Healthy Heart and Other Stuff

Yesterday Jack had his follow up appointment with the cardiologist and he said everything looks great and that we have a healthy little boy!  When Jack was born they noticed he had a heart murmur and after an EKG and ultra sound they determined that he had a small hole in his heart called a VSD.  As you can imagine this was very scary news to hear in the hospital right after giving birth.  I was quite emotional and upset but after talking with the pediatric cardiologist we felt much better.  He assured us that this is a somewhat common, very minor defect, and almost always corrects itself in the first 12 months of life.  Well he was right!  We went in for Jack's EKG yesterday and he said it looked great.  He was almost certain the hole had closed and all we have to do is come back in a few months to make sure it is gone.  Jack did an awesome job at the doctor and smiled and flirted with the nurse.  I wish I would have snapped a picture of him with all the wires stuck to his chest, he looked like a happy little robot :)

Jack had a busy day yesterday.  When we got home from the doctor, he was playing on his floor mat and he rolled from his back to his tummy!  He did it several more times that afternoon and everytime I would cheer for him and the girls would say, " Yay Jack!"  Although I don't think they knew why we were cheering for him.

Now for a little bit about what Ellie and Kate have been up to.  We have been struggling with sharing and 'stealing' toys from one another, so I have been trying to teach them to trade.  Kate has a bad habit of snatching things away from Ellie and running away with it.  Kate thinks this is a hilarious game and wants Ellie to chase her.  Ellie on the other hand is not a huge fan of this game.  The "trade" concept is helping with this a little, but has also backfired on me.  The girls will now bring me half of a soggy graham cracker and expect me to trade them for my cell phone!

I don't have any pictures that really go with this post, but here are a couple of pictures of my silly monkeys playing in a drawer full of placemats.

kisses

Who looks like who?

Since Jack was born people have had different opinions about who he looks like.  I really can't decide. When he makes certain faces he looks a lot like Kate and in some pictures he looks more like Ellie.  Here are pictures of all three of them at the same age (4 months).  What do you think?

Hooray for Puppets!

 When I left teaching to stay at home with the girls, I packed up all of my kindergarten things and insisted on saving them to use with my own kids.  I have been waiting for Kate and Ellie to be old enough to do some arts and crafts so I could dig into my kindergarten supplies and today I decided it was time.  We made sock puppets!  My friend Alison and her twins, Landon and McKenna came over to join us.  Although the kids didn't do much of the 'making' they sure did enjoy the product!  Here are a few pictures from our first crafting adventure.  (I think I will try something more simple for our next project. :) )

Busy Day

We have had a busy day today!  After we got up this morning, the girls decided to play with some stickers.







Then I decided that I was ready to attempt our first public outing.  So after getting three kids diapered and dressed, two sippy cups filled, two snack traps ready and a diaper bag packed we loaded into the car and headed to Target.  My life would be SO much easier if all stores had the double shopping carts but unfortunately that is not the case.  So I buckled the girls into the double stroller and strapped Jack to me in the baby carrier and off we went!  You should have seen the looks we got, not to mention all the comments.  If I had a dollar for everytime someone has told me that I 'have my hands full' I would be one rich Mommy!  I wish I had someone else with me today to document our first group outing :)  It really wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, but I still definitely prefer having Daddy to help. 

When we are about to get into the car I let the girls pick something to bring in the car with them.  As we were packing up today, Kate decided Jack needed some things to bring in the car as well.

 

4th of July

We had a fun weekend and celebrated the 4th with a few friends and family.  We considered going to see the fireworks at Kaboom Town in Addison, but decided to wait another year before taking the kids.  Here is a family picture from this weekend.  It is the best of about 15 tries.  Ellie wouldn't put her cup down, Kate brought Curious George, and Jack was too tired for the whole situation.

Jack's 4 Month Stats

The day after we came home from San Antonio Jack had his 4 month check-up.  He is a happy, healthy little boy and the doctor was pleased with his growth and progress.  Here are his stats:
weight: 14 lb 12oz (50%)
height: 26in (75%)

Jack has just figured out how to do rasberries.  I just missed it in the picture but caught the drool face caused by the rasberry :)



Looking very long



Jack's Trip to San Antonio

Jack took his first trip to Grammie and Grandpa's house in San Antonio last week.  Jack and I flew there, so it was also his first plane ride.  He did really well on the plane both ways except for the landings.  He got a little fussy at the end of the flights.  Once we arrived in San Antonio we had a wonderful time.  Jack LOVED being the center of attention.  He smiled, giggled and 'talked' the whole trip.  I think he liked being able to hear himself.  He is so used to listening to all the noise his sisters make at home that I don't think he knew what his own voice sounded like :)  My mom and I did a lot of shopping all over town and Jack was such a good sport.  He was happy to ride in his stroller and be out and about.  Jack also had the chance to meet his Great Grandma Shepherd, Aunt Laura, and cousin Austin on our trip.  Here are some pictures of our fun-filled week in San Antonio.

Great Grandma Shepherd

Jack loved all the attention!

Snuggling with Grammie



Cousin Austin

As you can tell from the pictures, Jack really enjoyed hanging out with Grandpa and being held and snuggled so much.  He got a taste of what it would be like to be an only child :) 

Jack and I had fun in San Antonio, but we sure missed Ellie, Kate, and Dad!  This was the first time (other than when Jack was born) that I have been away from the girls.  It was so cute to see how excited the girls were to see thier brother when we got home.  They cheered, "Baby Jack! Baby Jack!" and showered him with kisses.