According to Carter it was still holding up after 2 weeks when winter break began!
Carter decided he needed to decorate his bedroom door as well ...
Thursday, December 31, 2015
Door Decorating
Carter's teacher asked if a few moms would volunteer to decorate the classroom door this year. It was still covered in Minions from the start of school so I volunteered to do a winter-themed door for her. I assembled it all at home since I had to bring Grayson with me and had to decorate the door during the time the kids were at music. Luckily all my measurements were right and it fit (I did forget about the door handle but luckily I could easily move one of the snowflakes!!!).
According to Carter it was still holding up after 2 weeks when winter break began!
Carter decided he needed to decorate his bedroom door as well ...
According to Carter it was still holding up after 2 weeks when winter break began!
Carter decided he needed to decorate his bedroom door as well ...
Mini Me
Lots of people tell me that Grayson looks a lot like me. No one has ever said that about the older boys! I have to agree though. I have a few pictures from when I was about his age. What do you think?
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
3 Boys in a Wagon
I cleaned out the garage last week while all the boys played in the driveway. Carter decided he wanted to pull Grayson in the wagon and I somehow got roped into pulling all three around for a bit - they are HEAVY!!!
Kangaroo
Brian and I took the boys to the zoo on Christmas Eve. We were still in the middle of our absurdly warm December and the zoo was not crowded at all. Perfect!
There was even a kangaroo on the path that we could pet (they usually stay off the path now which you cannot leave).
Grayson got to pet his first kangaroo! Luckily he was a little more gentle with it than he is with Charlotte!
There was even a kangaroo on the path that we could pet (they usually stay off the path now which you cannot leave).
Grayson got to pet his first kangaroo! Luckily he was a little more gentle with it than he is with Charlotte!
New Bike
Carter's big Christmas present this year was a new bike. He'd been riding a 16" which was way too small for him. We got him a Diamondback Cobra 20" Mountain Bike. It'll still be good for his triathlons but also fun for gravel roads, etc. It has hand brakes and some basic gears. He LOVES it and wants to ride it all day!
Monday, December 28, 2015
Christmas Cookies
We made Christmas cookies last week. These basic sugar cookies are the boys favorite. They are the ones we also left out for Santa!
I found a cute stamping set to add a little character to the cookies this year.
I found a cute stamping set to add a little character to the cookies this year.
Sunday, December 27, 2015
Elf on the Shelf Finale
I missed a few Fridays but here are the rest of the antics of our elf this year.
On Saturday, December 12th, we found him being attacked by dinosaurs!!!
The next day he apparently defeated the dinosaurs and decided to play with the photo booth props for our Christmas playdate.
I think Mr. Elf was jealous that he didn't get to help build our gingerbread houses.
On Wednesday we found Mr. Elf playing Tic-Tac-Toe with a snowman.
Mr. Elf was shooting baskets on Thursday
On Friday Mr. Elf raided my gift stash and gave the big boys Lego keychain flashlights. (Mr. Elf may have forgotten to move and had to do something really quick when the boys woke up and before they started to look for him - he may have forgotten about Grayson - oops!)
On Sunday Mr. Elf got a little crazy! The boys did a lot of crafts on Saturday and Mr. Elf borrowed the glue and googly eyes.
On Monday Mr. Elf left the boys a project to make.
The boys discovered perler beads on Monday and made tons of designs. Mr. Elf made his own creation for the boys to find on Tuesday.
On Wednesday Mr. Elf was playing a set of homemade drums.
The boys played a bunch of games Wednesday night and Mr. Elf made them a matching game to play on Thursday morning.
And then he went back to the North Pole! I can't say I will miss him :)
On Saturday, December 12th, we found him being attacked by dinosaurs!!!
The next day he apparently defeated the dinosaurs and decided to play with the photo booth props for our Christmas playdate.
I think Mr. Elf knew a lot of little kids were coming to our house on Monday so he decided to camouflage himself in our Christmas tree.
I think Mr. Elf was jealous that he didn't get to help build our gingerbread houses.
On Wednesday we found Mr. Elf playing Tic-Tac-Toe with a snowman.
Mr. Elf was shooting baskets on Thursday
On Friday Mr. Elf raided my gift stash and gave the big boys Lego keychain flashlights. (Mr. Elf may have forgotten to move and had to do something really quick when the boys woke up and before they started to look for him - he may have forgotten about Grayson - oops!)
Mr. Elf was riding a reindeer on Saturday.
On Sunday Mr. Elf got a little crazy! The boys did a lot of crafts on Saturday and Mr. Elf borrowed the glue and googly eyes.
On Monday Mr. Elf left the boys a project to make.
The boys discovered perler beads on Monday and made tons of designs. Mr. Elf made his own creation for the boys to find on Tuesday.
On Wednesday Mr. Elf was playing a set of homemade drums.
The boys played a bunch of games Wednesday night and Mr. Elf made them a matching game to play on Thursday morning.
And then he went back to the North Pole! I can't say I will miss him :)
Family Portrait
Carter drew this family portrait at school a few weeks ago. He even included Charlotte and our two fish! And I'd apparently already had my birthday :)
Saturday, December 26, 2015
Perforated Ear Drum
Grayson is doing much better. I took him into the pediatrician on Wednesday and Dr. Huss was not at all concerned about him. Grayson's ear infection had cleared up and his lungs were sounding improved. Dr. Huss took him off all of the medications except for one antibiotic. We agreed that the urgent care doctor is not used to treating children and went a little overboard on all the medication.
While we were at the pediatrician's office, I had Dr. Huss glance in Carter's ears since they were still hurting him some. Dr. Huss said there was a lot of fluid but no real infection still. He suggested using a saline spray to help reduce the fluid but that was it.
On Wednesday evening, Carter's ears started to really hurt him, especially the left one. We gave him some Motrin and thought that maybe the storms that were coming through were increasing the pressure in his ears. He was in a lot of pain though and there wasn't much we could do to help him. Luckily he was really tired and fell asleep easily. He woke up a couple of times that night but was able to get back to sleep pretty quick. He woke up again around 5 am with a small puddle on his pillow and more fluid coming out of his ear. And he finally wasn't in pain. We were pretty sure then that he'd reputured an ear drum.
I got the first appointment at our pediatrician's office with another one of the doctors (it was Christmas Eve). And we were right - he'd perforated his left ear drum. And had a pretty good infection in the right ear. Dr. Collins said Dr. Huss made a judgement call with not going ahead and giving Carter antibiotics the day before. Unfortunately, Carter did not improve on his own. But not that Carter perforated an ear drum, he'll probably get antibiotics right away from now on :)
Carter's doing fine. But now Rylan started complaining that his ears hurt today (on a Saturday after our pediatrician's office closed). And he's having a lot of trouble hearing us. We gave him Motrin and that seemed to help with the pain. I'd really prefer to get into our pediatrician's office on Monday but we may be going to an urgent care tomorrow - yay :)
Monday, December 21, 2015
Pneumonia
It's been a rough couple of months in our house. We've all been battled various colds (at least one of us is always sick). But Grayson has won the prize for "most sick".
Grayson started running a fever on Saturday afternoon. He didn't sleep great that night but had a lower fever on Sunday morning. I was able to get Gray a long nap in the car on Sunday morning, and when he got up, I fed him lunch.
I noticed as I was feeding Gray that he kept tensing up and shaking. It was odd but not overly concerning. But them Brian noticed that Gray's lips had turned blue. The intermittent shaking continued and his hands were ice cold.
We immediately got ready to head to the ER but I called our pediatrician real quick. I got the doctor on call and he said going to an urgent care was fine so I took Gray to our usual one next to the hospital where he was born. That urgent care is run by emergency doctors and the hospital just opened up a brand new children's ER run by Vandy.
Carter rode to the urgent care with me to keep an eye on Gray. He was really lethargic and sleepy but his lips where returning to their normal color. Brian got to the urgent care just after us with Rylan and took the big boys back home since Gray seemed to be doing okay.
There was only one doctor on a busy Sunday afternoon so it took about 1 1/2 hours to be seen. Gray's fever started going up and he cuddled with me while we waited. He fell asleep after awhile too.
When we finally got called back, the nurse took Gray's vitals and he had a fever of 102.5F. She measured his oxygen saturation and was getting only 89%. After a few minutes she finally got the reading up to 95%, which she said still wasn't good.
When the doctor came in to check out Grayson, she gave him a dose of Motrin and then listened to his lungs. He was wheezing and she suspected pneumonia. She checked Gray's ears and he still had the ear infection he was diagnosed with on Tuesday.
The nurse gave Gray a steroid shot and we did a breathing treatment with him. Then she did a chest x-ray. That revealed pneumonia in the right central lobe. Gray was given an antibiotic shot then too and several prescriptions. Because Gray has been on amoxicillin for his ear infection yet still developed pneumonia, the doctor guessed that he may have atypical pneumonia which she's been seeing more of this season (and requires a stronger antibiotic).
Hopefully all this helps our little man out!
Grayson started running a fever on Saturday afternoon. He didn't sleep great that night but had a lower fever on Sunday morning. I was able to get Gray a long nap in the car on Sunday morning, and when he got up, I fed him lunch.
I noticed as I was feeding Gray that he kept tensing up and shaking. It was odd but not overly concerning. But them Brian noticed that Gray's lips had turned blue. The intermittent shaking continued and his hands were ice cold.
We immediately got ready to head to the ER but I called our pediatrician real quick. I got the doctor on call and he said going to an urgent care was fine so I took Gray to our usual one next to the hospital where he was born. That urgent care is run by emergency doctors and the hospital just opened up a brand new children's ER run by Vandy.
Carter rode to the urgent care with me to keep an eye on Gray. He was really lethargic and sleepy but his lips where returning to their normal color. Brian got to the urgent care just after us with Rylan and took the big boys back home since Gray seemed to be doing okay.
There was only one doctor on a busy Sunday afternoon so it took about 1 1/2 hours to be seen. Gray's fever started going up and he cuddled with me while we waited. He fell asleep after awhile too.
When we finally got called back, the nurse took Gray's vitals and he had a fever of 102.5F. She measured his oxygen saturation and was getting only 89%. After a few minutes she finally got the reading up to 95%, which she said still wasn't good.
When the doctor came in to check out Grayson, she gave him a dose of Motrin and then listened to his lungs. He was wheezing and she suspected pneumonia. She checked Gray's ears and he still had the ear infection he was diagnosed with on Tuesday.
The nurse gave Gray a steroid shot and we did a breathing treatment with him. Then she did a chest x-ray. That revealed pneumonia in the right central lobe. Gray was given an antibiotic shot then too and several prescriptions. Because Gray has been on amoxicillin for his ear infection yet still developed pneumonia, the doctor guessed that he may have atypical pneumonia which she's been seeing more of this season (and requires a stronger antibiotic).
Hopefully all this helps our little man out!
- Ibuprofen for fever
- Amoxicillin for ear infection
- Steroid
- Z-pak (stronger antibiotic)
- Albuterol inhaler
Gray slept a little better last night but not well still. He was more active today but still very clingy. His fever wasn't as bad. And the inhaler helped a lot to calm down his coughing when that got going. Gray has an appointment with our pediatrician on Wednesday to make sure he's improving. Hopefully he does!
Saturday, December 19, 2015
Santa
We finally visited Santa today! There was no way I was going to the mall, but I saw that the Franklin Farmer's Market was having Santa visit so we opted for there. Good choice! No line. And a friendly, not too creepy, Santa.
Carter made a list and he was so excited to give it to Santa. He asked for a particular Star Wars Lego set, a remote control truck, a remote control Hexbug, "and nothing else".
Rylan had seen Santa (the real one, according to him) at school the day before. But he was willing to tell this one again that he wanted a remote control truck.
Grayson slept through it all (which was probably good because he would have refused to let Santa hold him). Plus, he's starting another round of sickness. The three boys have all been sick since we got home from Thanksgiving. The two older ones have had mostly a bad cough that keeps them up a lot at night. Carter was complaining that his ears were hurting on Tuesday so I took him in. He has a mild ear infection (not bad enough for antibiotics yet). Dr. Huss also checked Gray's ears since he was with me and he has a bad double ear infection. So he's on antibiotics. But he started a new illness today that involves a pretty good fever (102.7F when I took him temperature this afternoon). We are concentrating on getting rid of all these germs over Christmas break!!! There will be lots of hand washing and sanitizer!!!
Carter made a list and he was so excited to give it to Santa. He asked for a particular Star Wars Lego set, a remote control truck, a remote control Hexbug, "and nothing else".
Rylan had seen Santa (the real one, according to him) at school the day before. But he was willing to tell this one again that he wanted a remote control truck.
Grayson slept through it all (which was probably good because he would have refused to let Santa hold him). Plus, he's starting another round of sickness. The three boys have all been sick since we got home from Thanksgiving. The two older ones have had mostly a bad cough that keeps them up a lot at night. Carter was complaining that his ears were hurting on Tuesday so I took him in. He has a mild ear infection (not bad enough for antibiotics yet). Dr. Huss also checked Gray's ears since he was with me and he has a bad double ear infection. So he's on antibiotics. But he started a new illness today that involves a pretty good fever (102.7F when I took him temperature this afternoon). We are concentrating on getting rid of all these germs over Christmas break!!! There will be lots of hand washing and sanitizer!!!
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
Christmas Playdate
I hosted our annual Christmas playdate on Monday. This year I only had Gray with me. I gave Rylan the option to stay home but he didn't want to miss anything at school!
This year we had Suzy, Missy, Jen, Laura, Auburn, Melanie, and Ashley and all of their kids that are not in elementary school yet (which was 13 kiddos). It was lots of fun with lots of good food, crafts, and laughter!
We decorated gingerbread houses that Brian and I built the night before. Everyone brought along some candy so we had lots of different things to use.
Colson:
Mae:
Carter and Rylan did their gingerbread houses Monday night. Rylan used one of the ones from the party but Carter decided to design his own "castle" with some help from Brian.
Rylan:
Carter:
I prepped some canvases with a snowflake made out of masking tape on each of them. Then the kids got to paint the canvas with blue paint. When the tape was taken off, they had a pretty cool work of art!
My kids all painted after school. I even squirted some paint on one and let Gray go to town spreading it around with his hands.
Carter:
Rylan:
Gray:
I also had a bunch of Christmas photo booth props for the kids to play with. We got a few pictures out of them!
Caroline (how cute is she!):
Reed:
Gray:
Hutch:
Some of the little ones (Raleigh, Gray, & Ellie):
More little ones (great picture!!!) - Caroline, Raleigh, Gray, Jessie, & Ellie:
And some of the big ones - Hutch, Cole, Maddie, Luke, Harper, & Colson:
Rylan got all decked out after school:
I made soup, spinach dip, and chocolate covered pretzels but everyone else also brought some treats to share. We had lots of leftovers!
The kids ran around the house for a few hours getting out all toys and having lots of fun! When everyone left, it looked like a tornado had been through the house, but it was definitely worth it! I love hosting this party every year!!!
This year we had Suzy, Missy, Jen, Laura, Auburn, Melanie, and Ashley and all of their kids that are not in elementary school yet (which was 13 kiddos). It was lots of fun with lots of good food, crafts, and laughter!
We decorated gingerbread houses that Brian and I built the night before. Everyone brought along some candy so we had lots of different things to use.
Colson:
Mae:
Carter and Rylan did their gingerbread houses Monday night. Rylan used one of the ones from the party but Carter decided to design his own "castle" with some help from Brian.
Rylan:
Carter:
I prepped some canvases with a snowflake made out of masking tape on each of them. Then the kids got to paint the canvas with blue paint. When the tape was taken off, they had a pretty cool work of art!
My kids all painted after school. I even squirted some paint on one and let Gray go to town spreading it around with his hands.
Carter:
Rylan:
Gray:
I also had a bunch of Christmas photo booth props for the kids to play with. We got a few pictures out of them!
Caroline (how cute is she!):
Reed:
Gray:
Hutch:
Some of the little ones (Raleigh, Gray, & Ellie):
More little ones (great picture!!!) - Caroline, Raleigh, Gray, Jessie, & Ellie:
And some of the big ones - Hutch, Cole, Maddie, Luke, Harper, & Colson:
Rylan got all decked out after school:
I made soup, spinach dip, and chocolate covered pretzels but everyone else also brought some treats to share. We had lots of leftovers!
The kids ran around the house for a few hours getting out all toys and having lots of fun! When everyone left, it looked like a tornado had been through the house, but it was definitely worth it! I love hosting this party every year!!!
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