January 2013---Tillie gets the flu, my hands still won't open, Benny has another ear infection, life treks on

Ahhh, there's nothing like taking all three kids to the doctor by myself! I'm a regular veteran now.  Don't let these cute faces fool you, they get crazy when we're all cooped up in a tiny room!

Poor Benny wasn't sleeping well and extremely fussy in the night, so I took him in and sure enough, another ear infection. :(

 We got some antibiotics and came home. After I fed him, look who was all wide-eyed and bushy tailed?! :)

His expressions kill me dead! haha! Poor boy felt so miserable, but still mustered up all the grins.

We're still not sure what to do about my hands that won't open up. It's just so strange. These shots was taken as I went to bed at night, and in the middle of the night it just gets worse and worse with less use. Sometimes it is so bad that I have to have Aaron come and pick the baby up from the crib. Mostly, I just make fists most of the time to try and scoop him up.

 Sweet baby boy in the middle of the night. I love having solo time with that dolly.

But yes, you can see how much more curled my hands are in the middle of the night. We'll still keep guessing...

 I love seeing Benny's wide-eyed face when he's gulping down his bottle. I give him a bottle once a day so he's used to it if I ever need to go out during a feeding. He LOVES that bottle!

 We got a bunch of red frames to put the kids' artwork in after I saw an idea online. Tillie was helping me to envision the wall. I love her as my little design assistant. She thinks it's just as fun as I do!

 While I nurse, this is my view when I look down.

 And this is my view when I look out. Love that these kiddos play so well together.

Tillie took this shot of me with my two boys to send to Dad. Did I mention that Aaron went out of town on a ski trip to Utah? So, we've been doing life solo and miss him so much. 

 I kept Tillie home from preschool b/c she was starting to feel crummy and sleeping a TON---which is NOT like my Til-Bil. I knew something was up.

 When she woke up, she was pretty weak, so she decided to lay down on the floor and create a nice little picnic for herself. That girl is something else. Quite the spread, eh?

 Still feeling miserable, I took her into the doctor's office. She fell asleep in the exam room while waiting for the doctor. If THAT doesn't speak volumes, I don't know what does!?! Poor baby.

Turns out that second dr's appt in one week was LEGIT.  Tillie came down with the full-meal-deal FLU! And, the DFW Metroplex was completely OUT of children's Tamiflu---so she had to take the adult version and I had to crush the pills. They tasted nasty! And if you know Tillie, you know she is a DISASTER when it comes to taking medicines. Let's just say, it was really, really, really a hard week. But, this photo below made it look like I was cool, calm and collected with a super clean house. ;)

poor flu girl. I love that even when she feels COMPLETELY miserable, she still popped her hand for a pose. Hello! haha!

While Aaron was still gone, I wanted to let him know that we were surviving and thriving, regardless of all our maladies. Here I am giving him the best "peace" sign that my crooked fingers could do! HA!!! do I look well rested or what?! haha!

And, lest we forget the wee lad, don't you worry! That antibiotic was making him feel lots better. Here he is in one of my MOST favorite shirts ever!

Here's what I posted on instagram below... a little collage.

And, because I couldn't help but compare all the kids at this exact same age, here's a photo comparison. Tillie and Benny are cut from the SAME mold. I mean, hello! Same faces! And Cal is doin' his own thing, but looking oh, so cute in that orange stripey number too!

 Tired of feeling sick and unproductive, Tillie decided to "bow up" and make a DESK for Calvin. A styrofoam desk. With painters tape. She was getting frustrated that her tape was sticking together and I caught her saying, "Oh for goodness' sake!"  She is such a funny gal.

Aaron is back!!! Hallelujah! 

He came out to jump on trampoline with the kiddos. Tillie's spirits were up for a little bit, as seen on this nice expression below.

 Started jumping and got bonked and then sneezed---poor girl. Glad dad was home to comfort that baby dolly. So sad!

Cal, on the other hand, was ready to play! :)

 Crack the egg sounded good to Til, go figure! I love seeing these two side by side.

 Amazing what nice weather, dad coming home, and fresh air will do to ya! Running and running!

Benny even caught a few rays after he was screaming his guts out inside. (Notice the blotchy face---I passed that gene on to him. You're welcome, child. You're welcome.).

New day and Tillie is feeling better enough to do legit jumps!

And get messy with chalk! So nice to see this girl get back into the action!

While Aaron was gone, I had lots of time to think of projects that he could do when he got back. ;) Hanging up photos was high on the list! He's getting REALLY good at this game!

Aaron is in charge of the Webelos in our ward, so he decided to make rock candy with them. We got to have them sit on our counter for weeks. That was fun. ;)

 Aaron grabbed a pic of what we do best---nightly baths! All three kids love bathing and I love bathing them.

 Tillie's latest spread on their night stand.

 Cal LOVES to be a sidekick in the kitchen. I love that Aaron did the same thing with his dad growing up. Here they are cooking some eggs for dinner.

 Another sign that Til was feeling better---TOMATO soup. This girl LOOOOVES tomato soup. So happy to see her eating finally! For over a week she didn't want to eat ANYTHING!

 Thankfully, she felt well enough to accompany her dad when he came to preschool to talk about dental care! She was THRILLED  to have her dad come to school. And Cal? He was happy to be included in the photo. ha!

Speaking of happy campers---look at my mini Santa Claus!!! Those cheeks!!! I die!!!

wait for it, wait for it... BOOM! Baby squirrel storing up nuts for the winter!!!

I'm getting started on Quilt Market prep with our new fabric line that is coming out for KOKKA fabrics! I thought it would be fun to design some dolls for the occasion to display. Here are my mock ups. 

We started Benny on rice cereal. He was... concerned. :) 

 With Aaron back in town, we decided we should see a neurologist, since the rheumatologist had no answers for us. Here are my hands at the appointment. He did all sorts of tests, nerve tests, etc. and what do you know? No answers. Said we should get an MRI.

 Luckily, I was able to get into do an MRI that very day, but let me tell you, it was not fun. I had to shove my hands in a form thing that stretched them open so wide and I thought I was going to die. And you have to lay so still! Then they did one on my head/neck too---that wasn't so bad, but I couldn't help but think of our friend's sweet little Jaylie who had to do MRI's all the time with her brain cancer. I can't imagine these little kiddos having to stay so still! I was a wimp!

No answers from the MRI, sadly. But! I heard about a physical therapist here in the area that was supposed to be great, so I went to her and she listened to my woes, and looked through one of her fancy books and came up with some ideas as to how to fix me! These pictures were VERY exciting to see!

 Benny was ALSO very excited at the news. :)

 Come on! Was there ever a happier baby that lived? I think not!

 Almost at the end of this LOOOONG post. Aren't you glad? Let me leave you with a highlight of the month---this mantle display from Tillie. Complete with Aquaphor, Baby Magic and chalk markers. She loves to decorate!

 Aaron and I are very fancy and decided Pei Wei to-go and a chalk board was the perfect way to celebrate our 8th Wedding Anniversary! Thanks for the pictures, kids!

 Eight years later and I feel REALLY glad that we were so smart and married each other! 

We make a great team!