Wednesday, January 27, 2010

I know, I know...

I said I was going to post pictures last night.
Unfortunately, the memory card reader has DISAPPEARED!  I have a plan...but plans take time...stay tuned...
OH! And by the way, Micah has less spots today...could it be we found the cause? Or is it just a coincidence...

Your're Invited...Take Three!

To the Baptism of
Micah David Wilhelm
Sunday February 7th at 1:15 pm
St. Mary Queen of Creation
50931 Maria Street
New Baltimore, MI 48047
Please RSVP when you can
Sorry about the late notice!
(Yes, we are back to the original date.  I'm a bit scatter-brained these days.  Forgive me.)

And while I am at it...
Jonah's First Communion will be
April 18th at 1:30.
Just in case I forget to mention it in a timely manner- as is my tendency.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Update

Lots of updates...I'll try to be brief (Yeah, I know. Me? Brief? ha!)
Computer...So my hate of Acer runs deep these days.  They called on a Tuesday and told me it would be $200 to fix the screen.  But I had to pay by Thursday!  We couldn't decide, finally decided to go ahead and do it on Thursday, but their offices were already closed. (They only have service hours 8-5:30, and I have 4 kids making it to difficult to do anything on the phone during the day!) So Friday I call after Bryan gets home.  Sit on hold for TWO HOURS. Not kidding.  Long after they had closed.  Never spoke with anyone.  I was livid.  Monday I called back again.  Gave the lady my service number and was asked "And WHY are you calling?" Not nicely.  I explained I wanted to pay for the new screen.  She informed me that the computer had already been shipped back to me.  But I could refuse it and not have to pay to return it again.  I was even more livid.  So Bryan did some research, found the screen for $85 on Ebay brand-new.  He was able to remove the old screen without any trouble, so he ordered it.  It came yesterday, and VOILA!  I have a computer again!  And Bryan NEVER ONCE said anything mean about me breaking the last screen.  (Probably because I walked around crying about it for a month.)  He just took care of it and didn't complain.  Now the laundry... that's another story.  I should probably stop typing and get back to that...(Actually, I'm feeding Micah so I have a reprieve.)
Micah... is hanging in there.  He's 6 weeks old today.  At his one month appointment he was 10 lbs 11 oz and 23 inches.  They were happy with his weight gain.  He's still jaundiced.  But it is slowly fading.  They said up to 8 weeks is normal since he is nursing.  Maybe not so normal is that he has a rash on his face, and keeps getting hives after eating. I showed and discussed this with his doctor (whom I like and respect) and she told me that the rash was just from dry skin (not that the skin looks dry) and that the hives were just contact irritation from touching my skin...even though they were in areas that don't touch my skin like the middle of his forehead.  Long story short, the rash has gotten worse and looks remarkably like Noah's when he was a baby.  Noah was allergic to cow's milk- and got a rash even when I had any dairy.  Talk about a pain.  Did some research and cow's milk protein is by far the most common food allergen in breastfed infants.  In fact, I found info that said 42% of infants with reflux have an allergy to cow's milk.  And only 3% of infants without reflux do.  (Not sure where this info came from, as it's not cited.  And I'm not sure I believe it, but interesting nonetheless.)  So we are going to try to eliminate ALL dairy from my diet for 3-4 weeks and see how he does.  Apparently, milk protein can stay in my body for 1.5-2 weeks and in the baby's for that long after it's out of mine! If nothing else, hopefully this will help me lose weight since I can eat virtually NOTHING.  At least nothing prepackaged.  But that's good for the whole family to be eating less prepackaged stuff (right?!?!) So the hope is that sometime in the next month Micah will be spot-free, significantly less fussy, and sleeping in his own bed- during the day and at night.  Probably too much to hope for, but I am still optomistic!  It's stuff like this that makes Bryan say "and you REALLY want more kids?"  Haha.  Usually. 
Selah... and then there's Selah.  Sweet, cute little Selah.  Who is major pain in the rear.  First of all, she's SO LOUD!  I guess you have to be when you have 3 brothers but WOW!  And she still doesn't sleep through the night.  In fact, she's worse ever since she got that nasty cold the kids all had after Christmas.  And poor Bryan has to get up with her- as I just can't do them both.  And her adoration for Bryan is actually quite ridiculous. She's like a whiny lost puppy the second he walks in the door. Follows him around whining whenever he isn't holding her.  I am the equivalent of pond scum if Daddy is around.  Unless she gets hurt.  And then she likes me a little.  She LOVES bath time.  She starts saying "bath, please" repeatedly as soon as she finishes dinner- and sometimes following breakfast and lunch. She will beg for a bath if she manages to find a way into the bathroom or sometimes even when she sees someone go in.  And if she walks past the closed door she will often pound on it yelling "BATH!"  The boys started swim lessons, and she saw the big pool and started saying "bath, please."  I guess it's better than hating the bath, right?  All in all, she's a sweet heart who loves to blow and give kisses and we really enjoy her.
Jonah and Noah are both doing well.  We are back to school and Noah has decided he likes it now.  YAY!  He's actually learned a ton this year, mostly from playing and watching Jonah.  He always has 20 questions, so I know he learns a lot that way, too.  (And try to remember that when he'sdriving me nuts with his questions.)As I said, they are both in swim lessons and loved their first class.  Even Noah who I thought might have to withdrawl.  But he did well.  Bryan taught Jonah to swim last summer, but we want him to learn to swim better and he had tons of fun, so I'm glad we decided to do it (pictures to follow soon.) Jonah also went skiing for the first time a couple of weeks ago.  He loved it, and asks every week to go again.  And although it is offered every week, Bryan can't take off that often (especially since he took a month off when Micah was born).  Plus, even with our homeschooling group it isn't THAT cheap!  They will go again next week Thursday, and this time we will make sure the battery is charged in the camera.  Check back for those pictures next week.
Well, that;s all the news here.  We are anxiously awaiting summer.  One, because we are all sick of the cold weather, particularly as we haven't had a good snowfall yet.  And two, becuase we hope to buy a house at the end of summer and we are anxious to have a little more room to spread out!  The boys are constantly talking about how things will be "once we have a big house again!" 
Now on to that laundry!
I will try to post pictures while up with Micah tonight.  The camera is in the van...which is at Bryan's work today.
OH! And the lack of pictures has been due to the fact that my new phone (YAY!) will not post on the blog or facebook.  I have no idea why.  Working on that...

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

OOPS!

I totally forgot to post the link to the hospital pictures of Micah.  They have come a LONG way since Jonah's were done!  But if you still want to see them (even though he's now 5 weeks (!!!) old) you can click here.

Monday, January 18, 2010

I LOVE VERIZON!

I know that someone out there undoubtedly hates Verizon.  But I LOVE them.  We have been with them since we first got to WA in January of 2002 and I have NO complaints.  None.  Well, except that they are more expensive than some of the other companies- or maybe all of them.  But they have unbeatable coverage and outstanding customer service.  Worth the extra money! 
Turns out the problem with my phone is the keypad...and it's still under warranty!!! (Even though I don't have insurance.)  What a relief.  They are sending a new one (of COURSE it isn't in stock at the stores) and it will be here Wednesday.  I am so relieved it isn't funny.  Bryan and I have gone through 17 different options, trying to decide what is best for us without being ridiculously expensive.  But this is best of all- cost nothing.  And they MIGHT be able to transfer all of my data, they don't know for sure but the lady said she thinks it'll be possible.  (Hopefully they won't charge for that since this isn't my fault, but we will see.  I have all my phone numbers in that phone and they have no way to back them up with the Blackberries.  Stupid in my opinion.)
But I will be back to my old number sometime on Wednesday, I'll let you know when.
Now I am off to see if Acer is working today and pay them a million dollars for a working computer...

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Life, part 2...

So apparently it wasn't enough to break the new computer.  No, life wasn't "rough" enough with only my phone for internet once again. I had to find a way to make it "rougher" and somehow break my phone, too.  So now, I have no internet.  Like at all.  Well, a little because Bryan has a Blackberry and a laptop for work, but since he has those at work all day and at class 2 nights a week and, well, the rest of the time things are too crazy for me to use the internet, not much. 
I have no idea what happened.  I didn't do it this time (I don't think.)  It was working fine before lunch and after, not working fine.  The key pad won't work.  And insurance on it was $6 a month, so I opted out.  Of course.  And a new Blackberry would cost me about $400.  NOT going to happen.  So for now I am using Bryan's old cell phone, you can find the number in my facebook profile, or you can email me and I'll get back to you ASAP.  (I'm not posting my cell phone number for all to see on the internet!)  But I think that Bryan's phone is eligible for an upgrade in March or so...so maybe then I'll upgrade his line.  Except that I was going to cancel his line.  SO...for now, you will not be hearing much from me.  Sucks, I know. HAHA.  I do believe that we are going to replace the screen on the new laptop though, so maybe it won't be that long.  Acer ONLY wants $200 for a new screen (plus applicable sales tax) never mind we had the computer 8 days.  AHHHHH!  Decisions.  If only I had a money tree...or maybe a paying job...

Friday, January 15, 2010

Our newest family members...

There are 25 of them...and if you can't tell (because it's a close up) they are ants. Yes, ANTS. 25 ANTS. Bryan found an ant farm on clearance...and just HAD to buy it. Apparently our life was not complete without 25 Harvester ants. This is some space age kit, so the have this gel they tunnel in, which also provides their food. We have had them about 24 hrs, and supposedly they don't even start tunneling for the first 24-48 hrs, but I guess we have a good batch. They were tunneling a couple hrs after arriving. They are, admittedly, pretty cool to watch. And, thankfully, they are not spiders, so I guess they can stay. For now.

Read these 3posts backwards

Why did she not care when I took her marker away? Oh, because she had a whole stash and went right on back & got a new one!

Gasp! How did that get there?

(Continued from post below.)
Selah is claiming to be clueless as to how her hand became orange. And although you can't tell, her other hand & pjs are also orange.
This is why I only buy washable markers & crayons. Oh, and she didn't mind me taking her marker away at all.

Uh-oh

Somebody moved the stool so that the steps faced out (A). And somebody left the markers on the table(B).
A) meant Selah put the steps down & climbed up for a better view ( and reach) of what was on the table.
B) meant she got the box of markers & opened them.
A+B = uh-oh.
Not only did she get the box open & dumped the contents on the floor, but she also ran round with an open marker.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Our new niece!

My sister Rachael had a baby this morning at 12:45. Contrary to what was believed, she had a GIRL! Her name is Alazay Ryan and she was 6 lbs 1.5 oz and 19 inches long. I will post pictures as soon as I get some! Congrats Rachael, Ryan, Jacoby & Brianna!

How we keep Noah quiet at church

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Noah singing to Micah

It's hard to hear, but he's singing deck the halls. And Mr.Micah is 4 weeks old yesterday-and still sleeps a lot.

'Helping'

Selah is "helping" Jonah with his schoolwork. (As in helping to distracr him!)

Next Christmas

The kids are all getting laundry baskets!

A trip to the dentist.

Jonah went back by himself while I went back with Noah. (Didn't think to take a picture of Noah, sorry.). When we were done with Noah, we went to check on Jonah...and this is what we found. Cute, eh? Poor kid!

An oldie

Selah last April, she was 7 months old (and was supposed to be in bed while I was at the grocery store, but for some reason she woke up EVERY time I left the house. I think maybe because Daddy would get her up and if she kept crying he'd take her for a walk outside or let her watch tv. Not a bad deal, I would guess. Have I ever mentioned how spoiled she is?)

Taking a nap

In my sister's old chair. Mom promised to recover it in a less firly fabric, but she hasn't delivered yet. Figures.

Enh enh!

Selah still loves to hold the baby. The problem is the baby doesn't love Selah holding him. Could be the way she smacks him the face, or that she steals his pacifier, or that she just has to grab his hands or feet, or maybe it's because she gets in his face and talks REALLY loudly. Whatever the reason, Micah tends to cry within the first minute or so. And when I take him back, so gets really upset and starts saying "enh, enh, enh!" And grabbing at him. It's really quite cute, for about 2 seconds, then it gets old. The worst part is that she will just randomly climb up in the glider and put the boppy on her lap and start yelling "enh, enh!" We might not even be in the room when she decides she wants to hold him.

And then...

Daddy tried giving her a doll to hold, but apparently that isn't as good as the real thing as the doll went right on over the edge. And we were back to "baby, baby, enh, enh!"

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Trouble

Apparently she missed the tag the said this was Micah's Christmas gift.

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Sleepy smiles

Like Selah, Micah has smiled as he falls asleep from birth. I find it so weird, but have had other people tell me their kids hav e done it, so maybe it's not so weird. He also laughs in his sleep, just like Selah did. Absolutely hilarious! It makes me laugh everytime as it is so cute & sweet. If I ever catch the laugh on video I will be sure to share.

This message has been sent using the picture and Video service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, Quicktime@ 6.5 or higher is required.

Monday, January 11, 2010

I'm READY!

Jonah said I could borrow his helmet & goggles and hit the slopes with Dad...let's go!

Sister Selah

Practicing for nunhood

Friday, January 1, 2010

Watching the Buckeyes

And eating a pickle- surely it has SOME nutritional value...right?