June is almost over (as crazy as that seems) and I'm starting to dread the craziness that will take place over the next couple of months. We'll be having lots of visitors staying with us and sometimes it's exhausting just thinking about it! Hopefully it will help the time pass by a bit quicker though, as we prepare for Andrew's arrival!
Not much has happened in June for us, besides the massive amount of doctors' appointments (though that's usual for us). Abi is enjoying her summer break and the girls are starting to turn into little fish. They have been to the pool quite a bit already this summer with Daddy, and thank goodness for Daddy because I find it hard to motivate myself to go to the pool at all! Not to mention the fact that Benny only lasts about 10 minutes at the pool before he starts shivering! So, the daytime is usually out for pool visits, thus leaving it up to Daddy after work. He doesn't mind though, after working outside all day it's refreshing. Abi is having her first sleepover at a friend's house this Saturday and she is really looking forward to it. As not to make Emily feel sad and left out, we're going to have a movie night at home, just the two of us! She's excited about that (movie night usually involves popcorn and sprite). Unfortunately, daddy will be laid up in bed this weekend. Let's just say that we have decided that Andrew WILL BE our last baby :) and we have scheduled "the procedure" for tomorrow morning. Darin is less than excited about it but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, you know?!
Benjamin is finally starting to grow a bit. Weight-wise he is still under the 20lb. mark, weighing in at around 19.3 pounds. However, he's starting to sprout up like a weed, measuring 29" at his 18 month check up a couple weeks ago. He's getting into everything, and the little genius has even figured out how to get through the child-proof locks we put on the kitchen cabinets! So, we are attempting to find a better solution because apparently "child-proof" doesn't mean much in this house! Until then, he prefers the plastics cabinet filled with all the fun plastic bowls and pitchers :) His last cardiology appointment was at the beginning of the month and everything looked great so now we get to put off the follow-up appointment for 6 months instead of 3! This is very exciting news for us. Everything else with Benjamin continues to progress well. We are currently working with a speech therapist in order to encourage his speech, and he is learning signs very well. This is the first step to speech! I guess I should enjoy the speechless baby while I can though. It won't always be this way :)
Darin and I are doing well, keeping busy with the summer. Darin continues to work with Ron Hoover, but was able to quit his Saturday job (at least for the summer) in order to spend more time with the kids. He occasionally works on Saturdays at Ron Hoover, but only when needed. As for me, with the pregnancy winding down, I feel myself getting worn out a lot faster, but being a stay-at-home mom of 3 doesn't allow me too much down time. Although, we have mastered the "all-together nap time" and that does help out quite a bit. Even if I don't get to nap, I do get some time to myself, and for that I am thankful. I have started (or am attempting to start) my own little handmade stationery business, Carr Creations. I find it enjoyable and I'm learning new stuff all the time. I'm handmaking Andrew's birth announcements which I'm very excited about. I do have a store online so if you haven't already, give it a look-see: http://www.elisiacarrcreations.etsy.com Make sure to keep me in mind if you ever need anything!
That about does it for now. We hope you all are having a great year, and please have a safe 4th of July weekend!
June 24, 2010
April 27, 2010
Another Ultrasound update
I had another ultrasound yesterday. I love getting to see Andrew's progress from month to month! He's looking really good...baking evenly! He's doubled in size since last month, weighing in at 1 lb, 15 oz! He's right on track. His heart continues to look great, no signs of narrowing of the aorta, no VSDs, all 4 chambers. It's always a relief to hear (and see) that things are going well. While I was watching yesterday, I remembered what the ultrasound images looked like for Benny's heart when they used the color (to show directional flow of the blood) and it looked so different from Andrew's. To see Andrew's ultrasound have distinct colors in certain areas was a little strange, because for so long all we saw was a mixture of red and blue all over the place with Benny's! We're so thankful that baby Andrew is looking healthy. Just another 14 weeks and we'll finally get to see his little face! I'm going to scan in some of the ultrasound images later so I'll be sure to upload them into the blog (and on facebook too)!
April 4, 2010
Happy Easter!
Happy Easter everyone! It was a long, eventful day for us but we all had a great day. We began the day by remembering why we celebrate Easter in the first place! He is risen! The girls' sunday school classes weren't happening today so they got to share Easter service with us. Abigail did quite well (you can tell she's growing up) and Emily did pretty good too, just a little antsy! Surprisingly though, she didn't talk too much at all. After church we headed straight home so Darin could start the BBQ! This would mark the start of the 7-hour adventure to Easter dinner! Darin put a brisket on the BBQ, and though it did take quite a while to cook, it was worth it! Yummy! We filled our day with an Easter Egg hunt and egg coloring...and managed to work in a nap too! Woohoo! We also thought it would be a great day to release Emily's butterflies from her garden! Here are a few pictures from the day's events. We hope you all had a blessed Easter!
March 31, 2010
Ultrasound Update
I just wanted to let everyone know that I had my monthly ultrasound today and aside from his feet, which we already knew about, he is looking very well! His heart looks great, his aorta looks completely normal, and all his body parts are accounted for. His growth is right on track, weighing it at a whopping 1 lb, 1 oz. That's double what he was a month ago! This is a picture of one of his feet. It looks almost exactly the same as Benny's but the cleft doesn't look as deep as Benny's. So, needless to say, we are relieved and thankful that all seems to be well with this baby! We're going to continue to follow the baby with ultrasound throughout the pregnancy (every 4 wks) just in case anything were to develop, but I will keep you posted!
March 25, 2010
We're walking!
I just wanted to share a little video clip of Benny finally taking his first steps! It's just a short few seconds, as that's all he's able to do at the moment in between falls, but he is so excited with himself for doing it on his own! We are excited as well and encourage him everyday. Enjoy!
Also, here are some photos from the last month or so!
March 20, 2010
March Update
Time seems to go by faster and faster these days. Abigail's Spring Break is at its end (woohoo!) and March is halfway over. In just a few short months, by baby girl will be a 1st grader! Something she is very excited about. School suits Abi very well. She loves it, and actually looks forward to having real homework. I told her to hold onto that as long as possible, because there will come a day when she doesn't like it so much anymore. She didn't believe me.
Benny is currently down for a morning nap so I thought I would take a quick minute to update everyone on life at the Carr household (not that it's all that exciting anyways). Ben is doing fantastic just 5 1/2 short weeks post-surgery. We worried that he would regress physically or that it would be hard to get him going again but he showed us differently. He is just the same little monster he was before surgery, but definitely more smiley! He is moving around and getting into everything he shouldn't. He figured out how to climb the stairs a few weeks ago and thus we had to make a gate purchase! Let's just hope he doesn't figure out how to climb over it! He'll be 16 months old next week, as hard as that is to believe. He's still so small, hovering around 17 lbs., but is growing in length! Our goal is to put some much needed pounds on him by Thanksgiving! Darin and I are interested to see how fast his baby brother will outgrow him...any bets?!
Emily is just Emily...obsessed with playing games at the moment. Her favorite by far is Sequence for Juniors. It's the first thing she asks about in the morning and the last thing before bed. She's obsessed!! If not Sequence, then the Lady Bug game is her next runner up. Needless to say mommy and daddy are exhausted with these games. She is also working on her Butterfly Garden she received for Christmas from her Aunt Linda and Uncle Mike. She sent away for her caterpillars a couple weeks ago, and they came last week. So, we've been watching the caterpillars grow bigger and bigger each day, waiting until we can move them over to their netting and watch them turn into butterflies! She's very excited about having her own butterflies. We'll make sure to take pictures when her new babies arrive!
Abi, as I said earlier, will be going back to school on Monday, to finish out her last 3 months of school. Her last day of school is June 3, and then it's summer break...lucky mom! She wants to get involved in Soccer this spring so I'm looking into that. She's still with the Girl Scouts and has an event coming up next week. They're going to go the the Chef Academy and learn how to cook a few things! Should be fun! In April, we'll be having a ceremony for the girls to get their pins and become official Girl Scouts! They're all looking forward to that too!! A day all about them!
Darin and I are exhausted, as usual, but doing well. Darin is still working Saturdays at the brake shop so it makes for longer weeks for everyone. However, on the bright side, Darin has managed to get the summer off from that job so he can spend some time with the kids before Abi goes back to school and their new brother comes! He'll be working through mid-May and then he'll take a break and return to work there in September. So, not only does he get to skip the hot summer months at the shop, he also gets full weekends to spend at home for a while! We're so thankful that his job allowed him this flexibility!
In a couple weeks, around Easter, Darin's mom will be coming to visit for a week. She was having withdrawls from the grandkids and couldn't wait until the summer! :) The girls are looking forward to her visit. We think it's going to be a busy summer for us. Elisia's mom will be coming out for a week or so in July/Aug to visit with the kids as well as to help out should the baby decide to make his entrance! We also hope to see some old friends from San Diego that we haven't seen in quite a while; Ben and Crystal and their new little son Logan will hopefully be out for a visit in August. I also think that my longtime friend from middle school and high school, Jennifer, will be visiting in August as well. Plans are in the works! We'll have company back to back but we're very excited at the possibility of getting to see everyone!
That is what's happening around here. For those of you wondering, we still have not settled on a name yet for little baby brother. We're having a more difficult time with this baby for some reason. With the other kids, we just knew, but with this little man, we're having a hard time deciding...we'll let you know if we settle on one! We hope everyone has a great Easter and we pray that the Lord blesses you all!
Benny is currently down for a morning nap so I thought I would take a quick minute to update everyone on life at the Carr household (not that it's all that exciting anyways). Ben is doing fantastic just 5 1/2 short weeks post-surgery. We worried that he would regress physically or that it would be hard to get him going again but he showed us differently. He is just the same little monster he was before surgery, but definitely more smiley! He is moving around and getting into everything he shouldn't. He figured out how to climb the stairs a few weeks ago and thus we had to make a gate purchase! Let's just hope he doesn't figure out how to climb over it! He'll be 16 months old next week, as hard as that is to believe. He's still so small, hovering around 17 lbs., but is growing in length! Our goal is to put some much needed pounds on him by Thanksgiving! Darin and I are interested to see how fast his baby brother will outgrow him...any bets?!
Emily is just Emily...obsessed with playing games at the moment. Her favorite by far is Sequence for Juniors. It's the first thing she asks about in the morning and the last thing before bed. She's obsessed!! If not Sequence, then the Lady Bug game is her next runner up. Needless to say mommy and daddy are exhausted with these games. She is also working on her Butterfly Garden she received for Christmas from her Aunt Linda and Uncle Mike. She sent away for her caterpillars a couple weeks ago, and they came last week. So, we've been watching the caterpillars grow bigger and bigger each day, waiting until we can move them over to their netting and watch them turn into butterflies! She's very excited about having her own butterflies. We'll make sure to take pictures when her new babies arrive!
Abi, as I said earlier, will be going back to school on Monday, to finish out her last 3 months of school. Her last day of school is June 3, and then it's summer break...lucky mom! She wants to get involved in Soccer this spring so I'm looking into that. She's still with the Girl Scouts and has an event coming up next week. They're going to go the the Chef Academy and learn how to cook a few things! Should be fun! In April, we'll be having a ceremony for the girls to get their pins and become official Girl Scouts! They're all looking forward to that too!! A day all about them!
Darin and I are exhausted, as usual, but doing well. Darin is still working Saturdays at the brake shop so it makes for longer weeks for everyone. However, on the bright side, Darin has managed to get the summer off from that job so he can spend some time with the kids before Abi goes back to school and their new brother comes! He'll be working through mid-May and then he'll take a break and return to work there in September. So, not only does he get to skip the hot summer months at the shop, he also gets full weekends to spend at home for a while! We're so thankful that his job allowed him this flexibility!
In a couple weeks, around Easter, Darin's mom will be coming to visit for a week. She was having withdrawls from the grandkids and couldn't wait until the summer! :) The girls are looking forward to her visit. We think it's going to be a busy summer for us. Elisia's mom will be coming out for a week or so in July/Aug to visit with the kids as well as to help out should the baby decide to make his entrance! We also hope to see some old friends from San Diego that we haven't seen in quite a while; Ben and Crystal and their new little son Logan will hopefully be out for a visit in August. I also think that my longtime friend from middle school and high school, Jennifer, will be visiting in August as well. Plans are in the works! We'll have company back to back but we're very excited at the possibility of getting to see everyone!
That is what's happening around here. For those of you wondering, we still have not settled on a name yet for little baby brother. We're having a more difficult time with this baby for some reason. With the other kids, we just knew, but with this little man, we're having a hard time deciding...we'll let you know if we settle on one! We hope everyone has a great Easter and we pray that the Lord blesses you all!
February 7, 2010
A Quick Note..
I just wanted to post a quick update for everyone. I'm getting ready to head out the door to relieve Darin from his weekend shift!
Benjamin is doing superb! Today was so much better for him than yesterday. Sometime early this morning while Darin was sleeping and the nurse was away, Benny decided he didn't need his oxygen anymore and pulled out his canula and threw it on the ground! So, a little later on Darin discovered this and it was decided by the doctor that he didn't need it anymore. I guess Benjamin does know best! Today he also had both of his drainage tubes removed and his line in his neck. So now, all he has left in him is the line in his hand and in his foot! He's been much happier today and even smiled for Daddy. The doctor has finally given the go ahead to allow him to eat and drink whatever he wants now so he's a happy camper! We are optimistic for a Tuesday discharge, but if that doens't happy, it will almost definitely be Wednesday. Darin told me that there is such a difference in him between yesterday and today so I'm excited to go see my little man! I'm going a little stir crazy being away (if that even makes sense)! I will most likely not be back home until Benny is discharged. Since Darin is returning to work tomorrow there is no one to relieve me but that is okay...it won't be too much longer. But it might mean you will have to wait for an update until I return home! I will continue to post on Facebook when I can though, so check there too!
Thanks again for all of your prayers!
Benjamin is doing superb! Today was so much better for him than yesterday. Sometime early this morning while Darin was sleeping and the nurse was away, Benny decided he didn't need his oxygen anymore and pulled out his canula and threw it on the ground! So, a little later on Darin discovered this and it was decided by the doctor that he didn't need it anymore. I guess Benjamin does know best! Today he also had both of his drainage tubes removed and his line in his neck. So now, all he has left in him is the line in his hand and in his foot! He's been much happier today and even smiled for Daddy. The doctor has finally given the go ahead to allow him to eat and drink whatever he wants now so he's a happy camper! We are optimistic for a Tuesday discharge, but if that doens't happy, it will almost definitely be Wednesday. Darin told me that there is such a difference in him between yesterday and today so I'm excited to go see my little man! I'm going a little stir crazy being away (if that even makes sense)! I will most likely not be back home until Benny is discharged. Since Darin is returning to work tomorrow there is no one to relieve me but that is okay...it won't be too much longer. But it might mean you will have to wait for an update until I return home! I will continue to post on Facebook when I can though, so check there too!
Thanks again for all of your prayers!
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