Women's Conference and Other Stuff

This past weekend was our women's conference at church. The theme of the conference was about learning to have an authentic relationship with God. Late this winter, we had an 8 week study on a book written by Angela Thomas called "A Beautiful Offering". The conference was an extension of that study. My sister-in-law Becky did a great job teaching the women. The team worked really hard and everything went very well. We had a girls night on Friday night after the conclusion of the first session and it was a lot of fun. People bring different healthy and sweet treats and we vote for two winners. The food is always so delicious. We played games, did zumba, watched a movie and stayed the night. The pictures above were the only ones out of about 30 that turned out. UGH I miss my camera phone!

Bellie loves going through the mail when it comes. I had to laugh just listening to her talk to herself as she's looking at all the ads. She'd see a picture of something and just yell out in excitement. "CHIPS! POP! ICE CREAM!" I heard her say "Oh, that's lovely." She's funny.

 

Speaking of this little sweetie pie..sinner.

We're learning about always telling the truth, even when we might get into trouble.

April Showers of..Sickness.

When the calendar turned to April, I had to laugh that my first thought wasn't about wondering how much rain we'd get this month. Actually, my first thought was about wondering how many sicknesses we'd get this month. Last year, April hit us really hard. All 5 of us had influenza A (Bobby ended up hospitalized) then got the stomach flu (as did dozens of our family members), not to mention it was the same month that Bob's grandpa had gotten seriously hurt and later died and I had a miscarriage. We had not one, but both of our transmissions go out on us that month. It was probably the most difficult month our family had ever had. It was also the same month though that we applied to be foreign missionaries with the International Mission Board. We are still in the application and interview process a year later, so there is no update about that as of yet, but as I look back on that month, though I want to forget it and hope we never have that many difficulties in such a short time again, I can see how God was with us through it all. He was near to us in our heartache, He healed us from all our sickness, He provided for us financially, and He determined our steps.

Anyway, back to the sickness part.

Our first round of sickness hit yesterday. Isabelle woke up at 6am crying saying her stomach hurt. She threw up around 8am and was sick and on the potty chair until about 2pm. The first thing I always try to do is figure out what I fed her that could have made her sick. I had given her corn Friday night which is one of her food allergies, so I was thinking maybe I'd discovered another trigger. (Not all of her allergies cause her to have GI reactions it seems). I was pretty pleased about the possibility of discovering a trigger that when I went to get Ilya out of her bed, that whole theory was shot down cold. Ilya had thrown up in her bed. Awesome.

Bob had to work Saturday, so I was on my own with two sick girls and one rambunctious little boy. Thankfully, after 2pm, Isabelle was back to normal and has been fine since, and even slept through the night. (She mentioned yesterday that maybe sleeping in her bed all night is what makes her tummy hurt. Nice try.)

Ilya went back and forth from feeling good to feeling bad all day. By the early evening she was running a low-grade fever. I gave her some tylenol and fed her dinner and she started to act more like herself again. She got down from her high chair and immediately went over to the table and started eating Bobby's food. Girl was hungry.

We put her to bed around 8, and she woke up at 11:15. I brought her downstairs and got her some water and laid her back down. She was quiet for about an hour and then I heard her start crying again. I knew that was too easy. This time she'd thrown up again in her bed. I got her and her bedding all changed and brought her downstairs. It took about an hour and a half for her to be sleepy again. She finally went back to sleep around 1:45am and slept until 8am. She feels a little warm this morning, but is acting a little more like herself.

Hopefully, the three of us who aren't sick don't get this stomach bug. 

Egg Hunts and Easter

Randoms

Last week we had new windows installed in our bedrooms upstairs! Our previous windows were in horrible shape, so it's a relief knowing that it's finally done! Since the window guys (or as Bobby called them "Daddy's brothers" were working upstairs, I didn't have a place to lay Ilya down for her nap. It took me awhile, but I finally got her to go to sleep on the couch. I laid her down and went and grabbed my huge camera (I miss my IPhone camera so much!) and in that short amount of time, she woke up again. I'm glad I at least caught a cute picture of her laying down for 2 seconds. Eighteen month olds don't typically stay still for that long.

Our kids aren't the best eaters. They prefer kid-friendly food and not weird stuff. (They have their mother's palate. Ha!) I made Bob a tart cherry pie one evening and Isabelle kept asking if she could have some. She asked if she could have some before bed. She asked if she could have some for breakfast. She asked if she could have some for a special treat if she stayed in her bed all night. I was really surprised she wanted some so badly. We also had some leftover raspberry Danish that a friend had given to us and Bobby wanted some of that. I had to take this picture because I couldn't believe they were eating this stuff! They loved it!

Speaking of Isabelle and eating.....yesterday Isabelle had her appointment for the Lactose Breath Test and meeting with the dietician. She is NOT lactose intolerant! The dietician also said that since she hasn't had any problems with stomach cramps and such since removing eggs from her diet, that there is no need to remove any more items from her diet at this time. (I don't think I mentioned on my blog that her blood work had revealed several moderate food allergies. In addition to the almond allergy revealed through a skin test, she's allergic to egg whites, wheat, corn, shrimp, dairy, peanuts, and sesame.) So, we are thrilled with that report!


As mentioned before, Ilya loves to climb. I thought it was so cute that she was looking at this little book. Goofy sweetie.

Stages

I was thinking today about the stages each of my children are in right now and I have to say that I think all three are in such different, but fun stages. There's just something extra special about each of them at this time in their lives and I want to remember these times as much as I can.

Isabelle is 4 and just delightful. She is getting so big and so easy to care for. She is such a big helper to me and she's just very sweet. She can be a pistol, too, but she has such a caring heart. She is so sweet with Ilya, and she's always wanting to comfort Bobby after he's gotten in trouble. She has a great imagination and I love to watch her play with her dolls. Anything can pass for a doll. Even a bag of flour! Here are a few sayings she's said recently:

• Isabelle: Mommy, when  I grow up I can get married. Me: Oh yeah, who are you going to marry? Isabelle: I want to marry a prince like you did.
• Isabelle: (pretending to talk on a calculator) Hello, Daddy? Mommy is sad. Can you bring her some skittles then her will be happy."
• Isabelle: "Bobby, when I was a little boy I got to wore your shirt. Then I turned back into a little girl and I said 'Whew, I'm free!' and I got to wear my dress again."

Bobby is nearly 3 and is ALL boy. He loves to play roughly, wrestle, pound on his dad and grandpa, and his sisters and mom, too. He loves superheroes like Batman and Spiderman, likes playing with trucks, riding his motorcycle toy, and is just fun to watch. I took the kids out into the field behind our house the other day and he was running around like crazy, jumping in the mud and snow mixture, wrestling the tall blades of dead grass near the tree line (which he later picked a few and told me they were flowers for me), jumping off the fallen logs, he was a free little boy and I could hardly keep up with him. The girls wouldn't leave my side and were trying to avoid the mud, but Bobby was covered in it.  I like seeing Bobby be wild and crazy (ever read "Wild at Heart"?). He still does have a few fears which are pretty funny, really. He is scared of puppets, the theme song from Thomas and Friends and rap music let's hope that one stays. Here are a few of his funny sayings:

• We are trying to teach Ilya new words. Isabelle: Ilya, can you say eggs? Bobby: Ilya, if you say Batman I'll share my skittles with you.
• Bobby: Mommy, can you carry me upstairs? Me: Sure, I need my little boy! Bobby: I need my big mommy, too.
• Me: Bobby, come here. Isabelle: He can't. He's in timeout. Me: Bobby, come here! Bobby: I can't. I'm in timeout. Aba's in charge!
• Bobby: Thanks for holding my strawberry, Ilya. I'm so proud for you!
• Bobby: Hey, Tiny. Bobby: Hey, Big Guns.

Ilya is 18 months old and learning new things daily. She likes to copy our words. If I count 1....2....she'll say 3. If I say ready....set....she'll say go. If I say duck...duck....she'll say goose. She climbs on EVERYTHING. The dining room table is her favorite thing to climb on. She climbs on the shelves in the laundry room, the toy shelf in the living room. If Isabelle brings a chair into the kitchen, it doesn't take long for Ilya to climb on it and mess around with the microwave. Baby gates are our friends around here, because Ilya can climb the stairs (can't go back down them, though.) She has a sweet little laugh and a beautiful smile. She finally likes to hold Daddy's finger in the car. She loves baby dolls and teddy bears. She's a great eater. Here are a few of her favorite words.

• Lucy
• Daddy
• Lucy
• Mommy
• Lucy
• Bobby
• Baba (bottle)
• hi
• Lucy
• no-no
• Bappa (grandpa)
• E-ya (her name)

I'm so grateful to God that He created these little ones and placed them into our family. Bob and I love being parents to our little friends. Today, the older two have their first dental appointments, and we plan to spend a lot of time outside since the weather will be nearly 70 degrees. I must close for now though because Ilya is on the table making a mess and Isabelle and Bobby just dumped a whole bag of shredded wheat on the couch. Awesome.

March Happenings..

My mom bought the kids their Easter outfits and I can hardly wait to see them wear them and get a nice family photo shoot done! We are ready for spring and green grass around here.

 

 

I searched for hours online for a cheap, modest yellow dress so that I could match the kids. I finally came across Rosewholesale.com and was very pleased with the selection and prices. I've never ordered clothes online before, so it was interesting. The dress was delivered internationally within 5 days and with shipping only cost $19. I still can't believe it.

I am trying out abcmouse.com for Isabelle and Bobby for free for 30 days. It's an educational website that supposedly is very helpful at teaching little ones how to read, etc. Bobby knows and recognizes the alphabet, but Isabelle does not. We don't get much past the letter B before she forgets it, so I have been a little worried. She is so good at memorizing songs, etc, but I'm not sure why she has a hard time with recognizing letters and numbers. She is loving the "school" lessons that she's been doing for the past few days. She asks me if she can do some more school when she finishes her lessons. It's kinda neat to watch her navigate through each activity. Bobby likes his lessons, too. They often sit together and help each other. I had to laugh when Bobby didn't want to take a break so he could use the potty chair. Instead he put it on the table. Good grief!

Last Wednesday I took Ilya to the doctor because she had had a runny nose for two weeks and she just wasn't kicking it. They checked her out and she also had an ear infection in her right ear. They prescribed an antibiotic for her and said to give it to her for 10 days. Monday afternoon, she woke up from her nap with a few spots on her cheeks. By this morning (Tuesday), she had 12 little pimple-like spots on her face and neck and a few in her mouth, but nothing on her hands and feet. I took her to the doctor this afternoon, and in the short amount of time she also was getting some on the bottom of her feet. So, she has hand, foot and mouth disease. She's been more fussy than normal and isn't sleeping well. Poor baby!

As for an update on Isabelle, some of her bloodwork came back and she has several food allergies. She has moderate allergies to egg whites, corn, wheat, dairy, shrimp, and sesame. She has a mild allergy to peanuts. These are all in addition to her almond allergy. She has a lactose breath test scheduled for the 18th and we will meet with a nutritionist that morning, too. For now, the GI specialist only wants us to cut out one item at a time from her diet. So, for the past two weeks, we have not been giving her eggs.