children’s Museum.  Annie had to leave us to head to work, so she actually dropped us at the Museum since it was on the other side of the city.  The girls had fun hiding out in the backseat of her car as we drove through the city!!




The Museum was amazing- I wish we had more time there!  It was closing as we were running through the last of the exhibits.  The girls loved how interactive it was!  Some of their favorite things were the bubble room, the golf ball room, the rock wall, the indoor climbing apparatus, and the rock wall.  They even had a Kindergarten room with a school bus and a hair salon!







Wednesday was spent getting ready for the party with a trip to Sam’s Club.  The girls went on the boat again with Papa, and I snuck out to do some shopping by myself!  FUN!  The girls spent the night with Papa on the boat and had a great time!  He told them stories, and they all slept well (except Papa, who kept on getting Lucy’s foot jabbing him in the stomach!)  The next morning, Nana and I were waiting for them all to wake up and come back inside!  I snuck out there, and Papa was telling the girls more stories

Thursday was spent in Jamestown, RI since we had to pick up Kenny in Providence that night.  We had a nice lunch overlooking the harbor and docks, then went to the lighthouse!  The girls, Papa, and I had so much fun exploring the rocks and cliffs.  The initially were hesitant, but then they got pretty brave and we had to keep reigning them in!  I have good memories from growing up and visiting Jamestown!  From Jamestown, we headed to Newport and drove the scenic route to see all the mansions.  Then we dove to Providence where we picked up Daddy from the airport.  We had a runaround trying to GPS a place for dinner- we literally drove in circles!  We ended up in a nice pub we drove by a few times!





Friday was Kenny’s first day of vacation, so we headed out on the boat!  He went tubing with the girls and they all had fun.  That afternoon, Finn stayed with Nana and Papa while we went to Kimball Farms, a local ”entertainment complex”.  Daddy and I hit some balls in the batting cages, we got ice cream, played in the arcade, and walked around the gift shop.  I am sure we will visit this place again in the future since the girls couldn’t do a lot of the things they offered there like go carts, bumper boats, batting cage, and driving range.  On the way back, Lucy got carsick as we were pulling into Nana and Papa’s complex!  We were more prepared this time with a bucket and towel, so this wasn’t a big deal- Lucy is fine as soon as it’s over!  What a trooper!  Later that night, we watched the Worcester fireworks from Papa's boat- Finn slept in the cabin!  




July 4th


Saturday was family party day!  All of the family came over around 11am: the Castellones from CT, Aunt Linda, Uncle Ed, SuperNana, Jenny, and Tom from NY, Aunt Chris, Uncle Owen, Annie, Jenna, Owen, and Kari.  The day was spent on boat rides, having a birthday "Princess Rapunzel tea" for Delaney, opening presents, taking pictures, and eating!  This was the first time that SuperNana got to meet Finn!  The girls loved playing with Tyler, Bryce, and Cooper and can never get enough of them!












Sunday was our last full day of vacation…we headed to Gloucester, MA, had lunch outside on the water, and found an artist colony dad had read about in his boating magazine.  We then headed to Marblehead, MA for some more rock climbing- until Delaney busted her chin on a slippery rock as it was pretty rainy!  We had fun in all of the cool stores, and Kenny even found us a Monkey Fist that I have been wanting for our house in a nautical antique shop.  I loved Marblehead the most of all of the little seaside towns we visited- great shopping for the girls and good docks for the boys!  





We flew home on Monday, July 4th, so sad to leave!  Delaney cried her eyes out as Nana and Papa dropped us off.  She certainly is my child- I always remember when I was little, being sad leaving my family that I didn’t get to see that often!  We can’t wait until next year!

Monday, July 4, 2011

MA Trip!

The girls were so excited to be flying on an airplane!  Delaney had flown once, when she was about 4 months old, so this was really the first time for her!  We flew up with Nana and Papa on June 23, and Kenny would join us for the July 4th weekend.  Everything went well, security was a breeze, and we were even able to bring Finn's car seat on since there were extra seats.  But as soon as takeoff, Finn had  poop explosion!  Poop was all over him and ME!  I wasn't able to get up since the seat belt sign was still on, so I quickly changed him on the seat next to me and wiped myself off. I didn't have an extra outfit, so he was wrapped in a blanket for the rest of the flight!  Nana and the girls were laughing at us from across the aisle!
Riding the tram to the gate at ORL. On the plane with Nana!

Post-poop explosion...Papa held him on the newspaper on his lap while I cleaned myself up!

Looking out the window

Papa giving the traditional bubble baths in the whirlpool tub



The weather was pretty rainy the first two days, so we went to the Christmas Tree Shop, the mall, and on a rainy walk to see Papa's boat!  Delaney had some money from her birthday, and Nana was going to take her shopping and for pedicures!  All the girls got treated to pedicures from Nana, with Delaney and Lucy getting hearts and flowers on their big toes!



On Friday night, Aunt Sarah drove up to MA to surprise the girls and sleep over!  We had pizza with Aunt Chris, Uncle Owen, and Sarah.  The next morning, we got up and drove to the RI cottage, which was just getting finished being remodeled.  On the way, Lucy had an episode of car sickness, so we had to quickly pull over and get her a new outfit, towel, cleaning supplies, etc from Target- and the car stunk!  From then on, we traveled with a barf bucket for Lucy, just in case (and we only needed it one more time the whole trip)!!  The RI cottage looked great, but was so much smaller than I remember!  I salvaged a newel post form the old front stoop, and kept it as a memory!  I love that the kids got to see it, because I have fond memories of going there when I was little, which is why I remember it being so much bigger!
Surprise!  Sarah is here!


We were all in misery after Lucy got carsick!
My kids in front of the RI cottage...I have a picture of my with my Papa sitting on those steps.

After RI, we drove to Madison, CT to see Jeff and Sarah's new house!  I loved it- they have put alot of work into it!  The girls and Sarah put on a little runway show modeling Sarah's antique hat collection, then we headed to downtown Madison to hit the little shops.  What a cute town!

On Sunday, we went out on Papa's boat for the first time since the weather finally cleared up!  The girls did great, not nervous at all.  Finn fell asleep in his carseat and was very relaxed.  We explored the lake, then just drifted so the girls could swim.  The water was FREEZING because of all the rain, but they were so brave and really enjoyed the adventure.  It brought back alot of memories of swimming off our boats growing up!



That night, we went to Aunt Chris and Uncle Owen's house for a birthday BBQ for Delaney!  We got to see Annie, Jenna, and Ryan!  The traditional Girls vs Ryan pillow fight ensued, and Annie even got involved a bit!  We had a great dinner and it was fun to see everyone!



HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DELANEY!
She's 5!  Traditional first pic of the morning!
On Monday (Delaney's 5th Birthday), we had a great day planned: tubing, a visit to the Green Thumb Nursery and ice cream shop, going to the Price Chopper to buy birthday dessert and use their kid carts, and a nice birthday dinner outside!  The girls finally got to camp out on the boat with Papa tonight, too!  The put on their PJ's, and climbed aboard.  Papa told them stories, and they all slept comfortably (except Papa, who kept on getting Lucy's foot in his stomach)!