Baptism, snow, and...a bug?

After a very fun and eventful week last week, we entered into a less fun, perhaps slightly more eventful week this week.  Our week started off great, with the Baptism of our little Mattelyn, on Sunday.  We were the only ones there, just a small group of family and close friends, and it was absolutely perfect and personal.  Our friends Dennis and Jill (Mattelyn's Godparents), came the night before, and Jillian assisted me with mundane tasks such as new shower curtain hanging, and last minute tidying.  The day was perfect, sunny but cold, and we all headed back to the house for a small reception afterwards, spending the day with those we love.  It was nice, and at the end of the day, I even cried a little because it was over.  Being with family and friends is one of my most favorite things.







My euphoria was short lived however.  Not long into my slumber that night, I was awakened by a small crying voice at the food of my bed, "Moooommmmyyy."  I got out of bed to see little Regan Elizabeth standing there crying...and holding two palmfuls of vomit.  She proceeded to get sick every hour until 6am.  And then spent the rest of the day on the couch, in and out of sleep, looking so pathetic, and breaking my heart in the process.  I notified the rest of our guests that morning, only to find out that some others had had similar evenings.  Over the next week, we would learn of several people falling victim to this awful bug, including all five of us, and my poor father who became so dehydrated from it, he ended up in the ICU of the hospital with acute renal failure (meaning his kidneys were failing as a result of the dehydration).  He is much better now, and will probably be coming home early this week.  But boy, what a downer.  And unlike our previous week that was so hectic, we spent much of the week home and on the couch.  It was then that I realized a few things.  First off, I survived it.  Yes, even the nurse gets anxiety ridden for some illnesses, and for me, the one that frightens me the most is the stomach bug.  My children have been fortunate to never have gotten it up to this point, so I only had others testimonials to go by.  And whenever I knew someone going through it, I would privately quarantine myself from them for a few weeks (sorry friends).  Secondly, amidst all of this though, I did find a positive in the whole experience (part of my trying to remain optimistic).  I got to spend quite a bit of time just loving my babies.  It certainly was wonderful being a "Mommy-Nurse" to my most favorite patients.  Although the bug continued into this weekend, and confined me to the bed for much of Saturday, I am hopeful that it has done its damage here and can now move on.

On a lighter note, we experienced our first real snow fall for 2012, and the kids got to go out and enjoy some playtime, including Mattelyn, who was experiencing snow for the first time.  It is clear that Erinn is a daredevil, and loves to go from the tippiest top of the hill all the way to the bottom, the faster the better, and all while munching snow and talking the entire way down.  Regan is good for a few runs herself, but her little 4 year old legs tire quickly from the uphill treks, and she is perfectly content to come inside earlier than everyone else, and curl up to watch some TV.  Mattelyn has yet to form an opinion on the matter, we shall see where she falls in the spectrum...one of these days.

Despite our battles this week, we still had some wonderful things go on (as we always do).  Erinn brought home a spelling test that she got a perfect score on, Regan got to do "gynnastics" at a party today, and Mattelyn had her 4 month checkup.  She weighs in at a whopping 13lbs. 6.5oz. but is 24 inches long (yes, I have string bean children).  She has gotten the go ahead to start veggies in 2 weeks, and fruits 2 weeks after that.  Time to break out the old food processor!  So big so quickly, ugh.  Now why did I have to go and blink?

I am honestly happy to bid adieu to this week, and hope this next one is better.  But first, i'll leave you with my favorite Regan-ism of the week.  She would come up to the bedroom frequently yesterday to "check" on me, often giving me updates of what was going on downstairs.  When I asked her what Daddy was doing one of the times, she said, "he is holding Mattelyn in one arm and trying to get her to go to sleep, and he is looking at his phone while he holds it in the other hand.  I think Daddy must be magical."

Gotta love that kid...

Until next time friends!
-A

What's New?

Well hello there friends!  This last week and a half has been a very packed time period for the Williams Crew!  We have experienced quite a few firsts and a lot of new and exciting things.  I will start with Erinn. Not long ago, Erinn came to me and said that she felt something funny in her mouth.  It turned out that her adult tooth on the bottom was coming in!  That was all well and good, except that the baby one that was occupying that space was still there.  And not wiggly at all.  So, being the concerned Mommy that I am, and the fact that Erinn is my first (poor kid), I called our pediatric dentist.  They said they would take a look at it on Monday.  So on Monday, we packed up and all headed there.  Dr. Dhawan (whom we adore), took a look and decided that her baby tooth needed a little help.  He had her breathe in the gas through an elephant nose that smelled like strawberries, and talked her through the whole procedure, often asking for a thumbs up from her to know that she was doing well.  I don't think she even realized that he was removing the tooth.  Nor did Regan, who watched the whole thing!  In the end, her little tooth sat in a miniature plastic treasure box, she sat in the chair with a smile on her face, and I was the one who wanted to cry.  The only thing that was even slightly upsetting to her was that she had to hold the gauze in her mouth afterward, and she didn't like the taste of it!  That night, the tooth fairy came, and she got a $5 bill.  A little more because it was the first tooth, and also because she was SO brave.  And now the tooth fairy has a cute little tooth in a ziploc baggy in her Mommy box : )

Now I move onto Regan.  Every week, someone at Regan's preschool is able to take home the class bear named Parker.  And every week, Regan gets excited when Friday approaches, saying that maybe it will be HER day to take Parker home.  Well last Friday was the day!  She came home with Parker in his bag, with the clothes we had to dress him in, and the journal we would need to write in, to tell the class of his adventures with her.  I was pretty excited that it was this particular weekend, because we had a surprise for the girls, and Parker was about to experience something very fun.  We packed the kids up on Saturday afternoon and headed to my brothers house, just telling them that they would be having a playdate with their cousins Addie and Cammy.  Not long after we got there, and just before sitting down to dinner, we let them all know that we would be going to Disney on Ice!!  I think the adults were more excited to begin with, but they were about to learn that not only were we going, but we were in the front row!!  I personally think Parker was very excited as well.

Overall, I think Parker had a good time.  Despite being in a house full of girls!  And Regan was actually thankful to give him back as she thought he was too "heavy" to carry around.

Poor Parker

And last but not least, we move onto little Mattie Muffin, who has been trying so hard to roll over, and has begun to eat oatmeal (rice cereal) this week!  She is a bit sloppy with the process, likes to include her hands, and is not happy if you take your time getting it to her.  But overall, she loves it.  We are hopeful that she will be a good eater like her sisters.

Here Dad, let me help you get that to my mouth quicker.

I'm almost there!

This is the face that will make it hard for me to discipline her.

Other than those big achievements, Rob and I got to some projects we had been meaning to get to.  We finally got the girls responsibility charts hung, in hopes to encourage good behaviors.  We also got the chance to hang Mattie's "M" above her crib, and her beautiful picture in her room.

  I also began to work out and accepted a challenge from an old high school friend to lose 10 lbs in 100 days.  Sounds like it would be easy, but who knows.  Not only was I the vessel for three gorgeous babies, but age is not on my side any longer.  No matter what, I am very proud of what I call my Mom body.  I wouldn't have it if I didn't have my greatest gifts!  And tomorrow, I also go back to work, a bittersweet thing indeed.  Although I love being a nurse, being a Mommy comes so naturally to me, and is my first love.  I will hate to leave the girls even for the short time that I must, but know that my patients need me too.  

We are also looking forward to Mattie's baptism this Sunday, which I am sure will be much of the topic for my next blog.

Hope this finds you all well!  Be back soon....

-A

PS:  Still have to figure out that picture thing.  Bear with me...