Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Carving Year 6!

We hosted the 6th Annual Pumpkin Carving with the Anstines this weekend.  We have carved with them since the little girls were in the NICU.  Things have certainly changed since then.  This year, the girls had lots of opinions and offered up lots of help.

My girls had been talking about their pumpkins for a full week with vivid imagery.  Due to the pumpkin shortage and our illnesses delay, we were left with very few pumpkins to choose from and forked over a hefty amount of cash for the chosen three. This year, Adeline was set on a happy pumpkin.  In fact, she didn't want to give him a name but requested we all just refer to him as a happy pumpkin.  She tried very hard to carve some of the pieces.

Lila caught onto Savannah's idea of carving a kitty and wouldn't let go of it.  At first, she was going to have three pumpkins - Bert, Ernie and a rubber duck.  Luckily, Daddy worked hard to carve out a cat to Lila's liking.  I believe Lila caved one of the ears all by herself.  It took a very long time.  Her pumpkin evolved into a cat named Erika and then into a princess kitty. Only one person in this family would put a crown on a pumpkin!

Savannah came up with another original design for a cat.  I didn't help her at all except for carving out the whiskers and the tough part of the mouth.  Everything else was done by her mind and hand.  I think it was our best pumpkin this year.  It fits my big girl!

After the first few pumpkins were carved, the parents were left the remaining few. 

Here is the final product.  Not shabby. . .

Even better. . .

4" Later

I can't even light the pumpkins we carved last night! I don't know about you, but I am not ready for gloves, hats, snow pants, boots and melted puddles of snow cluttering up my house.  Apparently my girls are. . .

5 Year Check Up

We trekked the girls into the city for their five year old check ups yesterday.  We continue to see our "special baby" doctor who we started with five years ago.  At the time, we needed a doctor that was familiar with one pound babies and all their tubes and monitors.  While we aren't such a special case any more, we have earned a bit of a celebrity status at the office and feel that driving over and hour each direction is worth it.  Before we could even check in, our doctor came out to the waiting room to see the girls as well as three nurses and a nurse practitioner.  This is a city pediatric clinic that is packed all day long.  How they remember us from year to year, I will never know.

Miss Adeline was very nervous for her appointment.  Medical establishments still shake her to her core.  She talked Nurse Robin out of the squeezy squeezy (blood pressure cuff) and only had to produce a height and weight.  Here are her stats. . . (and a picture of her from her Halloween party at school today.)

Adeline is 32 pounds and has dropped below the 5th percentile.  She is going to be petite - not real shocking news.  Adeline is 3 feet 5 inches tall and is working hard to hang onto the 25th percentile for height.  Not bad, considering her start.  We talked about calories and growth and the consensus is that she has laid her foundation in the height and weight department.  There isn't a lot we can do to change the fact that she is so tiny.  Dr. McNett offered up a new Pediasure that has more calories and we plan to make the switch since it is Adeline's breakfast.  She goes until lunch without anything else in her tummy.

I should note that I LOVE how tiny she is.  She is so easy to hold, so cute with her mature face yet very tiny body, and best of all, she still fits!  She fell asleep on me tonight.  I love that she can snuggle right into my lap.

Lila Grace checked in much bigger and braver.  She hopped up for the blood pressure cuff and didn't cry when getting her flu shot.  That was a shocker!  Lila enjoyed telling everyone that she was five and fed right into the celebrity status I mentioned.

Here are Miss Grace's stats. . .(and a picture of my current fever queen!)

Lila weighed 37 pounds!  Yes, that is five pounds more than her sister.  She hangs at the 25th percentile for weight and at the 50th percentile for her height of  3 feet 7 inches.  All three of my girls are long and skinny!  Not such a bad thing.

We left the office over two hours later.  The girls were super stars since we were well into the dinner hour when leaving.  Dr. McNett had nothing but good things to say about the girls.  Their outcome continues to amaze me and their doctors.  The girls are social, happy, sweet, loving, cute and, so far, hanging with their peers academically.   Did I mention that Lila is up to 70 on her number ring!

We are so darn lucky! 

October Moments

This month has passed too quickly.  We just finished our second weekend of being sick and Adeline is still running a 102 fever.  That coupled with lice is enough to set us back at least a month.  Regardless, I feel the need to post some memorable moments.  Or possibly, this is a post to reassure myself that we have gotten out and done something fun instead of battling homework, number rings, racing to various forms of swim practice and other electives in which the girls participate. 

Late last month, Lila's hermit crab died.  It got a little too confident and started to run around without a shell.  Not a good idea when there are two other crabs in the cage.  Savannah's crab caught it and violently picked it apart.  Honestly, I watched the whole thing.   Needless to say, there was a heavy heart in this house and a lot of talk about Heaven.

Here are the girls pretending to be two happy happy hermit crabs.  Lila selected a nifty shell.

Next up was apple picking.  We try to get to the orchard every year.  This year, we chose Columbus Day and boy, was that a mistake.  Everyone else decided to do the same thing.  We quickly filled our bag and left but the girls liked it just the same.  Lila was too busy bowling with fallen apples when I tried to get a picture.  Here are my other two happy pickers and juggler.

The girls have been on their best behavior this month so when they asked if they could sleep in their sleeping bags last week, we told them yes.  Here they are so happy to be sleeping on the floor instead of their beds that are only two feet away.  We thought they were so cute, especially when snuggled up close.  Looking back, all I can see are little tiny louse crawling from head to the other.  YUCK!

We took the girls to Dutch Wonderland for an early trick-or-treating. They recycled last year's ladybug costumes. It was a great night. The weather was perfect and lines for rides were minimal. After the girls collected their candy, Savannah put on her brave face and rode the big roller coaster with Daddy. She liked it so much that she went back for a second ride. The little girls were content to play in this little tiny playground. Where else would one find a TRAIN and a DUCK (I know it isn't a duck but Lila requested that I call it one so that both girls had their "favorites!") Pictures were taken with my phone. . .

This past weekend, we visited Cherry Crest Farm.  It is an annual tradition and is by far the best farm we have visited.  Unfortunately, the Belle ended up in the car with a fever while I took the other two girls around.  Luckily, we had two other families join us which helped fill the void for the girls.  I was sorely disappointed and Adeline was too.  It wasn't a photo heavy trip because I was missing my littlest one.

All Adeline could talk about was doing the Apple/Tennis Ball Slinger. With fever and all, my little determined girl drug herself out of the stroller to sling a few balls into the sky. 

The favorite attraction is the Bouncy Pillow.  Lila and Charlotte had a great time bouncing while Savannah and her friend bounced on the big kid pillow.  I must admit that it looks like a lot fun!

Here the girls are peering out of a their newly constructed life sized Lincoln Log house. 

Savannah and I hopped on a wagon ride together.  There was a day when she wouldn't ride alone and I would have to crawl in with her.  I didn't appreciate those rides as much as I appreciated this one!

Adeline's Words

Miss Belle has taken off in the reading department.  She can decode and has many sight words under her belt.  She powers through the Bob books at an impressive rate.  To prove that she is an emerging reader, she decided to leave daddy three notes while he was on a conference call.  This is what he found.

No help, no prompting.  Pretty good handwriting for a girl that has significant fine motor delays.

Itch, Scratch, Arrrrgh!

The beginning of a pile. . .

The hum of a sanitizing wash. . .

Stripped beds. . .

Vacuumed mattresses and floors. . .

Bunnies in air tight bags. . .

And many things popped into the freezer to speed the process along. . .

The tool. . .

The pile after a full day of washing. . . yes, it is bigger now.

Any guesses?


Lice x 2!!

It Feels So Good. . .

This week belonged to Savannah.  She was a shining star in all areas of her life.  Sunday, she ran her fastest race ever!  Tuesday, she was moved up to swim with more competitive swimmers at her swim team practice.  Thursday, I was contacted by her teacher who wanted to discuss meeting Savannah's needs in the classroom.  Even in a new school, Savannah continues to operate well above grade level!  I am very happy that learning is easy for her and she can enjoy the benefits.

In the middle of all this praise and success, Alex and I found an envelope waiting for us.  Click to enlarge the picture in order to read the letter our little girl spontaneously scribed with love.  She may run fast, swim with a mature stroke and out perform grade level expectations, but what I am most proud of is who she has become!  Savannah is gracious, compassionate and over flows my bucket with love.   Raising her is complete joy and ease!