Our Five Ring Circus: December Updates

Friday, December 13, 2013

December Updates

I can't believe Christmas is less than 2 weeks away, and shortly after, the year will come to an end!  Time is flying by even quicker with Liam in our lives.  Our four children are doing a great job at keeping us busy!

*Liam is doing great!  His OT is amazing and his weekly sessions in our home are really giving him an advantage. He is unusually strong, so I'm sure that helps.  He recently wowed his pediatrician by rolling from back to belly during an exam and pushing up to give her the stink eye.  He is very social and loves to communicate with people.  I credit his supportive circle of family and friends and all the kids that surround him on a weekly basis! His OT said that his doctor at the DS clinic is truly going to be amazed when they see him at 6 months.   Honestly, with the exception of his size, I don't see much of a difference between him and his siblings when they were his age.

*Speaking of size, he finally passed Lily's birth weight (8 lbs 12 oz)!  He is almost to Lexie's birth weight (9 lbs 1 oz).  Our goal is to have him reach it by the time he turns 4 months old on Wednesday! He is gaining consistently now, so we only have to do weight checks every 2 weeks.  He is still way behind his peers in weight, but he has made wonderful progress!

*Liam had his ENT appointment at the hospital today.  We ended up waiting for 45 minutes, but Lily was occupied watching a building on fire across the street.  Liam's appointment went well.  They upped the dosage for his reflux medication, and said that it sounds like his Laryngomalacia (floppy airways that cause him to squeak and wheeze) is improving.  The doctor determined that he does not need surgery to correct it at this point.  Thank God!  His ear canals are extremely tiny, so he may need to have his ears cleaned out every year.  The doctor couldn't see his ear drums, even with the smallest scope they had! He returns in 3 months to visit the same ENT, but this time he will go to the Aerodigestive clinic so they can check his swallowing, too.

*While we were at the hospital this morning, I found myself thanking God that our children are so healthy.  It could be so much worse.  Other than a few minor health issues for Liam, which will most likely improve over time, he is in great health. We were surrounded by children with cancer, children with feeding tubes, children recovering from heart surgery, children in wheelchairs, and children with oxygen tanks.  It broke my heart.  We truly are very lucky.  Liam may not be the baby we were expecting, but he is perfect the way he is.  Yes, he will have lots of appointments to monitor his health and development, and some issues will most likely arise, but we're not dealing with something critical.  My thoughts and prayers are with all those children and their parents right now.

*Lily.  Oh, my sweet Lily.  She is a firecracker! She is finally tall enough to reach all the light switches in the house, and she loves to walk through and turn every single light on!  She is also the first of my children to dump out toy bins.  It drives me crazy!

*Lily has a flair for the dramatic.  She was acting up in the car last weekend and got scolded.  After crying for a few minutes, she got quiet.  After a few seconds,  she said, "Everybody says...No, LeeLee!  Stop it, LeeLee!  LeeLee cries!"

*Lexie and Dylan had their holiday shops at school over the past two weeks.  They were so excited to shop for their family!  It's such a special thing for them to do!

*It's likely that Grant will be moving to another company in the new year.  I hope it's a great fit for him.

*Marriages have their ups and downs, but right now, Grant and I are closer than ever.  He is my best friend, and we have so much fun together.  We work together as a team and our hard work is rewarded.  We have received so many compliments about our family lately, and I know it's because we stick together, and insist that our children have manners, treat others with respect, and be kind. Oh, they have their bad/sassy/rambunctious moments, but they truly are well-behaved the majority of the time. I am overwhelmed by the amount of love our children have for each other.  I hope they are just as close as adults!

*Speaking of children, the transition from 3 to 4 hasn't been very difficult. The only time it's challenging is when we're trying to get everybody ready and in the car on time or when all 4 need something at the same time!

*First and third grade homework is ridiculous.  Enough said.

*Everything breaks just before Christmas!  Dylan was devastated when his xbox broke last night, and I was bummed when my treadmill stopped working this week.  Dylan is now saving up his allowance for a new one (we'll make up the difference after he saves for a few months), and I'm sticking with workout videos until I can replace the treadmill.  I was having a great running streak, too...12-15 miles a week!  And now I'm punching myself in the face during cardio kickboxing.

*Oh, Christmas. We're not ready!  We still have most of our shopping to do.  We are cutting back this year, because the amount of presents under the tree the past few years was ridiculous.  We don't want to set the bar too high, because they will end up expecting so much when they are older, and that's when the presents are expensive.  Dylan and Lexie are still very grateful for everything they are given, even if it's a book or a pack of baseball cards, but we don't want them to become greedy. This year, we asked the kids to circle what they truly wanted from Santa from the toy catalogs, and explained that they had to be selective.  Dylan and Lexie did a great job.  They each chose a few items that were reasonably priced, and they put a lot of thought into it.  I truthfully have no idea what to get Lily or Liam.  Dylan and Lexie had/have so much to pass down to them, so there's not much Santa can bring.

So...that brings us up to date.  Mostly.  I always miss something! Right now, we're focusing on enjoying the holiday season.  We'll deal with the shopping aspect next week, and I'll pull an all-nighter wrapping next weekend!  We have our annual Christmas party with friends tomorrow, and next week we will visit Santa, go see Christmas lights, wrap up the last week of school for 2013, and bake lots of goodies!  We're going to enjoy spending lots of time with those we love the most!


11 comments:

  1. You have such an amazing outlook and you are so right! Nick and I talk almost every day about how blessed we are just to have beautiful healthy kids. It could always be worse. SO much worse. Glad to hear all the kiddos are doing great and I'm wishing you guys a Merry Christmas! xo

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  2. love your positive outlook on things! You have BEAUTIFUL children, that's for sure :)

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  3. First off, I miss you all so much!!!!

    So glad to hear about Liam!!! Its so sad the things some of the kids have to go through.....just breaks my hear :(

    Oh the DRAMA of a 2yo!!!!! Such little girls have so much sass!!!!

    I love holiday shops!!!! I cant wait til B is old enough to do this


    We are so not ready either for Christmas.

    hope to see you all really soon!!!! xoxox

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  4. You are so right, you are so blessed Liam is as healthy as he is and doing so well! I would be so bummed if my treadmill broke, I use it at least 3 times a week as it is so hard for me to get outside to run. I agree, homework these days is ridiculous!! Nathan has SO much! He does well with it, but I just don't remember having so much when I was his age.

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  5. I'm so glad Liam is doing so well! All your kids are so sweet and cute. :)

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  6. Glad to hear that Liam is doing so well! He's such a cute little thing! I think Lily and Bailey could be best friends. Two little drama queens obsessed with the lights! Love that your teaching your children to limit their requests. It's so easy to go overboard this time of year and spoil our little darlings! Good luck with the remainder of your shopping!!

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  7. We cut back on the # of things this year too! And next year we will even more because after this Christmas, they will not need much. Still trying to see if Disney as their big gift next year will be an option....

    Liam is awesome, that is all.

    Lily is so cute and the drama is too funny when it is not my own ;) Although when her and Charlie get together, whoa boy! haha

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  8. That's alot so you are super busy! Crazy right?? so glad Liam is doing so well. This was such a nice update to read : )

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  9. Christmas is coming way too soon! I don't want it to come mostly because I don't want it to be over. Love Christmas. So so glad Liam is doing so well, so truly great to hear.

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  10. I am as ready as I'll ever be for Christmas.. you sure are keeping busy!

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  11. glad to hear the good news for Liam and that his health concerns are minor!

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