Crawling update

For your viewing pleasure... a new movie of the speed queen!

I'll have to catch her at another time. I think she knew I was trying to get a new movie of her crawling. She wouldn't go for anything across the room, she would get distracted by something near her. Little stinker.

Raising the bars

After discovering Abigail attempting to stand up in her crib, we lowered her mattress the other day. I'm sure it won't be long before she does pull herself to standing, so to ensure she doesn't fall out of her bed when she does, we thought it was a good idea to lower her mattress.

Abigail continues to crawl all over the place. Although she's only been crawling for about a week, she already seems like a pro. Of course with the crawling comes getting into things she shouldn't. So far her favorite things are to head for the outlets and the tv. She's learning the word "NO" very quickly. She's been pulling herself up to her knees on many things but hasn't figured out how to get to her feet. I'm sure it won't be long before she's cruising around the coffee table and the living room furniture.

Austin was back to himself Thursday evening after his surgery. As I suspected, the large bandages over his ears came off that evening. He's done really well with keeping band aids over his ear since the large bandages came off. Hopefully we'll be able to wash his hair after he sees Dr. R on Wednesday for his post-op appointment. He desperately needs a hair cut too. Had I known they were going to take a piece of skin from behind his ear, I would have had his hair cut before the procedure.

Here are some pictures of Austin's first bug catch.

Austin's surgery

Before surgery

Austin's surgery to remove his tubes and reconstruct the hole left by the tubes went well this morning. He headed back to the operating room with the anesthesiologist this morning at 7:10 am and Dr. R came to talk to me at 8:10 am to let me know the procedure was over and things went well. Austin's anesthesiologist turned out to be the same doctor who did my epidural when I delivered Abigail.

Still sleepy from the anesthesia

Taking a cat nap

Austin was so brave today, I'm so proud of him. He didn't shed a tear when they took him back to the operating room or when he was brought back to me. He's been really sleepy from the anesthesia and has a little bit of an upset stomach. He's gotten sick a couple of times but is now eating some Cheerios. I'm hoping once he gets something solid in his stomach he might feel less nauseous.

Dressed and ready to go home

Still sleepy but he's got his Spiderman sticker on!



In the stroller and ready to head home

Details regarding the procedure:


Dr. R stated the left tube was no longer in place but was still in his ear. The tube was still in his ear because of some dry bloody discharge. He had to remove the right tube because it was still in place and attached. They used a piece of skin from behind his right ear to use in both ears to close the holes left by the tube. From the picture below you can see that he has a band aid over the skin graph and a big plastic bandage over his ears. Dr. R would like the bandages to stay in place until his follow up appointment, next Wednesday. It should be interesting to see how long they last. If the big bandages come off they instructed us to keep a band aid over the skin graph site.

Surgery Day

Austin has to report to the hospital at 6:45 this morning for his surgery. We've been told the procedure will only take 10-15 minutes and should expect to be at the hospital between 2-4 hours. I'm so glad his procedure is this morning. He can't have anything to eat or drink until he wakes up from anesthesia. He usually heads right for the refrigerator for a drink as soon as he wakes up. I'll let you know how he did when we get home.

We're in trouble now

Abigail has finally figured it out, she's crawling! She mastered going from sitting to her belly and then back to sitting over the weekend. She was getting so frustrated when she would get on her hands and knees because she couldn't figure out where to go from there. She would get so mad and scream. As crazy as it may seem, I was getting anxious for her to figure out how to crawl. I'm sure it won't be long before she's pulling herself up on the coffee table or the couch, she loves to stand up and her little legs are really strong. Let the races begin!

Going for a bike ride

I finally decided that Abigail was big enough to ride in my bike cart. Although, I wasn't quite ready for the bike ride! While the scale shows that I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight, I just don't feel the same. So I thought maybe I would start riding my bike with the kids in the back to get some exercise. Of course someone had to point out that we were only gone 6 minutes before we pulled back into the driveway, but I was pooped. Now I just have to motivate myself to get out and go for a ride more often. Abigail did well; however, had slipped to a more reclined position by the time we pulled back into the driveway. Boy was she mad! Austin, like always, was shouting for me to go faster throughout the entire ride.

Show me your teeth

You can really see Abigail's teeth now. Her new favorite thing is the Gerber Sweet Potato veggie puffs. She's starting to figure out how to mash things with her gums but she can't quite pick them up between her little fingers yet. She's going to be wanting table food in the next couple of months. I have a feeling she's going to eat anything and everything. She loves her veggies, unlike her brother, and will eat just about any of the fruits, with the exception of Hawaiian Delight. She's like a little baby bird, she already has her mouth open by the time you get to her mouth with the next bite!

And of course Austin had to show me his teeth too! It probably wasn't a good idea to take a picture of their teeth while they were eating.

William Tell Overture for Moms

I got this in an email from my Mom. It's hilarious!

Four generations

Pictured are myself, my Grandma holding my kids and my Mom.

Trying my luck!

I'm trying to win a custom template for my blog. The templates this girl makes are awesome! Wish me luck.

The scooter

My Mom bought Austin a scooter and a bike at a garage sale to ride while we were at their house visiting. Austin loved them both and got some really good use out of them. Here's a short video of him riding the scooter. He was so fun to watch!

Time to say good bye to the tubes

Austin visited his ENT (Ear, Nose & Throat Specialist) on Monday for a tube check. Dr. R has decided that his tubes may now be causing more of a problem than they are doing good. Austin is going to have surgery next Thursday (October 4th) so Dr. R can remove the tubes and repair the hole in each ear caused by the removal of the tube. He will be placed under general anesthesia for the 10-15 minute procedure and will get to go home afterwards. It should provide us with a low key day as he will be pretty sleepy after the procedure. What a great 25 months we've had with the tubes in his ears. Let's hope we don't have any further issues once the tubes have been removed.

Austin also has an appointment this Thursday to have his allergies/asthma re-evaluated. I'm not sure if they will be able to diagnose anything at his regular doctor, or if they will refer him to an allergist. He has never officially been diagnosed with asthma, but his doctor asked us how it was when he had his three year physical. I'm also hoping he has grown out of his milk allergy. He doesn't seem to be effected by milk products like he used to. I have a feeling that we may have a hard time getting him to drink milk or eat cheese if he isn't allergic anymore. He knows that he is not supposed to have these things and will tell you if he is offered either milk or cheese.

We're home again!

I've been slacking on my blogging lately! Although most of you shouldn't be disappointed since we were in Michigan visiting and you got to see us in person! If you didn't get to see us, I apologize for the lack in posts.

I'm proud to say that Abigail did wonderful on her first airplane rides! I was a little nervous because she's not the biggest fan of the car. She handled the flights really well, and the crews really worked with me on the flights by moving us to the rear of the planes so we would have more room. I was also very excited to finally see Austin after not seeing him for five days. I missed him like crazy.

The Friday after we got into town my Mom and I took the kids to the mall and went to the Build a Bear Workshop. Austin made a Superman Bear and Abigail made a Fairy Bunny. They turned out so cute. When I asked Austin what he wanted to name his bear, he blurted out "Pokey" before even thinking about it. After stuffing Pokey he needed a bath. Austin had a blast giving him a bath. Apparently Pokey also needed a lunch before checking out, so he left the store with a sandwich, chips and a cookie in his lunch box.

On Sunday after we got there, which also happened to be my birthday, we had a BBQ at my parents house. We got to see a lot of family and some really good friends. It turned out to be a great day. It was so good to see everyone. Here are some pictures of Austin and my Dad working out in the yard the day before the BBQ.

Monday morning we headed to Grandma and Grandpa Ringman's house to spend a couple of days. We stopped to see Grandpa and Nana Ringman when we got into town. We were very lucky because we caught them just before they left for a two week camping trip. Grandpa spoiled Austin by taking him out to the barn to show him his tractors.

Austin thought Grandpa and Nana's deer were for riding!

On Tuesday we went to breakfast with Austin and Abigail's Great Aunt's Judy, Tenia and Debbie. We were then off to see Grandma and Grandpa Mills.

After seeing Grandma and Grandpa Mills we headed to Grandpa Ringman's work because Austin wanted to see him. Austin tried on Grandpa's hat and was ready to go to work with him.

Austin was such a big boy at Grandma and Grandpa Ringman's house. He slept in his own bed both nights we were there. On Wednesday morning we headed back to Kalamazoo. We then met up with our good friend Sara. After meeting up with Sara we headed to Kohl's for some shopping with Grandma Great. After shopping we headed to have Chinese for dinner.

Thursday Grandma and Grandpa Richards treated us to a day at Binder Park Zoo. Austin had a great time seeing the animals and an even better time riding the train and the tram to their Wild Africa Exhibit.

Friday was our last full day in town so we did a lot of relaxing. We went to Grandma Great's house in the afternoon and then picked up some dinner on the way home. We got to hang out with cousins Lisa, Brad and Braylin for a little bit before we turned in for the night.

Our flights on Saturday went without a hitch. The one flight I was worried about was the flight from Chicago to Dallas. The entire flight generally lasts for an hour and forty minutes. Austin fell asleep on the runway before we even took off and slept until we landed on the ground in Dallas. Abigail also slept for 3/4 of the flight which provided me with some good reading time! We were all happy to get home and into our own beds. For not sleeping through the night for three straight weeks Abigail finally started sleeping through the night again on Sunday night!

We had a great time seeing everyone! Too bad we don't live closer!

More vacation pictures

****WARNING****

This is a very long picture post. I took about 80 pictures the last week. Here are some of my favorites!

Austin & Riley doing what they did most of the week - giggling!

Abigail playing on the bed while the other two goof around!

Baby Brenden as Austin calls him!

Abigail - ready to go to breakfast

Abigail with Grandma & Grandpa Ringman

After we went to breakfast we went to a park so the kids could play. Austin wanted Uncle Ben to take him down the slide.

Abigail at the park

Aunt Gigi, Uncle Ben & Brenden

Austin & Grandpa Ringman

Riley going for a ride in our stroller

Austin & Riley sliding at our hotel. They had a really nice playground at the hotel, the kids had a blast.

Hmmm...what way should we go?

Grandma got to chase the two monkeys around

While Uncle Ben was at work one day we went to the Jefferson Davis Monument. We rode the elevator all the way to the top. Austin got a great view out the windows courtesy of Grandpa!

Grandpa, Grandma & Austin at the Monument.

After seeing the Monument we headed to Chuck E Cheese.

Austin got brave climbing until he got stuck at the top...

At which point his Daddy had to rescue him!

Concentrating on a game

Of course we had to play skeet ball again. Austin didn't get as excited as the last time he played skeet ball, but he still had fun.

Abigail even got a chance to drive Chuck E Cheese around

Like Austin, Riley loves to play play doh. Even Grandpa joined in the fun.

Grandpa made Austin a silly hat.

Like I said before, this is the first time in about 2 years that we've all been together. We had to take the opportunity to get a photograph.

Bill & Ang went from a family of 4 in 2003 to a family of 10 in 2007.

After we took the group photo it was time to say good bye.

Austin & Uncle Ben

Riley & Uncle Michael

Riley, Michael, Ben & Austin

Austin and Riley gave each other a bunch of hugs. They had fun together the entire week. Aunt Gigi has faster fingers than I do, she got a picture of them giving each other a kiss. They're never going to live that one down!

After we said our good byes we headed back to the hotel to pack up our things. Austin got to make the trip home to Michigan with Grandma & Grandpa until Abigail & I arrive on Wednesday.

They would have taken Abigail too but she didn't quite fit in their suitcase and they wouldn't be able to get very far with out her Mommy!