Saturday, March 30, 2013

Just a quick post this time, since my last few have been pretty long.

The kids and Lucy have been keeping each other quite entertained lately! Every once in awhile, though, Lucy disappears and gets herself into some puppy trouble... And this what she does when I call her inside.



I think she's guilty, don't you?! It's hard to believe she will be 1 in April! Our furry baby is growing up!

Friday, March 29, 2013

On Monday, February 25, Addison and Fischer had their 4 year check up. I'd been dreading this appointment since last year's check up. :) I had heard they were going to each get 4 shots this year, but they ended up getting only 2 each. That was a huge relief!

Their appointment was in the afternoon so we didn't talk about it much because we didn't want to stress them out. They had already asked several times in the weeks leading up to their birthday if they had to get shots this year. I didn't want to lie to them, so they knew what was coming at the appointment!

Like last year, the appointment started off with having to do a urine sample. Being as lucky as I am, they both wanted me to help them with it this year. Fischer had great aim and his was quite simple. It was just a bit tricker getting positioned correctly to get Addison's, but we managed. Luckily this didn't phase them at all, and they were quite excited to put their cups in the "magic door" in the wall (the little window where you put it and the nurse grabs it from the other side).

Next, it was on to weight, height and blood pressure. They did great with all of this, but didn't love when the blood pressure cuff got tight. As usual, they are very close in height and weight. I keep waiting for one of them to take off, and I know it will happen eventually. Here are their stats:

Addison - 33 pounds (32%), 40 inches (55%) with a BMI of 14.5 (23%)
Fischer - 34 pounds (31%), 40.5 inches (53%) with a BMI of 14.6 (15.2%)

The doctor was very satisfied with how they are growing! After height and weight, it was time for the finger prick - which was awful last year. This year, they also had to do a hearing test, so one nurse took Fischer back for that and I went with them, while Scott stayed out with Addison while she got her "bug bite." I could hear her screaming, and the nurse we were with was basically shouting at Fischer to try and cover up her screams so he wouldn't get freaked out about having to do that too! Such stress! :)



Fischer had to point out some objects on a chart, and the nurse was cracking up because he called the hot dog a sausage. She said that was a first. :) Next he had to put the headphones on and point to the object that the lady said into his ear. He did ok with this... he was distracted by other things in the room and was only half paying attention to the lady talking in his headphones. Also, we found out later during his exam, he had an ear infection, so the fluid was probably making it harder for him to hear. She said because of the infection, she wasn't concerned since he can hear and speaks clearly, so they will just test again at 5.

It was time to switch, so I took Fischer out for his bug bite while Addison did her hearing test. He didn't cry at all, which was nice! He whined a little but there were no tears, and Addison did great with her hearing!



Then it was time to go to the exam room. Addison chose to wear a paper gown, which she said was beautiful, and Fischer opted to just hang out in his undies. He excitedly yelled at the nurse "I'm NAKED!!!" :)



The nurse asked a few questions and did the eye chart test! They each had to cover one eye, then the other, and read shapes off of a chart. Both did great once we could get them to settle down and focus. Why do they get so hyper at the doctor's office?!



We brought their new digital cameras along (Jim and DiDi gave them those!) to keep them occupied while we waited for Dr. Haile to come in. They enjoyed taking pictures of each other.





She finally came in and she did her exams. They both sat on the table together for most of that time. They also like to try and "help" her, which I'm sure she appreciates! As usual, she let them play with her stethoscope. She asked some questions as she was doing the exams, and I asked all of my questions too. This is when we found out about Fischer's surprise ear infection!



We talked about night time potty training (at this point they might go to college sleeping in pull ups - she said not to stress over it quite yet), behavior, car seats, appetite, along with many other things. I always have a lot of questions to fit in during a short appointment!



Then it was time for shots. :( Poor Fischer started crying, looked at Dr. Haile and said "But are you just kidding??" It was pitiful! And they didn't stop crying until they were done. The nurse that came in and did the shots was SO fast. Fischer went first, then Addison and she was done before I knew she started! We got them dressed, they got to pick a prize and a sticker, and it was time to hit up Krispy Kreme!

Overall, it was a great appointment, and it's always nice to hear the doctor say she's pleased with how they are doing!

Thursday, March 28, 2013

I will post about Addison and Fischer's birthday party soon - I don't have all of my pictures from that organized yet! It was a great time though!

We did do donations instead of gifts again this year. Believe me, they still got plenty of presents from family and friends, so they didn't feel slighted in the least! And, they were very excited about the whole donation thing this year. They decided, together, that they wanted to collect donations for the animal shelter that we go visit about once a month. I hope that they continue to want to do this as they get older.

Here is just some of the stuff we collected (minus all of the shoes, of course)! Our friends and family were so generous and we were able to fill my car up almost completely with stuff for the animals! Sadly, I don't think I took a picture of everything piled up in the garage after the party. Oops. We dropped everything off the week after their party and stayed to play with the puppies and kitties for awhile!

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

On Friday, February 22, Addison and Fischer turned 4. I can hardly believe they are 4, and have been for over a month now! Like I said, I'm very behind. :)

This year, they had school on their actual birthdays. This was the first time I've been away from them at all on this day, so that was a little hard for me, but we all survived! :)

The day started with Fischer waking up early, as usual. :) He enjoyed his birthday breakfast (nothing special since we are always rushing on school mornings as it is).



They also had special toilet paper to use, courtesy of Grandma Suttle.



Later, Addison woke up and the two posed together after she ate her breakfast. I love this birthday picture. It looks like she is a lot taller but she isn't. Not sure why it looks like that in the picture!



I then packed up their "party-in-a-bag" for school. They each took cupcakes - yellow with chocolate icing for Fischer and strawberry with vanilla icing for Addison, along with strawberries and juice. In addition, they each got to pick out special plates and napkins to take, which they loved.



Scott escorted them to my car in style since it was a yucky, rainy morning, and we were off to school.



After school, Scott and I picked them up and we all went out to lunch. We went to a local pizza place, where Fischer got pizza (of course) and Addison got plain noodles. Whatever makes them happy. :)









When they got home, they discovered their special balloons tied to their chairs. These balloons were their favorite present and I think we could have skipped getting them any other gifts. They stuck around for a few days, and it was quite sad when they popped.



After a rest, they got to open their presents throughout the afternoon/evening. They had fun helping each other out. I think my favorite part was when they opened their gifts from each other. They each picked something out at the dollar store (with no help or guidance from me!!). Addison picked out a doctor's set for Fischer, while he picked a little hairstyling set for her. They were so funny opening these, and I just loved it!




Of course we did a cupcake after dinner, and this was the first time they'd ever blown out candles. It took Fischer a few tries, but he finally got it after a little lesson about blowing straight at the candle instead of over it. :) Addison blew hers out before I could get a picture!




Then it was time for a bubble bath (a birthday tradition!)...



Then we watched a show before bed to rest up for party day. Lucy was just as tired as Addison and Fischer by this time. :)



It was a great day, and I think we all had a great time celebrating!




Tuesday, March 26, 2013

So I'm going to try my best to keep up with this, but I'm not promising anything. I have fallen so behind that I'm a bit overwhelmed. I have been going back and forth about quitting the whole blogging thing, but I do love being able to go back and read what we were doing last year, or even two years ago!

So, I am going to try and quickly catch up... going all the way back to February, before Addison and Fischer even turned 4... (I can't believe I haven't even written about their birthday!)...

We are going to have a good sized garden this year, so I thought it would be fun to start a compost bin! We eat a lot of produce in our house, and it's nice having something to do with all of the "waste."  Even though the compost won't be ready for quite some time, I'm glad we did it.  The kids got into it too, and even got to use a drill! We just have small bin, and will eventually go bigger if needed.

First, we drilled holes in each side of the bin, including the lid...





Then, we filled it up about halfway with dirt...




Later, we went to a local bait and tackle shop and bought some worms, which Fischer was VERY excited about. We dumped them in we are hoping they are loving all of the food we are giving them! :)

We added our very first bowl from the kitchen (strawberries, coffee grounds, corn and potatoes) and mixed it in! We've added stuff almost daily since! Hopefully, one day, we will have some nice compost to add to our garden.