Eleanor is ONE!!!

I can't even handle how fast the time is flying!!!  It is getting downright ridiculous now!

Miss Eleanor Rae turned one this November 6.  Our BABY is ONE!!  I'm sorry, I keep repeating it.  I'm just in disbelief.  She is on the go and constantly moving.  She is starting to sleep through the night more often (which has been a huge blessing).  She crawls and pulls herself to standing next to the furniture or anything that is stable enough for her to do so.  She cruises along the furniture with ease, but pretty much refuses to let go and walk.  She gets really nervous when you are holding her hands to help her take a few steps; she is definitely afraid of falling down.  I'm so okay with her not walking yet; after walking is running, and we have two others to run after!

She likes to play with her brother and sister, but doesn't like it if they try to man-handle her or be really rough with her.  Although, I think she will be a very tough little girl with her Big Brother P around.  I feel like a broken record of three-word senteces.  "Leave her alone" "Please play nice" "Don't carry her" "Don't choke her" (you get the idea).  In any case, I think she will eventually learn to hold her own, and will probably retaliate one of these days (watch out P, you got it comin'!!)  I should also mention she has 6 teeth and I fear she will begin to use them soon.  She uses them on me, anyway... I think her brother is next.

She's a smart girl, and has been working on putting things inside of containers or the like.  It's quite adorable to watch her little mind work.  She's a pretty vocal child, and just the other day she expressed her anger with me by screaming right at me when I took something away from her.  She screamed.  Right at me.  Please tell me this is not a glimpse into our future with this girl-child.....  She can speak about 12-15 words or sounds that have meaning (the beginning of words).  Including:  baby (her favorite word right now, I think), mama, dada, pup-y (puppy), more, bye-bye, nigh (night).  She can also sign "more" and "all done".  Eleanor waves bye-bye and blows and gives big open-mouthed kisses.  She's an amazing eater, and sometimes eats almost as much as her brother (who also has a very healthy appetite!!).  She's not big on meats, but will devour vegetables and fruits.  She didn't care too much for her birthday cake(s) either.  We had to put her hand in her mouth to get her to try the cake, or she would eat it off the fork.

She's finally not such a big mama's girl, but this mama is okay with that.  I'm happy to see her going to other people with ease when I'm around.....  She still loves bathtime.  She recently loves books, and has always loved to eat paper and napkins, but is getting better at not putting EVERYthing in her mouth.  She also loves to "help" in the kitchen.  Not sure how I would ever get the dishes done without her.  Her favorite things are sitting on the dishwasher door and pulling stuff off the rack and pulling all the kitchen towels out of the drawer.  Good thing she's just too cute for words, because she makes housework twice as long!!

At her 1-year check, she was 19lb 15oz (25-50 %), and 27.5" (3rd %).  Dr. Amy was impressed with her speech and development.... also another reason why I'm cool with a little bit later walker--I'll just bet she's brain-building with all her energy!! Haha!!
  
                                                           Eleanor Rae at about 1 month

                                                                 Eleanor Rae at 1 Year

It is done. (A post I wrote awhile ago, but didn't publish til now)

So we sent our first baby to Kindergarten.  We did all the obligatory 'first day of school' shots in front of our house and then we all loaded up and went to the Berger household. 

We walked with them to the school where we waited outside for them to have the kindergarteners line up. 

Daddy and I were able to contain our emotions up until this point.  It wasn't until her teacher's name was called and we had to say good-bye that Daddy got choked up and I couldn't even actually say good-bye or I would've officially lost it.

After all the students went inside, many of the parents (probably the ones sending their first babies to school that day) stood around outside with a lost look on our faces until the Principal told us we could rally together and go into the cafeteria where they would show some short video clips of their first morning at kindergarten.  We waited about 20 minutes for them to finally bring in a camera that had clips of all the classrooms getting a start to their day and getting together to sing good morning songs!  It was so exciting that Amelia was in the front of the group while they sang, so we had a perfect view of her!  I almost lost it a second time when they were telling us about the kindergarteners eating lunch with the 5th graders so that the older students could help the little guys open milks and get through their first meal at school.... I imagined my baby eating lunch in a big cafeteria with all those kids, and needing help--but I'm not the one helping this time... *tear*

Next, Luke, James, Dana, and I went to drown out 'first-first' day of school sorrows in pancakes and eggs at IHOP.  (Why didn't we go to a bar?!)

Then in order to take our mind of the fact that we still had a couple hours until we could rescue our kids, Dana and I went to get pedicures.

Finally!!!!!!  It was time to pick up our babies!!!!  Here's where I got choked up again--outside the school waiting for my girl to come out the doors and greet me!!!  She is such a big girl!!!

I wanted to know what happened everysinglesecond of her day, but these were the type of answers I got to my questions: "Good," "Fine," "Chicken nuggets," "I don't remember."  I don't think she understood my need to know what happened while she was away from us!!!!  Or, she just really couldn't remember....
She took to school like a fish in water.... she will be an amazing student, and I hope she has tons of fun, learns a lot, and makes so many new friends.  We just love our girl....

About My Dad.... by Amelia

For Father's Day this year, I asked Amelia some questions about her father.  Thought I'd share her answers here!

1.  What is something your dad always says to you?
~"Pick up your toys."
2.  What makes dad happy?
~Me!  (Amelia)
3.  What makes dad mad?
~When I don't pick up my toys
4.  How does your dad make you laugh?
~Tells me funny jokes--if they're funny.
5.  What did your dad like to do when he was a child?
~Watch his favorite movie.
6.  How old is your dad?
~ 32 (He's 33)
7.  How tall is your dad?
~I don't know.  I never measured him.
8.  What is his favorite thing to watch on TV?
~Grown up shows.  That one where they tell people how much it is.
9.  What does your dad do when you're not around?
~Types and calls (at work).
10.  If your dad becomes famous, what would it be for?
~ A movie star.
11.  What is your dad really good at?
~Making paper airplanes and castles.
12.  What is your dad not very good at?
~Not very good at setting up a "real-real tent"
13.  What does your dad do for his job?
~Works at a "hotella."  Calls people.
14.  What is your dad's favorite food?
~Spaghetti
15.  What makes your proud of your dad?
~When he gives me presents.  More prouder, and money.
16. If your dad were a cartoon character, who would he be?
~.............Woody.
17.  What do you and your dad do together?
~Went and got chocolate covered strawberries for mom.
18.  How are you and your dad the same?
~We both have an 'A' in our name.  And we have blue eyes.
19.  How are you and your dad different?
~He's kinda lazy and I'm not.
20.  How do you know your dad loves you?
~Because I give him things I made.
21.  What does your dad love about your mom?
~He loves her.  He likes her cooking.
22.  Where is your dad's favorite place to go?
~Carlos O'Kelly's.

E is 9 months!!!

Eleanor Rae is 9 months old this month!  She was 9 months on August 6 with her check up being on the 14th.  She weighed in at 19lb 10oz (50-75%) & 26.5" long (10%).  We don't grow 'em tall, that's for sure!!  She's our quishy little Miss!!  She's crawling all over the place--we can never find our baby where we leave her--and she is venturing into other rooms so we have to make sure we close the doors.  We've installed a baby gate this month because a dining chair across the top of the steps was just not going to cut it for much longer.  At 9.5 months, she pulls herself to standing beside EVERYthing.  We officially have to put stuff above sofa height.... how does a 2 foot tall baby have a 5 foot reach anyway?!?!

She still doesn't eat a lot of foods and prefers to nurse, and often.  We tried giving her pieces of food big enough to just feed herself, but she just squishes it on the tray and grows bored with it.  But the last few days, we have been sharing from our plates and giving her bites off our forks, and she will accept it with gusto!

She does love to eat anything that she finds on the floor, but her favorites are paper and flip flops.  Never mind the basket of appropriate toys in the living room... oh no, she has to chew on any and every foam shoe she comes across.  She's like having a puppy--or is having a puppy like having a crawling baby?  Whatever.  Oh, and I'm always fishing parts of Amelia's artwork from her mouth.

She loves baths and being outdoors.  She's definitely still a mama's girl, but hey, who doesn't love an endless buffet?  She makes a "ma-ma" sound, and I'm pretty sure she has attached the sound with the person (me).  She also makes a "da-da" and "pa-pa" sound... though, I'm not sure she's attached those to anybody in particular quite yet.

This little girl smiles with her whole face and has the best laugh.  Her brother and sister love her a lot--they are always kissing and loving on her, whether she wants them to or not (more often its not)!

                                                 Hand-me-Down PJs from my big brother!!

                                                      ^With Big Sister A at Lost in Fun

                               ^Actually 8 months in this photo, but (sorta) loving some melon!

                                                           ^Loving bathtime!!!!

                                                           ^9 months + 1 day in this photo

It's almost time....

I can't believe she is over 5 1/2 already!  This girl amazes me every single day with her smarts, beauty, and talents!  Right now, she loves to draw, watch TV, and ride her bike... but not for too long.  She's so generous, and is always drawing pictures or making cards to give to her friends and family.  She loves to hang her artwork throughout the house, or in the van.  Her bedroom door is covered in papers, and they always spill into the living room or line the walls up the stairs.  If I make it down to the scrapbooking room, she is always right beside me on the floor making projects.  When she is excited about something, she doesn't always show it, but wears her heart on her sleeve when it comes to things or people that hurt her feelings.  She's very sensitive, and punishments are pretty easy because she has a tendency to punish herself when she's done something wrong.  She's very direct in what she says to people and we are always working on making sure we say things in a nice way so as not to hurt people's feelings.  Amelia has a pretty good sense of humor, and definitely takes after the Gipson side with what she finds funny.  She has this rubber rat that we are always finding under our pillows, sneaky girl...

Last week we had Amelia's appointment at the pediatrician for her Kindergarten physical.  I'm proud to announce that she's the most perfect 5-year-old and she did a great job!  There were minimal tears (from both of us), so it was definitely a success! 

In the waiting room!

When we got there she received a sticker book where she placed stickers she received after completing each "station" in her appointment. Miss Amelia is 44" and 41 lbs. She's a string bean! She had her blood pressure checked....
 

She had her hearing tested: 

She received her "Class of 2026" shirt.... *tear*

Then she got her shots where she did cry, but didn't make too big of a fuss (not gonna lie, I want to cry everytime I get a shot too!).  She did an amazing job (no pictures of her tear-stained face.... sorry)!!

Dr. Bargen came in and checked her out.  She asked her questions like where she lived, her address, numbers, colors, etc... Of course, she did great answering all the questions.  Dr. Bargen is such a great doctor and she said, "I'll bet this is a bittersweet moment for you... Sending your baby to Kindergarten!  I'm just her doctor, and it makes me sad how fast she's growing up!"  THAT'S the point where I almost cried... Thanks a lot Dr. Amy!!!  (Just kidding.... we love her to pieces!!)

After the appointment, she was able to go to the party room where she had a snack and made a couple of projects.  Even though this appointment was about her, she really wanted to make sure she got her friends at daycare some stickers, too....

Amelia at 5.5, and at a few days old:

 

Kindergarten....

So Amelia is starting Kindergarten this fall.... Un.Believe.Able.  When did she grow up?  Why didn't someone let us in on this?!

We had kindergarten orientation Tuesday, May 14.  I was getting Amelia and I ready while we waited for Luke to come home so we could go.  I fixed her hair and got her dressed and while I was changing my clothes, we caught a peek at A in the kitchen putting on lip gloss after she was just downstairs picking out a necklace that matched her outfit.  You have to understand, this girl would LIVE in her pajamas if mom and dad let her and if it were socially acceptable (not sure at all where/whom she gets that from.....ahem).  To see her excited enough to be concerned about her appearance was nothing less than a shock.... she's growing way. too. fast......

We met a family from church at their house so we could walk to the school together.  She and Brennan are both starting this year.  I'm so glad they have each other :)

Here are two of the members of the class of 2026.....

                                                                    Amelia and Brennan

Meeting one of her teachers

Amelia was super excited to visit the school and was bummed that we couldn't/weren't staying longer.  They took the kids to see the classroom area while they oriented us parents.  And I'd just like to put this out there--I was not one of the crying mothers when the kids left the cafeteria (this time).  First day of school, however, I will be a snotty mess--I guarantee it.

What a big boy!! (P's 30-month check-up)

Our sweet boy turned 2 1/2 on Thursday, July 11!  He is a sweet, charming, stubborn, strong-willed little boy.  He loves sports--every.single.sport.  I'm not sure where this love comes from, as we are not really involved in sports beyond attending a few Saltdogs games and Husker football (GBR!).  But he is so obsessed that he will watch anything from wrestling to tennis to baseball.  He's full of energy--all boy, all the time.  He loves Blue's Clues, Team UmiZumi, motorcycles, everyone's flip-flops, and his bat, glove, "real" baseball, and scooter.  His favorite foods are macaroni and cheese and hot dogs and popsicles, but he will eat nearly anything, or at least try it. 

He's so very smart, telling us his shapes and colors.  He can count things pretty well, up to 4 without fail and sometimes further depending on his mood.  He can rote count up to 10.  He can participate in pretty decent conversations and loves to pray at the dinner table.  He's pretty good at throwing and very good at riding his scooter, or "motorcycle."  He's not potty training yet, but I'm sure it will come on his own time.  He's pretty good to his sisters, and loves them dearly, but can be rough with E and a pest to A.  If you tell him "I love you," he responds with "Thanks!"  He and A are finally getting to a stage where they play well together, and its one of the sweetest things to see.

Dr. Bargen was impressed with his motor skills and she compared him to a three-year-old or higher.  Our little guy is 11th percentile at 34 inches, and 29th percentile at 27.8lbs.

Our Boy:

Beautiful Babies!!

All three of our beautiful babies at about 7.5-8 months.  Just because I can't help myself.

                                                                            ~A~

                                                                              ~P~

                                                                              ~E~

A Budding Entrepreneur

So a few weekends ago It was a very hot day and I was out mowing the lawn and doing some other yard work.    There were a lot of people on our street because the Highlands Garage sales were going on and a couple of our neighbors had stuff out.  Amelia decided it would be the perfect time to do a lemonade stand!  (see...  She understands supply and demand!)  But the bad news was that we were all out of lemonade.  She was a bit discouraged but decided that it was a hot day so she would sell an alternate product.  She decided to have a water stand.   Not an ice water stand mind you...   Just a water stand...  

So she took to making a table out of a storage tub and even made a sign for the front.  She decided that a 1/3 of a glass of water would be worth about $1 a cup.  When I asked her if she thought that might be too much to charge for a cup of tap water and she said simply "it's a hot day...  people will pay for water."  So she sat out there for about 15 minutes with not even anyone stopping.  But she wasn't discouraged!   Luckily she had a captive customer base since Grammy decided to go out and buy 2 cups from her!   Amelia was ecstatic that she had made a sale!  In fact, she even overcharged her by 50 cents!!!!  (not that Grammy minded I don't think.) 

Pretty soon I had to move to the backyard so Amelia had to close up shop.  But she was pretty happy with her haul from her water stand!   Here are some pictures:

Back in my day we sold Kool Aid for a dime a cup!  (okay, that made me sound old... )

-L

E is 6 months!

We had Eleanor's 6 month check up on May 6th.  Our little roly poly is 16lb 11oz (62nd percentile), 25" (16th percentile), and her head is 16 3/4" (50-75 percentile).  She is most adorable with her little  chunky legs and cellulite-y tush.  She is definitely the most robust out of the three babies.

She is rolling back to front and front to back now and has been trying to get on her hands and knees as of late.  She almost does little baby push ups because she doesn't quite make it all the way to her hands and knees.  At least she stopped being super frustrated when she would roll from her back to her stomach and be stuck there!   She also does this push with her arms while she's on her tummy, and it ends up scooting her backwards.  She can also go around in a circle, which usually happens because she is trying to see something just out of her line of vision, and she has to move to see it.

She's such a happy little girl!  Tickling her squishy thighs or under her double chin will almost inevitably make her laugh every time.  She's a good nurser and a good eater, and we will start on some baby oatmeal this week.

She's also a pretty good sleeper, but still does wake 1-2 times per night.  I think she just wants to be near us.  E loves to be outside, or in the swing outdoors which is much like her brother and sister.  But unlike them, she still won't take a pacifier, so I think I officially give up on that front.  I'll just have to be the pacifiers for awhile longer!

Don't call me four-eyes

So as most of you know, or have already seen, Miss Amelia had to get glasses.  She had to have an eye exam for her Kindergarten entrance, so we set an appointment.  I never even thought she was needing glasses because she seemed to be able to see just fine.

Luke took her to Eyecare Specialties to have her checked and they did an amazing job with her!

She sat perfectly for all the parts of the exam, and the doctor determined she needed a farsighted correction with an astigmatism in both eyes, with a worse one in the left.  She may have Luke's beautiful blue eyes, but she got my vision..... Poor girl.  The doctor said she was exceptional in performing the tasks he asked of her.  She's a smart cookie! 

She's beautiful as always with her glasses and she looks as smart as she is!!

Having her eyes dilated.

Freaky!!!  As if her eyes aren't big enough...

                                                                        Silly girl!!!

                                                            And the ones she ended up with...

PS The pictures look squishy--so sorry, I hope they don't stay that way....

Kids say and do the darndest things some times!

The other night Pierson was in a very deep sleep and out of the blue i hear him crying on the monitor.  So I get up to go take care of him.  He is yelling, in his sleep mind you, at Amelia telling her that it was his blues clues book!!  He was very adamant.  I could barely get him to settle down at all until I reached up and handed him his blues clues book (which was right next to him).  He immediately stopped crying and said (in a very stern voice) "It's MY Blues Clues Book, MIMI!"  It was very funny!

So last night Beth put Pierson to bed.  Pierson has this turtle that shines stars on the ceiling above his bed which he likes very much.  Beth turned it on and at about the same time both Pierson and Beth noticed a small spider crawling across the ceiling.  Now Pierson has no problem picking up just about any bug EXCEPT spiders.  He doesn't like them at all! (and I think most of us can agree there is nothing wrong with that!)  So he points and excitedly says "pider!"  Beth goes out to the coat closet and grabs on of her snow boots and proceeds to give the spider a hasty squashing.   After taking care of the spider she put the boot down and says good night.  Pierson settles in and goes to sleep.  About 30 minutes later Beth goes in to check on him and he is snuggled up next to her boot in bed! (like you would snuggle a teddy bear)  I guess he didn't want to go to sleep without an effective spider killing weapon!  Just in case...

Oh kids are hilarious!

-L

2013 Nebraska Spring Game

Living in Nebraska you quickly learn a few things...  A "light snow" can be anywhere from 1 to 16 inches, summer is road construction season and Husker football is king!  While not quite as crazy as a regular season football game the Spring game is always a fun time!  Well, we decided that this was the year for Amelia to finally experience what it is like to go to a Husker game so we had planned for Beth and I to take her together.  My Brother Justin and his son Dominik also joined us.   However, with Eleanor's recent hospital visit at the last minute Pierson got to take Beth's seat so that she could stay home with Eleanor.  We had a fantastic time and all the kids seemed to really enjoy it! 

Here are a few pictures:

She's trying to make a "N" with her fingers...



Someone got a bit tuckered out about halftime...




Buds



- L

Firsts....

So there are many firsts that Eleanor has accomplished over the last month....
Having a "conversation" (this is where we blow raspberries back and forth), reaching for and grabbing at toys, rolling from back to front (then getting mad because she hates to be on her stomach and can't go the other way yet), and somewhere in between all that, our family's first hospital stay not related to a baby being born. 

Miss Eleanor Rae had an abscess on her bottom that appeared over the course of a few days.  On Easter weekend Grammy and I noticed that she didn't like to be held a certain way, but I just chalked it up to her being achy or uncomfortable due to her cold... She and I both had a cough and sore throat.  Mom and I never noticed anything during diaper changes that weekend.  By the Wednesday after Easter, she had a fever of 102.6F.  So I called the pediatrician's office.  I told them she wasn't feeling well all week so far, and that she had a fever.  They told me what to watch for--increased fever (to 104), but said it was probably related to whatever bug she had.  But to bring her in if she got worse.

I went to carry her into the kitchen later and she started crying very hard when I rested her bottom on my arm to pick her up.  I opened her diaper and noticed she was red and very swollen.  It was the length of her buttcheek and about 2 inches wide on the right side, and the left had swelling about the size of a quarter.  I called the office and told her we needed to bring her in, that I was pretty sure she had some sort of infection.

I got her to the pediatrician's office within 20 minutes (insert:  I'm super-mom because none of us were dressed and I got all three kids and myself dressed and at the office.  I know people have done it with more kids or less time, but don't bash my super-mom dreams)!

Dr.  Bargen told us it was a staph infection of some sort, and that it was probably MRSA.  It was too big to drain in the office and Miss E would have to be admitted so that she could be put under anesthesia to make incisions and drain it.

We were admitted that night where they took her from us for 25 minutes (from beginning to end), to cut the abscesses and drain the infection.  She was loved by all the nurses who came in to care for her.  Besides when we were first admitted and immediately following the surgery, she was incredibly happy and super smiley.  Everyone remarked that she was so beautiful (I know), and so sweet and mild mannered (I know, I know).  And "Does she EVER cry...?" oh, and..... "There are about 15 people here who would take her home, if you didn't want her anymore...."

The best story from being at the hospital:  We were in the Women's and Children's Tower at Bryan East, on the second floor.  My parents sent get well balloons and a teddy bear for E.  I'm not sure if the flower place messed up, or if the volunteers who bring the gifts to the floor messed up, but we received an "It's a girl!!" balloon bouquet!  The old lady volunteer brings in the balloons and walks across the room to put them on the table, she turns to me nursing a 15lb baby in my lap and says "......Congratulations....?" 
Yeah... I birthed a 15lb baby and lived to tell about it.... what up?

She's healed up and doing just fine now.  We found out that the infection was just a staph that was sensitive to the antibiotics and not MRSA (thank God!).... It came up pretty fast, and we are just supposed to keep our eyes peeled for anymore high fevers or anymore swollen or hard bumps.  There's not much we could've done to prevent it.  Hopefully we never have to go through this again; this is a first I hope to never repeat....