Warning: Cuteness Overload

Thanks for all the prayers and kind thoughts. As a whole, we are doing much better. We are still waiting on test results, though, so until we get those, sweet Hosanna has to keep taking the bottle while I pump. So not fun.

Meanwhile, I realized that I had 172 pictures on my phone - apparently I use it a lot more than our actual camera to capture moments around the house, especially of our new addition. Here's a few (okay, more than a few!) pics of little miss Hosanna Joy to show how much she's grown over the past month:

*waiting at the hospital in January to have an ultrasound to test for hip dysplasia*

*first smile at just a month old*

*love this face*

*getting ready for church at one month old*

*playing with Daddy - of course she adores him*

*another church photo (and the lock screen on my phone, I love it so much)*

*she is definitely not a leave-her-in-the-swing-or-bouncy-seat baby - she wants to be with me. all the time. so here she is in the laundry basket...*

*found these antennae at the store on clearance and couldn't resist*

*trying on her piggy hat*

*hooray for the bumbo - she loves to be upright due to her stomach issues so the bumbo works wonders for us*

*just last night, after she screamed for an hour and I couldn't get her to calm down. We finally put her in a warm bath, and this was the instant result.*

I promise not to make every post about the baby; in fact, I'm working on some "interviews" with the other three kids, and maybe I'll worm in something about the Nerd too. Still, these pictures are just too cute to not share with the world, am I right?

Rough Week

****a bright spot in a very yucky week****

We did manage to get in the scavenger hunt for the kiddos on Valentines' Day, and the Nerd brought home some sweet stuffed animals and balloons for them as well. Other than that, this past week has not been much of a celebration. Here's a little timeline:

2/11 at 7:00 pm - the Spud develops a fever and severe diarrhea. He has to run to the bathroom often and needs assistance when doing so. Therefore the Nerd and the Spud set up camp in the living room for the night.

2/12 at 9:30 am - I head off to church with the other three kiddos, figuring that whatever bug the Spud's got, it'll pass over soon.

2/12 at 8:00 pm - It appears that the fever and diarrhea are not going away any time soon. It's my turn to stay up with the little guy, and his lack of eating and very pale face worry me.

2/13 at 3:15 pm - After many calls, I am able to get my little man in to see the doctor. She does a thorough check while he flirts with the nurses and tells them he is going to marry his mommy. :) All the usual things are ruled out, even a urinary tract infection. While we are waiting for some test results, Spud makes another run to the bathroom. This time it's bloody.

2/13 at 8:00 pm - I get to stay up with the Spud (and the baby!) again. This night is made even more fun by the fact that I have to collect three stool samples from one very stubborn and uncooperative little boy. ugh. gross.

2/14 at 8:00 pm - The Spud's fever is gone, but he is still very weak and sick. The Nerd offers to take the night shift so as to give me some rest.

2/17 at 6:00 am - The Drama Queen wakes up, complaining of stomach aches and chills. Oh joy - she is running a fever too and has the same bathroom issues. And I call her the Drama Queen for a reason - that girl is no fun when she's sick!

2/18 at 6:00 pm - I get a call from the doctor to inform me that one of the Spud's stool samples has grown a bacteria that looks like salmonella. I am surprised by this and wonder why it took a while to infect the Drama Queen then. I tell the lab tech as much and he puts in an order for samples for her too. I am becoming a pro at this. Meanwhile, Little Sprout has had a low-grade fever all day and has been very grumpy. It's hard to tell if she has diarrhea because she is only 2 months old.

2/19 at 5:00 am - I wake up with the same bathroom issues as the other kiddos. No fever thankfully, but miserable and definitely not able to go to church. The baby seems better, but the Drama Queen is still pretty sick.

2/20 at 9:00 am - I change Little Sprout's diaper and find a tiny amount of blood. I freak out and call the doctor. Well, I call a representative that puts me on hold forever and then finally get a hold of an advice nurse. After several more phone calls, my doctor and Little Sprout's doctor both decide they need samples from us too. Sigh.

2/21 at 7:00 am - I wake up completely overwhelmed. The baby is screaming, and I have to warm up a bottle for her because I can't nurse her right now due to the fact I could be passing salmonella on to her, which is very dangerous for babies. I desperately need to pump, the Spud (who is finally back to his normal self) has raided the kitchen again, the other kids are demanding me to make breakfast and kill a scary spider, and I still need to do these other stool samples.

Yeah. It's been fabulous. The Drama Queen does seem a lot better today; so I am hoping the baby somehow avoided all of this. And the Nerd. I can't have him getting sick too!

Valentines Scavenger Hunt

What is one to do to ensure that her homeschooled daughter receives a whole pile of Valentines on the holiday of love? Have a Valentines scavenger hunt, of course. All you need is a bunch of valentines, candy, paper, and a pen, and you're set to make this a tradition in your house. (The Drama Queen loved it so much that she asked if we could have a scavenger hunt for every holiday!)

Anyway, the night before Valentines Day I went around the house and hid sweet little valentines and candy for the kids, three of each in each hiding spot so no kid was left out. I then wrote out a series of (easy!) clues for the kids to use to find all their treats. Here is a little glimpse into the action: (disclaimer - our hunt took place first thing after breakfast. The Drama Queen had already gotten dressed, but somehow the Beast had become Spiderman during the night and the Spud had lost his pajama pants. I took photos anyway.)

Is It Two Months Already?!

Little Sprout celebrated two whole months of life in the Foster family on February 11. As an indication of her excitement, she offered up this crooked and completely adorable smile. We have been on the receiving end of a lot of these smiles lately. And our little bug started giggling this past week as well. She only does it for me, which I'm not hatin'.

At two months, Miss Sprout:

1) weighs 10 lb 13 oz.

2) measures 24 inches long!

3) wears mostly 0-3 month clothing, including the wicked cute jeggings with buttons you see here. :)

4) has mostly blonde hair on top and mostly dark hair in the back. very mulletish...

5) adores her new swing that her mother bought off Craigslist in a moment of desperation when the old swing died. (baby swings are not optional with colicky babies!)

6) hates clean shirts on Daddy, apparently, and makes all haste to adorn them with slobber and spit-up.

7) seems especially fond of he big brother the Beast. He gets the biggest smiles and coos anyway.

8) likes to "talk". a lot.

onward to one quarter of a year!