Ezme's Eye Exam

For those of you who don't know, today we took Ezme to see a Pediatric Ophthalmologist. Both myself and our Pediatrician were concerned that she was unable to focus or track objects that were in front of her (especially the face or a bright object) when we took her last week for a well-baby visit, she was unable to even focus or track a flashlight. Nor did she blink or shun away when the flashlight was put directly in her eyes. This called for concern, so an appointment was made right away to get in to see the doctor. Our fear was she might be blind. Dr. Donahue's office was booked until March of 2010 but because he is good friends with Dr. Flynn, he was able to get us in today.

The Doctor was great. At first her report said she was 2 months old. Because of this, he wasn't as concerned. But when I corrected him and told him that she was 3 months old, his concern grew at that point. He did say that her eyes look great. No blockage, cataracts, or glaucoma. He said from what he could tell (now mind you, she is still quiet young) her eyes looked good for a 3 month old. However, she is definitely not focusing or tracking any type of object. He said that right now he is diagnosing her as "VISUALLY DELAYED" There is chance this all could correct itself and no need for worries. We made an appointment to see Dr. Donahue again in 3 months. If things have not gotten better and especially if things are getting worse and she is not reaching milestones at appropriate times, then we will go back earlier. Until then, its a wait and see. Which as every parent knows, IT SUCKS!
Until then, I will keep you posted on how she is doing.

Don't Forget to Vote

Voting is open for the poll DO YOU HOME-SCHOOL! Just look on the sidebar. I would love to find out how many people really do so! So vote vote vote.

And if you would like, I would love to hear comments. All are welcome.

Olivia and Mommy at the Beach

 

Picture of the kiddos

Mommy, Olivia, Emma-James, Owen and Ezme

 

Spring Cleaning Day 2

The Upstairs Portion of my house!

3 Bedrooms and 2 closets

Wash, fold,and organize all the laundry
Wash all bed sheets 6 beds
Wash windows
Clean out toys (time to donate!!)
Vacuum all 3 rooms

The upstairs should be easier as its not too too bad. Its just more time consuming. Hopefully it wont be too hard as Jason will be at work all day and we have to be at swim lessons at 5:30pm (leaving here at 5pm) So I plan on accomplishing everything on my list not only with all 4 kiddos, but with all 4 kiddos upstairs the entire day with no access to the downstairs as its already clean!
Hopefully this wont be so bad. I will just designate one room to their play and clean the rest and save the worst for last. We shall see. I'll keep everyone posted again on my accomplishments. Again, encouragement is always welcomed!

Spring Cleaning in NOVEMBER??

Yup, today I decided what better day to so-called SPRING CLEAN my house then today. We are heading out of town on Wednesday for Thanksgiving in Maine. And I wanted the house to be clean when I come home. It will be just about 3 weeks from the time we come back until we leave again to Maine for Christmas. Lets not mention the fact that I will be having Girl Scouts, Swim lessons and Christmas parties going on for the entire 3 1/2 weeks we will be home in December. So today is the day. I just hope I can actually finish it by tomorrow night!

So for fun I thought I would keep a tally of all the things I have done so far. Check back often to see what I have accomplished. Encouragement is always welcomed!

11-22-09

*I have actually finished

Downstairs Part of House

*Moved furniture in living room. swept and vacuumed.
*Washed Mirrors and windows
*Washed Floor
*Organized School cabinet
*Vacuumed floor
*Moved furniture
*Wash walls
*Wash windows
*Washed Floor
*Organized cabinets
Wash floor (this is last since our kitchen connects all the rooms up and down)
*Cleaned off counter-tops
*Washed toilet, tub, shower, sink
*Washed floor
*Washed and organized cabinets

Keep coming back to see what I have finished. This is just the downstairs part of the house. I still have 3 bedrooms and 2 closets to do upstairs.

COMPLETE!! COMPLETE!! COMPLETE!! COMPLETE!!

Done for the day. Night all.

It's A Girl

I just want to give a shout out to Seth and Janelle Pillips and the big sister Abby. They had A GIRL this afternoon. Rachel Marie Phillips 7lbs. 14 oz. and was 19 inches long. A peanut!! Hugs to all of you guys. Can't wait to see pictures of the new family of 4!!

Sweet Saturday Mornings

Happy Saturday Morning!! Daddy slept in until just now. The plan today is to get the house cleaned and organized before we leave next week for Maine. I am going to jet out later to get my hair cut. I look like I have a fur ball growing on my head. Hard to believe I just had it cute 5 weeks ago. Ugh, it grows too fast.

I am waiting for the arrival of my friend Seth and his wife Janelle's new litle baby. Since they live in Arizona, the time will affect when I find out. Hopefully he will text me as soon as he can. They have an adorable little girl Abby. I am sure she is just as excited to become a big sister. We can't wait to see pictures and find out if you are a little boy or little girl!

Emma-James holding Ezme

 

Nothing in particular

Dear fellow blog readers. Its about time I finally started my posting. I have taken so much free time its crazy. A lot of things are happening in our life. She is by far the biggest and tallest baby to date. She is a sweetheart though. Very lovable and loves to cuddle. Her favorite thing to do these days is to be carried around EVERYWHERE. Though she usually will settle and prefers her bed during her long afternoon nap and her bedtime. Speaking of bedtime, she is the best sleeper ever. She usually goes down between 8pm and 8:30pm and will sleep until the next morning usually waking up between 8am and 8:30am. Its awesome too, because the two little ones, Emma-James and Owen go to bed at 6pm. Olivia, being the oldest gets to stay up longer and enjoy some reading time or homework, and usually goes to bed when Ezme does.

The older girls are busy with there swimming lessons twice a week at the Cumberland High School. They swim for BLUE FISH SWIM CLUB and absolutely love it. Though if you had asked me last year, I would have told you there was no way we were going to get past the first class. But the girls are doing fantastic. Both of them now are able to swim on there own, float on there own, swim under water and even jump without fear. The girls are slowly started to swim from one end of the pool to the other without assistance. They need to grow stronger and continue to work hard, but I think in a few years they will be doing the competitive swim. Olivia and Emma-James are super excited for the day they get to swim with the BIG KIDS.

Owen is busy being the ham that he is. He just finished fighting off a nasty cold that I swear has been with him for more then a month. He hasn't felt that great at all. Cranky, miserable, unwilling to do anything. But his mood seems to be better today, so I am excited to say I might be getting my happy down to earth Owen back. FINALLY!!

Well that is all for now. I am sad that everyone has missed out on so much of the kids growing up, and even more sad that I haven't been able to write down all the stuff we do, just so the kids will have it for when they grow up. But at least I am starting now!!

Kiley

Anabelle's Memory

Here is the Memory card we put in each of the "A is for Annabelle" books. Hope you enjoy.

 

Anabelle's 5th Birthday!

Wow, I am still in shock that 5 years ago today Anabelle was born. So much has happened in 5 years. We got Chloe our dog, we bought a new home, we found Moose our kitty. Emma-James, Owen and Ezme were born. We remodeled the inside of our home. Made a beautiful waterfall in the backyard to bring the butterflies in memory of her. Purchased a new van. Traveling to Disneyworld. Jason and I got married!! Celebrated 5 birthday's without her. I truly could go on and on. It makes me sad sometimes knowing how much she has missed out being here with us. But I try to remember how happy she must be in Heaven with her Grandma and little brother or sister. We miss her terribly, but I know that someday I will get to hold her and love her again.

For her birthday this year I wanted to do something special to remember her 5th birthday. You know, 5 is special because you are now a WHOLE HAND. This year I donated books in Anabelle's name to our Pediatrician's office. "A is for Annabelle" by Tasha Tudor. I told the girls (aka the nurses) to hand out them out to children who would be visiting Dr. Flynn in her office today. Here is the snippet that we put in each book.

Pregnant with Anabelle Taken October 2004

 

Anabelle trying to sleep

 

Anabelle December 10th 2004

 

Christmas Family Photo 2004

 

It truly was a wonderful day. My heart still aches for her to be with us here. I never was truly sad about the diagnosis, the outcome or her passing. The fight for her is what kept me strong, and the time with her is what kept me alive. I cherish all the memories that we were able to make with her.

I LOVE YOU MY SWEET ANGEL ANABELLE! XOXO from your daddy, Olivia, Emma-James, Owen and Ezme too.

Well-Baby Visits for Owen and Ezme

I took the kiddos to see our Pediatrician today for their well-baby visits. Owen was suppose to have his last month, but due to the rising numbers of kiddos going in with the flu, our Pediatrician called and said it would be best to hold off. LOVE HER!! They did a great job, we were there for 3 hours because of the high number of sick kiddos, but I didn't mind. I enjoyed the time that I got to talk with the staff and just hang out quietly. So nice.

Here are their stats:

Owen at 2 years old.

Height 38 1/2 inches

Weight 28 lbs and 4 onces

He received just the regular non-chemical flu vaccine up the nose and we decided to hold off on other shots until next year. No rush. Since they don't go to public school I don't have to worry to have them done by Kindergarten. Owen is doing fantastic! evelop over the next couple of months. Here is a list of things my little man can do now at 2! She is amazed at his skills already. Here is some of the things my little man has mastered already.

* Can speak in 3 or 4 word sentences. Ex. "Mommy...I love you." or "Mommy, where is me pacie?"

* Can jump on both feet (3 years old)
* Can kick a ball
* Can climb on EVERYTHING with ease and keep up with big kids on the playground
* Loves to read and flip through books appropriately
* Has been sleeping in a BIG BOY BED (twin size) since he was 22 months.
* Feeds himself with appropriate utensils at every meal
* Eats EVERYTHING
* Will answer questions you ask him with correct answer. Ex. "Owen, do you want more cereal?" (Yes please)
* Uses please and thank you on his own
* Loves his big sisters and dots on his baby sister
* Is funny and loves to smile
* His favorite things in his life are his Nemo blanket (just a white fuzzy blanket) his duck and his penquin. Must sleep with them every night.
* Is complete boy. Loves his trucks, dirt and mud.
* Favorite show is "Peep in the big big world"
* Is a daddy's boy but loves his mommy too
* Can name everyone in our family and extended family
* Can name of all of his body parts, point to body parts on himself and others
* Can say animal names such as Moo for Cow, Oink for Pig, Meow for Cat etc.
* Can put pants and socks on himself
* Attempting the potty

It wasn't me in the sugar mommy!

 

Ezme also had an appointment today with our wonderful Pediatrician. She did great as well, and enjoyed the quiet at the office. She good a great nap, until we woke her for a quick weight and height check. And with this, we had to make her naked. Not so happy. Her stats today were:

Weight 11lbs. 2oz.

Height 22 1/2 inches.

She also needed a shot today (we are holding off on others for awhile) and had a liquid form of medicine as well. All in all the kids are doing great. We will not be recieving the H1N1. Since the kids aren't in public schools and we are keeping the kids safe when we go out in public, we decided against it. I had a long discussion with my doctor and I just don't feel comfortable enough or have enough reason to give it to my kiddos who are otherwise healthy. I rather save it for those who truly need it the most. I will share however Ezme's accomplishments at 2 months old:

* Can hold her head up when on her belly
* Is starting to smile and giggle
* Is able to grasp objects if put in her hands
* Is sleeping through the night from 8pm - 8am or later
* Loves the sound of daddy's voice
* Loves to listen to the T.V.

At the moment Ezme is only tracking objects that are a far distance from her face
(6 inches or more) so she will be visiting a pediatric ophthalmologist Tuesday the 24th just to be sure its not something more serious. At first we thought she might be completely blind, but we have noticed that she will try hard to focus with lots of light in the room. So we will see. I promise to keep everyone posted. Until then, enjoy a picture of the little princess.

Ezme 2 months old