Virus

I never experienced this with Riley or Conner. Oddly enough, they were both being watched by someone other than a family member by the time they were 5 months old with other kids around. Makenna, on the other hand, is being watched, graciously, by her Nene and Nanny. She is the only kid in the house, so how on Earth does she contract the Roseola Virus? Everything that I read online and heard from the doctor says that it is a very common childhood illness that is contracted around 9 months of age. Guess what? Makenna is about 9 1/2 months old. She felt awful on Sunday, ran a low-grade fever, and then woke up on Monday with speckles all over her back, belly, and face.

Luckily it is only contagious through shared saliva...I guess someone with it kissed her or let her drink after them or somethin, who knows. The boys seem to be in the clear and miss Makenna is on the mend. It looks pretty scary, but fortunatley it wasn't itchy or anything for her, just made her cranky and, of course, she only wanted her mommy.

What month is it?...

Soooo, I haven't updated in a while.... We have had a lot going on since August. When I went back to work, everything seemed to get super busy. The boys are doing great at school. Riley is learning to write his letters, his name, draw shapes, etc, and Conner is doing the same, just at a more relaxed pace. They are both extremely smart and come home daily ready to tell me about their day or show me their latest picture or word.

Makenna is 9 months old, standing while holding on, and trying to get brave enough to get her balance without holding on to something. She still does not have any teeth, but has begun to eat little finger snacks that easily dissolve and can go anywhere she can get her walker to or that she can "army" crawl toward. She loves hanging out with her brothers and gets upset if they don't pay attention to her. I cannot believe how quickly time has gone since she was born.

We did our traditional trip to the pumpkin patch and it was actually cool enought to wear jeans and some sleeves.

Happy Birthday Papa!!!

Today would have been my grandfather's 72nd birthday. He was an amazing man who loved his family, cussed the Bucs on Sunday, and watched old western movies he had seen eight thousand times. I miss him everyday and wonder sometimes what he would think about Makenna. I know he would just adore her, as he did Riley and Conner.

After he died, I told Riley and Conner that Papa had gone to live in the moon and they were ok with this at the time. As they get older, they talk about how Papa is in the moon and how they don't like it when he "rolls the balls" because it makes a loud sound (thunder). They want to go visit Papa and I just tell them that someday they will be able to do just that, but for now he wants them here with us so he can watch them grow up to be big boys.

I miss him so much, but am glad that he is in a better place. I look for him in the moon sometimes and I can feel his love surround us.

Happy birthday Papa, love and miss you!

Summer is winding down...

So...this is officially my last weekend of summer vacation as I return to work on Monday to tackle 200+ schedules for hormonal 8th graders who feel they are ready to move on to bigger and better things :) This morning I thought I would be a nice wife and allow my hubby...who has been working out in the hot sun all summer long, sleep in and I would take the kids...all three of them...out for the morning. We had a nice McDonalds breakfast at the park where Riley and Conner managed to get brand new summer outfits filthly within an hour. Makenna and I watched them play and swung on the swing a little before the flies were just too annoying to stay. From there, we went to my grandmother's house where Riley began his normal poor behavior, but we all survived. Now I am home and waiting for the boys to get here as they talked their Mama into brining them home later. Tomorrow, my last day of summer, we are all, Mama included, going to Busch Gardens to battle the crowds, see the animals, and play in the Land of the Dragons! Summer is so much fun, but I need to go back to work to get a break...seriously:)

Wanted to show off my babies!!!!

We have had a great July...fireworks, the beach, watching the kids grow...especially Miss Makenna...here are a few photos...

Jen had Surgery

Today, Jen had surgery. She is doing fine. Some people have said that the surgery is a major surgery. Judging by her actions today, I would doubt it, but don't let her know I said that. We were back at home by 1pm after an 8am surgery. The only thing this stops is the 25 kids that she wanted to have. Amazingly, she is in very little pain. You may send her well wishes either via this blog or on facebook under my name. Take care all , Michael

Fourth of July

One of my most favorite holidays, next to Christmas, is the Fourth of July! I love it. It typifies summer vacation...you get to stay up late, play outside, eat junk food, and watch beautiful fireworks in the evening sky after a baseball game and concert! Every year we go out and park behind the baseball stadium so that we can hear what is going on in the stadium, the music, the game, the people, and then we take a picnic dinner. Usually it is pizza, but the last two years it has been hamburgers and hotdogs. We take a few little sparklers, a football, a frisbee, and lots of drinks. The boys got to bring bubbles this year and Makenna enjoyed her first fireworks including an icecream cone and sparklers! I look forward to this every year and love watching the kids have fun!