3 Months

Ben had his 3-month checkup last week and is a happy, healthy baby.  He's getting chubbier each day and I'm loving it!  He's 14 lb 12.6 oz now, and a whopping 26 inches.  He has a very sweet personality and aside from the nightly feedings, he is a pretty easy baby.  He's at the stage where the drool never stops - so many bibs!

Waiting for the doc

Best buds

Big business meeting today

My two favorite guys

Poor Evie also had her four-year checkup which included four shots and a finger prick.  She was emotionally scarred that day, but we got through it!  She's 38 lb and 40 inches tall, all is well.

Goofing with Daddy

Happy kids

Maggie had a spring concert at school last week.  The stage isn't wheelchair accessible, so Jamie had to lift her wheelchair on stage and lift her into it.  Rather than be embarrassed, she relished all the extra attention (eye roll).  She was very cute and comfortable on stage.




We celebrated Claire's birthday last weekend.  Allison had a couple extra spots at her friend-party, so Maggie and Evie got to paint some pottery on Friday.  On Sunday the whole family celebrated at Chuck E. Cheese.  Jamie had Foley's graduation, so I had all three kids on my own, plus a wheelchair and stroller... thankfully my parents helped watch Ben during the party!

Such a sweet face

Waiting to meet Chuck!

A camouflaged unicorn?

It's all about the details

We had the GA auction on Saturday, and Grandma stayed with the kids for us.  The girls got to have fun with hair and makeup - I just love this video, can almost picture them doing this 15 years from now.

Sadly we did not win anything...

Jamie took his mom to see Hamilton in East Lansing last night and I tried not to be jealous!

Mother's Day

Jamie worked really hard to give me a nice Mother's Day this year... I would like to say the kids did too, but they really only did stuff when forced to!  He cleaned the whole house for me, and planned a little getaway trip to Traverse City for me and Erin in a few weeks - so excited for a breather!

Lucky mama

Jamie brought me a bagel and coffee from Brueggar's, and I peacefully ate while hiding in Ben's room and playing on my phone.  It was a glorious way to start the day!

Thanks to Aunt Amy for the adorable shirts!

We did dinner with the Donoghues at La Saj, super yummy.   

Grandma's gang

The most patient person I've ever met...

We've had family gatherings on my side for the past couple weeks, and we have another one this weekend, so my Mom nixed a get-together for Mother's Day.  But here's a picture of my mom as a kiddo, and I think Evie looks so much like her!

Maggie is doing just awesome.  She gets up and down the stairs on her booty, and shimmies across the floor when no one is around to help her.  She can even use the restroom on her own!  I have yet to hear her complain about her cast - she just adapted and moved on with life... a good lesson for me.

Poor kid needed to get out of the house, so we ventured to the playground and were able to do a few fun things even with a cast!

"Gentle swinging"

A lesson in physics

Happy to run around after school!

Getting our money's worth out of the stroller - 3 kids at once!

Evie is doing great for the most part, though there is always a boo-boo that requires special care.  This whole school year she has insisted that I braid her hair every morning, which honestly was faster than arguing with her for a quick ponytail... but this week she's switched to the ponytail!  I was pretty happy about this, except now it is never tight enough for her (it is so tight I hurt my fingers stretching the rubber band), so she throws a tantrum and I'm still stuck spending several minutes on her hair.

Tough girl in a ponytail

Ready for adventure!

Allison gave us some old clothes of Luke's,
include this 12-month hoody... which Evie
immediately claimed as her own

Ben is such a happy, sweet baby.  He blows bubbles non-stop now and shoves his hands in his mouth all the time.  Sometimes we get a 5-hour stretch between feedings, but it's usually 3 to 4 hours at night. 

Bubble boy

Happy go lucky

Also learning to flash gang symbols?

I just can't...

Last weekend we celebrated Luke's first communion.  I took Maggie so she could see what it's like, but left the other kids at home with Jamie during mass.  We all hung out at the Rabines after!

Luke's special day (and the only pic I got of him in his suit!)

Maggie found a way to play upstairs and down in
the basement... nothing stops her!

Generational twins?

Flirting with one of his ladies

Here's a few others:

Grandma took the girls to see the Ugly Dolls movie, so
Maggie had to bring her dolls

Hanging out with her buddy at Daddy's art show (which I failed
to document, but he did a really great job!!)

Crafting with mama

Multi-tasking

Stroller serenity

Maggie's Surgery

Maggie had her tendon transfer surgery on Tuesday.  We got to the hospital at 6:30am and she started getting prepped afterward.  I was really hoping they would let us go back with her until she was under anesthesia, but as expected, it's against policy.  The staff was really nice though, and put an ID tag on her ninja turtle toy, and also gave her a new stuffed dog (which she named Zaltz after her surgeon).  Thank goodness Grandma took Ben and Evie for a sleepover the night before - neither of us wanted to do this alone!

Getting ready to go back with her extra patients

Donatello was officially documented

Pre-surgery - getting all the jumping out of her system

The surgery took about an hour, and she was grumpy but actually much better off than I expected afterwards.  She chose a red cast, and her doctor gave her new puppy a matching one.  We were loading into the car by 11am and headed home to rest!  I thought the pain would start kicking in that afternoon, but it took a full day before she started complaining.  She has a screw in her bone to hold the tendon in place, but this will dissolve over time.  She also has a "button" on the bottom of her foot where a suture connected to the tendon is anchored.  It's slightly horrifying to think about, so I don't.

Maggie and Zaltz's casts

She can still help out with Ben sometimes!

On the way home from the hospital, Jamie mentioned something about cutting open her foot and Maggie freaked out, saying she didn't want them to cut her... she apparently did not realize what was actually happening down there a few hours ago.  I think it's for the best that we gave her fuzzy details beforehand.

So far she's been a trooper, but it's already sick of not walking and is really bored at home all day.   I thought she would want to sleep a lot, but she's up for most of the day with maybe a little nap in the afternoon.  I'm hoping to send her back to school next week, so that should help.  Our 60 lb girl (not counting the cast) gives us a good workout for bathroom breaks, upstairs to bed, and moving from the wheelchair to the couch.  So... just five more weeks...

Wearing her fabulous stick-on nails from Grammer

Evie is having a hard time with all the attention Maggie is getting.  We're doing our best to dote on her, but it just isn't the same and she knows it.  I'm hoping to find time for a little one-on-one outing with her.

What about me!?

Going backwards a bit, we celebrated my brother's 50th birthday last weekend!  We had a great time and a great breakfast at my parents' house! 

A bunch of grandkids

Flirting

Here's a few others from last week:

So excited to start practicing in her wheelchair
(a few days before surgery)

Drop that beat

It wasn't me

Jamie has fully transformed her into a turtle girl

Jamie oversaw the installation of a new mural at Foley

Astronaut - the new age Venture

Sometimes they're best friends

Morning smiles