Too Cute

Of course, I have to stick a current picture of Juliet in this post - here she is in her swing for the first time this morning. She seems pretty content!

And Jude discovered playing with the iPod - even though it's just the earbuds. My poor kids haven't been anywhere in so long, they are now playing with such random things around the house.

He was so excited showing me these.

Check out his bashed up face - he fell flat on the concrete when we were on a walk the other day.

Vaccines

I know. I know. Vaccines are a very controversial subject. However, I have taken the few spare moments I have (not really - I actually perused the above book in a drive through Starbucks right before I had to return it to the library) to skim this book and boy was I shocked and scared. I began my vaccine research with Dr. Sears book on vaccines and then moved onto this one. With the boys, we just vaccinated for everything (minus the flu vaccine - does that one ever even work?) on schedule. However, with Juliet, I feel that she is a bit more fragile and really should only be three weeks old right now, so I'm taking this decision much more seriously. We did vaccinate her last week for the DTAP vaccine. What surprised me about the other ones, according to this book, is that some vaccines are linked to cancer and this author has the medical journal references to back it up (as listed in the back of this book). He also states the likelihood of a child actually getting the particular disease. I will be purchasing this on Amazon.

It's a very interesting topic to research and if I were a college student again, I would love to write a lengthy paper on my findings. Leave a comment if you have strong vaccine feelings either way - I'd love to know what others think.


Oh, and please don't leave a scathing remark - I do realize vaccines have virtually eliminated these diseases - I just find it interesting to know the nitty gritty details of what these vaccines are made of and how a child may react to them.

Jude's Awakening

Here is Jude after his nap yesterday. Actually, I should say LACK of nap. Samuel thinks it's fun to sit and talk and play dress up during naptime, which keeps Jude awake. And grumpy. No smiles.

This is pretty telling of how the rest of the afternoon went.

Making Valentine Cookies

Samuel and Jude waiting for the cookies to bake.

So, the boys and I made Valentine cookies. The day after Valentine's. Better late than never seems to by my motto lately - you should see my laundry pile. Samuel rolls out the cookies.

Jude is plotting something crazy while he rolls out the cookies.

Here are the half finished product. I'll admit the boys lost interest half way through the process.

Joel and Ju Ju Bean

The boys finally got to see Uncle Joel again after a long break - they were so excited!! He played outside with them for a long time and wore them out real good. I caught a couple of snapshots of Jude in action. Do you like the dog back framing the bottom of the picture? And I always love Jude's mischievous grin.

Seriously with him stomping his nice shoes through the mud? They still haven't recovered.

And here is Uncle Joel, Jude and part of a dog.

Sweet Girl

Here are a couple of pictures of Juliet from today. She's doing great! I had to try this bow on her today - she doesn't love wearing it and I discovered that after having it on her for hours and wondering why she was fussy. She had her 2 month well baby visit to the doctor this week and I was advised not to take her out at all - not even to the store. That's hard with three kids by myself for 24 hours. So, we do a lot of Starbucks drive-throughs and other quick outings that don't expose us to colds and flus. I can't wait until summer when she is stronger and the viruses are at bay.

I'm a Geek. For Real.

I have re-discovered a Kenny Loggins song from long ago. I love it. And I'm not ashamed. It's called "Meet Me Halfway". I'm not sure what it even means, but I just purchased it from iTunes and fully plan on listening to it while applying my makeup every morning. Listen to it here.

Can I Have One? Please?

These beautiful camera strap slip covers are beautiful! They are at this shop on Etsy. Now that I look at them, wouldn't they be pretty easy to make? Any sewers out there have suggestions?

Juliet's Hospital Pictures

So, Colin thought is was mean to take pictures of Juliet in the hospital, as she may not appreciate looking at them later. However, I am kind of the photodocumenter by nature, so I did it anyway. She was at Doernbecher from Wednesday through Saturday and they wouldn't let her eat for 24 hours when she was in the ICU. She was up all night fussing from hunger and had a wonderful nurse to settle her down all night while we attempted to rest. At any rate, she didn't lose any weight and now is eating more than she ever has at home. I think she will be chunking right up pretty soon.
She rested pretty peacefully most of the time in her hospital bed.

This was her crib in the pediatric floor - it was metal and the most industrial looking crib I had ever seen.

Here I am peeking through the crib spindles at her.

What a little angel!

Juliet celebrated her 2 month birthday in the hospital - it amazes me what obstacles she has overcome in her short life.

She's Home...And Doing Better

We have arrived safely home from the hospital just hours ago. Juliet is doing much better - I just have to suction out her nose with saline every time I feed her. I also can't have her around other kids for about another week. It's been an insane week, the boys are away for the weekend and I may sneak away for a pedicure...we'll see. Thank you for all the prayers - now I just need to figure out how to keep her healthy for another few months.

Quick Update on Juliet

Well, that little cold the boys had landed Juliet in the ICU at Doernbecker. She's been there since Wednesday with respiratory distress and bronchilitis. The medical staff has been great and she is on the mend. She was moved to the pediatric floor last night and they are observing her for another day or so to make sure her breathing is improving. It's been a bit scary, to say the least. Please keep her in your prayers for speedy healing.

Books, Burp Cloths and Blueberry Muffins

Every once in awhile I'm feeling a bit indulgent and divert blogging from my kiddos to something WAY more interesting (ha ha) - my latest favorites! I've carved out a few minutes a day (usually during nursing sessions) to read - be it the actual book or books on CD (I know, I know. I never thought I would be THAT girl that listens to books, but I may never get through another book otherwise in this season of my life). Here's what I'm reading: This is a great parenting book - it's just what the title says - shepherding your child the Lord's way. I'd highly recommend it - although I am insanely behind on reading it for my Friday morning bible study.

This is my book club read - I got the actual book and the CDs at the library. I listen to it in the car when I'm running errands alone. It's pretty charming - more my style than his "No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" books.

And I just have to throw a shout-out to the Pioneer Woman website. I got the recipe for these blueberry muffins off of it yesterday morning and I made them again this morning. So delicious! Here's the link.

I also made Addictive Sweet Potato Burritos, which were so delicious. They made 12, so we can have them again tonight!

And I picked up this Amy Butler fabric at Fabric Depot to make burp cloths out of - I still have a platonic crush on her. Her fabric inspires me!

Kid Chaos

Ahh - it was bound to happen - the kids all got a cold. I've been doing little else than wiping noses. At any rate, they still have more than enough energy to play hard all day and here are some pics: I love that Jude is blurred in this picture - so telling of how fast they are always going.

Doesn't this just look like he's about to get into trouble?? He continued on to try and touch my camera.

Here is Samuel voluntarily making him and his brother lunch. Start to finish. I love having a 4 year old.

My parents took some time to put together one of those wonderful Melissa & Doug floor puzzles
with Samuel. I think I'm more interested in them than Samuel is...

Do notice that Jude has Juliet's pink binky in his mouth and confiscated her pink blanket as well. I brought this Sit N Stand stroller in from the wet outside and the boys have had hours of fun on it.

Here is Juliet today - she's such a happy baby so far. She's slowly getting rid of that "preemie head". Notice that it's a bit flat and long on the sides? Apparently that's from not floating around in amniotic fluid for the last few weeks of pregnancy, but laying on mattresses instead. I'm reading a couple of preemie books right now and learning a lot. I could do without the grim possibilities of blindness, cerebral palsy, inability to hear completely, learning disabilities, etc., that come along with a premature birth. I really should stop reading these books.

I love this - Samuel has a fire hat, goggles and the fireman headphones on while riding the horse and harassing Jude.