Our New Ride

I now drive a minivan...and I LOVE it!! I never, ever, in a million years thought I'd drive a van or be so pumped about driving one. As my friend Riley reminded me the other day "we swore we'd never drive a van" and that's true, but back then, I didn't get it. Now I get it. Now I know why so many people who don't even have kids drive them. Vans are awesome, maybe not cool, but still awesome because of all the great things they do and this thing has made life SO much easier. I drove to Huntsville and back (about 225 miles) on one tank of gas. Seriously. How great is that? As long as we have little ones to shuttle around, Bruce will have a hard time getting me to drive anything else. Don't let him fool you though, he likes it just as much as I do - no matter what he says about driving a van. ;)

Enjoying their own space!

Three Year Well Visit and Rechecks

At three years old, Sullivan weighs 36.8 pounds and is 39 1/4 inches tall. That's 90th percentile for height and weight. She had her blood pressure taken, finger pricked, had to tinkle in a cup, and received her last vaccine until her boosters. The only time she cried was at the very end when she got her Hep A vaccine - she was such a trooper! She followed the doctors instructions perfectly through the exam and was on her best behavior. It was a great well-child visit! Way to go Sullivan!

Two weeks ago we went to the doctor three times. Owen had an ear infection after his cold, Sullivan had a urinary tract infection, and Kathryn was running a new fever after being fever-free for five days and had a bad coughing fit the morning of her appointment. So, we picked up a nebulizer and three different prescriptions after that visit and yesterday everyone had their rechecks. The doctor said Kathryn sounds wonderful! Yay! We'll know in a few days about Sullivan's urine culture, but I'm assuming it will also come back clear. Owen's fine and hasn't complained about his ear since the second day of his antibiotics. Giving three children medicine twice a day and doing three breathing treatments a day made for a wild week around here! We made it through and our babies are feeling better and that's all that matters.

I finally went to the doctor myself yesterday. After wheezing for four days I felt like I might need medicine too. They drew my blood and did a chest x-ray and told me I tested positive for walking pneumonia. Fabulous. They gave me an inhaler, steroid and antibiotic shots, antibiotics, and cough medicine. The crazy thing about walking pneumonia/severe bronchitis is that it's typically just a bad cough and/or wheezing. I felt weak this week and a little out of it, but that was it. I'm feeling better this morning and will probably be back to normal in a day or two.

I'm pretty certain I know where we've picked up these nasty viruses since October. The gym. When Bruce left last fall for his deployment we started going to the gym closest to our house on a regular basis because it was easier. It has the oldest child watch center, with carpet, little ventilation because it's downstairs, and usually the most kids. It's the only place we've gone consistently since September and that's when this all started. That's not to say that the staff there doesn't try to keep it clean or that it's not a really fun place for the kiddos to go, I think it's just the perfect environment for trapping germs. Luckily there are two other gyms we can go to. We haven't been in two weeks and I'll probably keep them out another two weeks before we go to the newer, carpet-free, better-ventilated child watch centers. ;) I'm trying to be positive and I'm assuming this was our last round of illness before spring. Come on Spring! We are ready for your warm days, sunshine, and flowers!

Purple Owl Party

Sullivan turned three on Sunday and she had a purple owl party at Mimi's house. It was so much fun and she loved all of her owl decorations and presents. I can't believe our baby is three years old! Here are a few pictures from the party.

The birthday girl

 

Sullivan and Mommy

Party time!

 

 Singing happy birthday to Sullivan. How cute are those birthday glasses?

 

 Time to blow out the candles!

 

Icing is sooo yummy

 

 Purple owl cupcakes. Thank you Cakes Etc.!

 

 The fam

 

  Here's Sullivan modeling one of her birthday gifts

Almost Three Party

Bruce is leaving for Oklahoma today and will miss Sullivan's birthday party next week. To make sure he got to celebrate with Sullivan we had a family party last night. Sullivan wanted to go to the "Christmas House" (the kids' favorite Mexican restaurant) for her birthday dinner so that's where we went. Afterwards, we came home for cake and ice cream and she got to open her birthday present from Mommy and Daddy...a new dollhouse! Sullivan really wanted a "Lenny take" (cake). Lenny is her favorite puppy dog and one of her three favorite lovies. Last week I took a few pictures of Lenny and had his picture put on a purple birthday cake for her. Sullivan loved it! It was a fun family night and I'm so glad Bruce got to celebrate with Sullivan before he had to leave.

 

Sullivan's purple Lenny cake

Owen looks sad because he had just gotten in trouble for sticking his finger in Sullivan's

cake before we had a chance to cut it...right in Lenny's eye. Sometimes brothers just can't help themselves I guess. 

The birthday girl with her new dollhouse

Check back soon for pictures of us in our new MINIVAN!! Whoo-hoo!!