Doctor Escapades

I realized today that I haven't done any updates on all the doctor appointments we've had going on.  Mixed in with this will be some photos I also found on my phone with other little updates.

 

Ellie got her ears pierced in June.  While I was of the mind she should wait until she was 12 like I had to, she begged and begged.  I finally made the deal with her that she could get them pierced but she'd have to use her birthday money to pay for it.  She readily agreed.  (So in hindsight, since we gave her money, we ended up paying for it, but oh well!) 

 

Ellie chose to get her birth stone, which is the emerald, for her studs.  At this point the studs are still in.  She did try to remove them this past weekend but one of the holes looked a little funny the next day so we bought some rubbing alcohol and swapped back to the studs for the time being.  While I'm still not sure she's old enough to handle the maintanence of pierced ears, I will say she looks pretty cute with her earrings!

 

Ellie also had her 9 year check up in July.  She's at the point now where we only have to do well-child visits every 2 years.  Ellie weighed a whopping 56 lbs and is 50 inches tall (for reference, Carter is 53 lbs!).  She is still in the teens for percentiles on weight and height but as she's always been a peanut, she probably always will be.  Ellie also went in for her annual eye exam and picked out some new frames.  (sorry for the poor pictures, these ones were on my cell phone)

The little buddy went in for an incision and drainage surgery for his chalazion (blocked oil duct) under his eye on August 3rd.  To add to the summer of E's 9 year check-up and eye exam, Carter had to have a pre-op, go in for the surgery, and have a post-op.  Here's the poor boy after he got home that day.  While the surgery is just a small incision in his eyelid and then a scooping of all the matter inside the oil duct, he had to be put under due to his age.  Apparently children don't sit still for the 20 minutes or so this procedure takes.  Anyway, following healing of the spot and Carter's follow-up, guess what?  The bump is STILL THERE!  The doctor said this was the largest chalazion he has ever seen.  Apparently the matter was much more than was in just the bump.  It basically extended from the end of his eye to about where the iris ends.  The gunk was also solid so required actual scooping versus draining, hence it not all being removed (I guess. Personally, do the job right and get the crap all out is my opinion).  Anyway, we were told to hot pack and massage the bump several times a day while the incision was still open to clear the goop out.  I did so and saw nothing more come out of the buddy's eye.  He goes in for another exam in September and I will be curious to what the doctor will have to suggest now.  Neither Jake nor I am very impressed with the fact that the bump is still there after all we went through in an attempt to remove it. 

Not to be outdone on the doctor fun, Hannah had first an ear infection and pink eye that required a trip to urgent care one evening in June and an 18 month check-up in August.  Hannah weighs 26 lbs and is 34 inches tall.  That puts her in the 75%ile for weight and 95%ile for height.  A good size little girl!  She is really coming into her personality lately and is fun to be around.  Here she is helping unload the dishwasher.  She does the silverware every time.  She even puts them in the drawer.  I just need to get her a stool so she can put them in the correct spot.

Hannah is also a little busy bee and loves to get into mischief.  When we are out back grilling, she loves to run around the house to the front.

Jake scolded her for running so she put her head to the ground!

 

So upset!

To end, here are the twinks sleeping in one morning.  I will put up pictures of the rearranged rooms once I feel they are completely put together.  However, since moving the kids around, everyone has been really good about sleeping in their own beds.



You may have noted that Ava has not been to the doctor yet this summer.  In her defense of being healthy, I do think she racked up enough doctor experience last year!  Poor girl deserves a break!  She did have a piece of bubble gum one day the last weekend of July and pulled another crown out.  So Ava did get a bonus trip to the dentist to get that recemented in.  As you can see, much of my summer has been spent shuttling kids to various appointments!  On the plus side, we've already reached our deductible for the year so everything from this point on is 80/20 split!  There's always a silver lining!!

Another Night at the Park

A week or so ago, Ellie had a birthday party on a weekday evening.  We were trying to pass the time until we needed to pick her up so the rest of us headed to a nearby school playground to play.

Climbing up the rock wall

Since the Olympics, the children are fascinated with gymanstics and swimming.  Here Ava is showing me how she is just like the "Flying Squirrel"!

He made it!

The bridge kept this girl entertained

Anybody know where we can find some bloomers or have a pattern so I can sew up a few pairs?!  Ava loves her dresses and skirts and doesn't seem to care that her undies show!

I am going to have to start following Ellie around with the camera to document one of her days.  I feel like she is never in any pictures but the playdates and social events have really stepped up now that she is about to enter 4th grade.  In the last few weeks, she has played over at a friend's house, had a birthday party, and gone to an open gym at an area gymnastics studio with another friend.  I am sure this is only the beginning and in a few years, our house will just be a place to change clothes and sleep!



Majeski Family Reunion

Grammy and Grampy made a trip to Minnesota August 1st-6th and the kids were overjoyed to get to see them again!  The main reason for the trip was because it was my mom's year to plan her family reunion and you can't plan the reunion and not show up, but we'll take a visit from them any way we can get it!

In honor of their arrival, Jake grilled steak and zuccini kabobs.  (I thought I would be kind and post this for him.  I've had to take photos of all his grilling masterpieces this summer but have not shown them so this will make him happy!)

While Jake grilled, the kids ran around out back while the adults attempted to visit.

The wonderful thing about the older three getting older is that we can occupy them with games now.  They played bocce ball with Grammy.  Hannah tried to play too but she just got in the way!

So we gave Hannah her own ball to throw and chase.  She also snagged my Coke and ran away with it as she isn't supposed to have pop.  Little scamper!

My parents and Ellie headed down to Daly Park to set up camp on Friday.  We went down on Saturday for the family meal and games.  We aren't much a campers and the little scamper who has no fear is not someone I would want to take camping yet anyway.  She wandered around the campgrounds like she owned them!

The twinks played at the playground across from the camp sites.  We didn't see much of Ellie when we were there.  She was off playing with my younger cousins, who are only a few years older than her, and also some of my cousins' children, who again are right around her age.  She had a blast!

Hannah's favorite part of the reunion (aside from the big open spaces to run in) was all the woof-woofs.  She loved my cousin Emily's dog.  Sam is super friendly, well-trained, and used to kids so he was perfect for her to love on.  She also found several other family dogs to attempt to kiss and love too.

Sadly, Grammy and Grampy had to leave.  Hannah didn't want them to go.  Since they've left, I've been asked nearly every day when they are coming back and why do they have to live so far away.  It's nice that the kids are old enough to not need the warm up time like they used to.  My parents moved when the twins were about 9 months old so the first few days of a week long visit where spent getting comfortable.  Now that they are older, the kids pounce on them the minute they come in the door!  Since the older three show no reservations, Hannah warms up pretty quickly too.

We miss you Grammy and Grampy and we'll see you again sometime soon when the weather is colder here!

July in a Nutshell

Since it's already August, here is July in a nutshell:

Carter showing off his super cool ability to mis-match his socks and walk his toy dog at the same time!

I was playing with my camera settings and got this picture of Ava.  Poor kids are tired of being my guinea pig models while I play with all the settings on my camera!

Hannah is under the impression this bike is hers.  She enjoys sitting on Ava's bike and going for a "ride" around the driveway!  She's such a big girl that she may be able to ride it next year!

The water was a little colder than Hannah was anticipating....

She can't figure out why the cold water is still touching her!

Ahh, that's better!

Ava was trying to play with a bunch of the babies the other day.  Hannah likes to come along and "join" her.  Annie is her baby so Hannah stole her back along with a few blankets and then sat down next to Ava like there was nothing wrong.  Little girl is truly a menace!

(side note: for those who may remember, Annie -in Hannah's arms below- was my doll.  I got her from Great-Grandma Wussow when I was about 4 years old.  I loved her very much.  Hannah is the only child who has treated Annie with the best of care and love so she has become Hannah's baby now.)

We've been keeping plenty busy around here.  I'm not sure that I've sat down in almost two weeks.  I painted Ellie's room, we moved rooms around when my parents were here, we had a family reunion with my mom's side of the family, numerous doctor appointments for everyone, a surgery to remove Carter's chalazion (blocked oil gland), back-to-school and fall shopping and prep, and some work at my father-in-law's school.  Thank goodness I color-coordinate the calendar so I can keep track of each family member and all their activities!

More on all we've done to come!

Georgia Trip: Savannah and Last Day

For our last day in Georgia, we decided to split up.  The ladies (minus Ava) went into Savannah to scour all the squares for pictures and letter art (I did succeed in finding letters for "Wendorff" but have to figure out how to put it on here) while the boys and Ava went to the beach for a last swim in the ocean.  I love all the lush green spaces in Savannah and all the history that is there.

The Mercer House (from the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil )

Love all the iron and scrollwork all over the place in Savannah

Hannah was thrilled to be touring many of the squares in Savannah

Fountain in Forsyth Park

Love the ivy covered house!

After the ladies finished touring Savannah and the boys and twins finished up at the beach, we met at a bowling alley for a little fun.

Hannah was overjoyed at being contained again after spending several hours in the stroller.

We ended our last night back at Grammy and Grampy's where I actually made sure to get a picture of the grandparents with all the grandkids.

The original Ramaker clan

A1 and A2 (For obvious reasons, I'm A1.  First, I'm the oldest and second, I'm the best!)

Uncle Al and the kiddos

We had a wonderful time visiting my parents.  And it only took me 4 weeks to put all the pictures up!  Of course, the primary reason I wrapped it up today is because we have the rest of July to fill in yet and my parents are flying in tonight to visit for a few days and for a family reunion.  So maybe in August I will finally get caught up!