Labor Day Weekend

We spent this past weekend with our good friends Quentin and Paula. Thankfully we live close enough now that we can visit a few times a year. We were neighbors in TN and then moved away and now we're close again which is great! Anna had lots of fun playing with Elli and Jess and we were so excited to meet Owen. Hard to believe Audrey and Owen were born just 2 days apart! They're on opposite ends of the growth chart. :0) Too cute!! We visited the zoo and enjoyed seeing all the animals. Audrey and Owen did great hanging out in the strollers. The girls were excited to ride the train. It was the fast way to see part of the zoo which was nice as we were all getting hungry for lunch. We also went to see the Backwater Gamblers water show and it was impressive. I can't imagine making a pyramid on water skis!! Anna loved it...wish I could've gotten a picture of her eyes while she was watching the show. :0)

Much better

We started Audrey on a different medicine, Prevacid, last Thursday and within 24 hours she was a different baby - Praise the Lord! She's now taking Prevacid and Zantac and only getting medecine 3 times a day instead of 5 times a day as it was before with Zantac and Reglan. Her awake times are full of smiles and she's much more content. Now if we could just get the teeth that are bothering her to come in she might be a really happy baby. :0) We're still struggling with getting her to take good naps but if we can keep her up for about 3 hours at a time, she'll sleep for about an hour. It just takes lots of entertainment, patience, and distraction to keep her up that long and sometimes it just doesn't work. She loves chewing on her hands and is usually a slobbery mess.

Tiptoe Troubles

We took Anna to the pediatric physical therapist yesterday for a check-up. She started walking on her tiptoes again a few months ago and I mentioned it to Dr. Miller at her 3 year check-up. She wanted her to start seeing the PT again after checking her range of motion in her feet and noticing how tight she was. The PT, Miss Vicky, (which Anna can now say correctly - it used to be Miss Bicky), said that she probably reverted back to toe walking because of a growth spurt so it's something we'll have to deal with regularly unless we go after this aggressively. To walk comfortably your range of motion in your foot needs to be 15 degrees and Anna is at a 6. So, unfortunately, we're going to have to try leg braces to see if this helps her stay on her heels and stretch her tendons enough that she can overcome this permanently. We take her to the orthopedic specialist in 2 weeks to get fitted and once they are made she'll have to wear the braces for 8 hours a day during awake times. Thankfully the weather will be getting cooler soon and her pants will cover them. She'll need to wear them for at least 6 months or possibly a year. If we don't do anything now, she'll more than likely end up needing surgery that will require cutting the tendons in her heels to loosen the muslces in her legs. We definitely don't want to go there. She also doesn't have much of an arch, is almost flat footed which is genetic, so the braces will have an arch in them which help create one for her. This should keep her from having leg, hip, and back pain and injuries later on. Prayerfully she'll only have to wear the braces for the minimum amount of time and we won't have to deal with this anymore. We're also greatful she's young enough that wearing the braces shouldn't faze her much.

Giggly Girls

The girls were having so much fun this morning and I'm so glad I captured it. I wanted to get positioned so I could get Audrey's face but I was afraid that if she saw me it would distract her. Enjoy the laughter! This is the happiest Audrey's been in weeks it seems like. We've decided to switch medicine as the dosage increase hasn't seemed to make a difference. Hopefully this will!

Wild Hair

Anna's hair is so pretty after we wash it and blow dry it. It has lots of natural curl and is very easy to do. I often wonder how it can go from being so "tame" and pretty at night to absolutely wild by morning. :0)

Bath time

I am so greatful that Audrey likes bath time. She can be very fussy and we'll start her bath water and she immediately calms down and is very content in the tub. She's been fussy quite a bit lately, even with the dosage increase in her medicine. Dr. Miller told us last Friday to give it a week to see if the increase in meds helps any and if not, we'll switch to a different medicine. She's continuing to gain weight and stay on the 12th percentile mark - she was 12 lb. 14 oz. and is now getting closer to the 75th percentile for length at 25 1/2 inches. She's long and lean and very healthy despite her reflux troubles.

Beautiful weather

We've been enjoying the awesome temperatures around here lately...so atypical for August! Anna has played outside lots which has been good for her and mommy. She's getting bored more quickly these days and I sometimes find myself wracking my brain trying to come up with things for her to do. She plays quite well most of the time and is such a great helper - usually, sometimes a little too much. :0) She starts preschool after Labor Day and while she's excited and will absolutely love it, mommy is a bit apprehensive. My little helper, companion, chatterbox will be gone for 2 1/2 hours 2 mornings a week - what will I do?! I keep reminding myself that she's not leaving for college, just going to socialize for a short time. It'll be good for Audrey and I to have one-on-one time and like they say, absence always makes the heart grow fonder. I think Audrey will miss her too as she's so used to Anna entertaining her or playing right beside her.

5 Months Old

It's hard to believe how much our baby has changed in just 5 months! Praise the Lord she's growing, continuing to gain weight, and developing on track. Our first month was so stressful with her not gaining weight but we praise God for medecine and a good pediatrician. We go back for a check-up this Friday which is much needed as she's having a lot more reflux discomfort again and not enjoying being flat on her back. Our typically happy baby has been quite fussy lately. :0( She loves to play with her feet. She even chews on her toes! Keeping socks on her is about impossible. She either pushes them off with her heels or pulls them off with her hands. :0) Here she is playing in the Johnny Jumper. She was chattering away before I turned on the camera and of course once she saw it, she got quiet and then fussy. She's just going to have to get used to seeing the camera because it rarely leaves mommy's side.

Definitely Sisters

You can tell they're sisters although they don't look exactly alike. Audrey has the same shape of face I had as a baby and Anna had the same shape of face Michael had as a baby. Audrey is a bit older than Anna was, about a month, in these pictures but it's still fun to compare. Audrey Anna Audrey Anna

Happy 80th Birthday Grandma Murphy!!

Happy Birthday Grandma Murphy! 80 years old...Wow! She's been through so much the past few years having had 2 major abdominal surgeries, a broken hip, broken arm, and the list goes on. She's a strong woman, definitely a fighter, and very special to me. Audrey was able to meet her Great Grandpa Heidenreich while we were there as well. She did great letting everyone hold her.

Jump, Jump, Jump

The Johnny Jumper has made it's way out of the closet and Audrey is loving it! Anna thinks it's a swing to push her in so we have to watch closely when Audrey is in it but she has a great time jumping around and watching everything her big sister does. Anna does a good job entertaining her. She likes to bring all her toys right beside wherever Audrey is and play beside her.

Green beans

Last week Daddy and Curt picked us some green beans. They smelled so good! There's nothing like fresh vegetables straight from the garden. Anna enjoyed helping Daddy snip the beans...a task Mommy and Daddy did lots of when we were kids.

Pears anyone?

As you can see, Audrey's not too into pears but she seems to really like bananas.

Giggles

I've been trying to capture Audrey's giggles on video ever since she started laughing at 2 months old. I'm usually so wrapped up in hearing her sweet laughs that I don't want to go get the camera. I overheard her laughing at Daddy this afternoon and got there in time to capture a few of them. Unfortunately I missed the really good belly laughs but here's a little something.

Indiana Beach

We went to Indiana Beach today and had a lot of fun. The weather was great and it wasn't very crowded. Anna loved Kiddie Land and Audrey did really well riding in the stroller. Praise the Lord for great family fun!! Driving the pink cadillac. If any ride had something pink, Anna insisted she ride that one! Audrey enjoyed watching her wind chimes and sucking her thumb...such cheap entertainment! :0) All the action got to be too much for Audrey. The boy she was riding with in the airplane had no front teeth so Michael kept saying she was flying with the vampire. Daddy can't pass up an arcade game. Here's Anna riding the motorcycle. Kinda hard to see her so look for the pigtails. :0)

Audrey

Audrey had her 4 month check-up last week and she's doing well. She weighed 11 lbs. 11 ounces (12th %) and was 24 1/4 inches long (50th %). Dr. Miller is pleased with her growth despite all the trouble she's had with reflux. We plan to start fruits and veggies this month so we'll see how that goes. She's rolled over both ways now...from tummy to back and back to tummy. She doesn't hold still for very long when she's awake. She's always rolling or scootching somewhere. She's got her busy body sister to keep up with! :0) She really likes being in the exersaucer. She can see what's going on and spins all around trying to follow Anna. Tummy Time She loves her paci! Too cute! The full body bib is needed when feeding this girl cereal! What a great idea Paul and Ronda!! "I'm so tired Mom, enough pictures!"

Anna

Anna had her 3 year check-up last week and Dr. Miller says she's doing great. She weighed 38 lbs. (90th %) and was 39 1/2 inches tall (90th %). She's obviously not lacking any in growth. The only concern was that she's still walking on her tiptoes every now and then and Dr. Miller said her flexbility in her feet is minimal. So, we're supposed to go back to physical therapy and see if we can't get this resolved. She finished up swim lessons on Friday. She passed on to the next level but we'll wait to start that until next summer. Her turn to jump in...she wasn't afraid at all which was great! Last day having their pool party The girls had a lot of fun together and us mommies had some good social time as well. :0) Here she is with her sheet saying she met all the requirements to pass onto the next level. She's getting to be such a big girl!! She's really been into Play-doh lately. She got a Fun Factory for her birthday and has really enjoyed making all kinds of shapes with it. I just wish it didn't make such a mess. I know that I can't let her get it out unless I have time to vaccum when she's done.