Happy Birthday Abby!

On Saturday our little girl turned two! It doesn't seem possible that two years have already went by. I still remember thinking that there was no way that you were going to wait for your C-section date to come. But you did. Together we managed to make it. I was a little out of it during the C-section and I remember being loopy enough to ask Robb "Is that our baby crying?". You cried for about the first hour of life. Luckily you didn't continue with that disposition. You were a very easy and happy baby. As a toddler you are a bit harder.
I love that you have so much spunk and that you are a girl that knows what she wants, even if it is a bit hard to deal with at times. You have grown up with two big brothers, that thought they could take your toys and boss you around so you learned to be tough early. I sometimes sit back and watch you take on your brothers and laugh to myself that you are such a strong willed little girl. You can hold your own and be tough but you have a sweet cuddly side to you. You love to give hugs and curl up on mom and dads lap.
Over the last 3 months you have really started to talk a lot, which is fun. Your brothers love to teach you new words. Some of my favorite things you say are: I want chicken(usually said as we go by a fast food restaurant), barbie, pincess (aka princess),Rella (aka Cinderella), I do it (this I hear a lot!), yo or low (this is what you call your phone), Pice (Bryce), Bubby (Caleb), and when you want your diaper changed you pull down your pants and announce "I Stinky".
You love to play with all your brothers toys but lately you have also developed your own interests. You love animals, Barbies, princesses, books, and you love to pretend cook. You always want to be involved in any activity that your brothers are doing. You like to do stickers, drawing(you call this writing ABC's), and you always try to stay at preschool when we drop off Bryce and Caleb. You love to be a girly girl at times and some days it is a fight to get you to leave the house in anything but a princess dress and and pink cowboy boots. You love shoes and I love to buy you shoes. This is an obsession that your dad Hates! If it is this bad now I think we may have problems when you are older.
We had your 2d birthday party on Saturday in Norfolk. Luckily the weather cooperated and you were feeling better. It was so nice to be able to celebrate with your grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. We are truly blessed to have such a wonderful family to spend the day with. You had so much fun and were pretty social considering that you usually get shy in front of a crowd. You had fun opening all your presents and you got a lot of fun stuff! I thought it was very cool that your aunt Steph refinished our old doll house and gave it to you. That is a neat keepsake for you to have. You loved eating cake and getting to spend time playing with your cousins. Thank you to everyone who came and helped us celebrate.

Not Looking So Good

Still Sick

Abby is still sick. I am beginning to wonder what we are doing wrong! I just want my happy little girl back. Monday she had her follow up appointment with the ENT doctor in Omaha. She had a cough and runny nose but I figured it was just a virus she had picked up. The ENT doctor said her ears looked great and agreed that she probably had something viral. Tuesday night we had a sick little girl. She had a 103 temp, was coughing and was up most of the night. So, Wednesday we headed back to the doctor for visit number 9 in January (but who's counting right). We got bad news. Her ears looked horrible. In 24 hours her ears had went from looking good to being filled with pus. The doctor was concerned and at one time he had me thinking we were headed to the hospital for IV antibiotics. After a long morning of poking and prodding they had ruled out RSV, Influenza and decided that she had a bad ear infection and a minor virus. She had to get another antibiotic shot and will receive a second one on Friday. We also got her scheduled for tubes in her ears on February 1. The doctor seems to think that tubes will end all of this once and for all.
The doctor also looked at Bryce's ears while we were there and decided that he needs his adenoids and ear tubes in also. Wow, this has been quite a month!

Sick Day

The Last One Falls

Abby had been sick and then Bryce, and as predicted Caleb followed right along with them. Bryce was sick from preschool on Wednesday with an ear infection, fever and headache. Thursday night Caleb started complaining of the same symptoms and we were reluctant to believe him because he always has what someone else has. Sure enough he got a fever too. I guess you can't fake that. So all the kids are sick at the Lutz house which makes for a long week and weekend. Both boys ended up going to the doctor on Saturday and Bryce got his 2d antibiotic to fight his ear infection and they said Caleb just had a virus.
The boys are starting to feel a little better finally. I am so so so ready for everyone to be healthy again. I was counting up how many doctor office visits we have had in January and it was a Ridiculous 8 times. That is a record I hope we never break again. Hopefully soon I will have something a little more interesting to write about other than sick kids.

Thats Just Not Right!

Last week Abby discovered that her Baby Alive doll that she got for Christmas could go potty. She found this out because she was taking a drink of her juice out of her sippy cup and spitting it into the cup for the doll. It then started leaking juice on her lap and she discovered that it had a hole. This was extremely amazing to her and she gave this dolly bottles all day so she would keep peeing. I just put one of her diapers on the doll and went about my day.
This weekend I was painting the boys room most of the morning on Saturday so Robb had the kids. Later that afternoon Caleb announced that Daddy had taped "the hole". I was pretty confused until the boys went on to explain. I could see Robb sheepishly grinning out of the corner of my eye as they explained the whole story. Robb's response to this accusation was "Yes! I taped the hole! What did you do let the doll pee all over the house?". I had to laugh because that was such a guy thing to do.

Room Pictures

Weekend Project

Bryce and Caleb got big wall stickers for Christmas from Grandma and Grandpa. I have been wanting to redo their room for a while now so this was a good excuse. I painted on Saturday and by Sunday night we were able to hang up the big stickers and put their room back together. Bryce has a Spiderman sticker and Spiderman sheets and Caleb got a big dirt bike sticker and motorcycle sheets. They have such different interests that it was impossible to get them to agree on something so this was a good compromise. I think it turned out pretty good.

Ice Skating Pictures

Ice Skating

This weekend we felt brave. My sister in law and her family were coming down to go ice skating and she wanted to know if we would try it too. Robb and I ice skated a few times in college but not since and if you know us at all you know we are not graceful people by any means. We headed to the Icebox at about 2:00 on Saturday to give it a try. Abby was asleep when we got there so just Robb and the boys got skates. I was off the hook! Bryce and Caleb were so excited to see their cousin Brook and to try ice skating. At first Robb attempted to hold onto both boys while their feet were going every which direction. Ginger then stepped in to help Caleb since Brook was doing a good job by just hanging onto the wall. By this time Abby had woke up so I decided I better go help. Abby and I just walked on the ice with our shoes on (Much Safer)and helped hang onto one of the boys at a time. Bryce caught on pretty quick and seemed like he enjoyed it, especially after he started using a walker to help him. It took Caleb a couple times around the ice to stop moving his feet in every which direction. He was getting frustrated that he wasn't going where he wanted to go and had a hard time standing up. Brook did a great job, so did Ginger and Robb. I don't think the adults fell at all, which is pretty impressive. Abby and I just walked around on the ice which she thought was pretty fun too. We had a great time. It was an activity that we probably wouldn't have tried for many more years so I think it turned out pretty well.

Taking After Her Mom

She was sneaking bites of cookie dough when she didn't think I was watching. Hmmmm wonder where she gets her sweet tooth?

Abby Update

Our little Abby hasn't been herself since surgery last Tuesday. We were starting to wonder if she was just having a tough recovery of if there was something else going on. Finally last night we had a Dr appointment and found out that she had a terrible ear infection. Poor little girl, and we were starting to wonder if she was just being a bit of a drama queen about this whole surgery thing. The doctor was disappointed to see that she was sick again and was starting to think we should have done tubes in her ears at the same time she got her adenoids out. I was starting to wonder the same thing. Since she had been on antibiotics for so long, our last option was to do Rocephin shots. So for the rest of the week, every other day she has to go get a shot in her thigh. Poor little girl. She handled it pretty well but I have a feeling she isn't going to handle it as well the next 2 times since she knows what is coming.
Today she has been a different child. I think the shot has worked! We have our spunky, silly, energetic Abby back.

Snow Day

Yesterday was supposed to be Bryce and Caleb's first day back to preschool in almost a month. Yesterday was also the first day that we have had much snow this year in Lincoln. So the lucky little boys got a snow day for their first day back. Bryce was a little disappointed because it was supposed to be his line leader day, but he got over that quickly when he found out that they would get to go outside and play in the snow.
I got them all bundled up and sent them outside. I thought I would get a few minutes of peace and quiet but Abby was devastated that she didn't get to go too. So I bundled up myself and Abby and we headed outside for just a few minutes.
Abby wasn't so sure about it once she was out there. She just wanted to stay on her little car and kept saying Burrrrr. Bryce and Caleb were a different story. Bryce was diving head first into the snow drifts and sledding down our yard which is flat as can be. Caleb was the practical one. He worked on scooping the driveway and a path so we could get to the mailbox.
It was nice to get them outside and have them run off some of their energy that has been building for weeks now.

Long Days and Short Nights

Abby had her adenoids out on Tuesday and ever since I feel like I am just trying to make it through the days. Abby, who is usually a happy, easy going kid has become a whinny, crabby, high maintenance little girl. I feel bad for her because I know that she is hurting and doesn't feel well, but I am so tired of her being needy. I am ready to have my old Abby back! I doesn't help matters that she doesn't sleep hardly at all. She wakes up multiple times a night screaming and crying for "Mommy". We are all in need of a good nights sleep at our house. Bryce and Caleb are loving big brothers so they always want to help make her happy but they can't even look at her wrong and it sends her into a crying fit. So about a million times a day I find myself saying "Just leave your sister alone" or "Stop touching Abby". Poor guys, I know they are just trying to help but my patience has worn thin!
To make things even better, Bryceman is also sick. Wednesday and Thursday night he woke up in the middle of the night crying that his ear hurt. Finally on Friday we broke down and took him to the doctor. He had an ear infection and got put on an antibiotic. Luckily he is a trooper and hasn't been too crabby.
Caleb is the last one standing that isn't sick so I give him a couple days until he comes down with something. I hope not, but the last couple weeks have given me a bit of a pessimistic outlook on life.
I am so ready to have everyone healthy again! A little nice weather and sunshine would help too. Looking outside today though I have a feeling that nice weather is a long way off, especially since the boys have a snow day on their first day back to school in a month.
I promise my next post won't be quite so whinny and crabby, but that is the theme at our house lately.

Still happy

Playing on the bed

Abby waking up

Abby is Adenoid Free

Today was a long day! We had to be at Children's Hospital in Omaha at 5:30 this morning. We just took Abby out in her jammies. We thought she would just go back to sleep but instead she was happy and chatty on the way there. She wanted to know where "Pice" (Bryce) and "Bubby" (Caleb) were.
When we got there we got her all checked in and went to her room. Her nurse was very nice. She took a set of vitals and told us that Abby had a fever and that they didn't know if they would be able to still do the surgery. We were pretty discouraged because she was on her last antibiotic before we had to do shots. Luckily the anesthesiologist came in and said that they would go ahead with the surgery and didn't expect the fever to complicate anything.
Abby had to get her finger poked for blood and that made her mad! They gave her the "magic juice" not long after that and that made her sleepy so she wouldn't remember leaving us. It is always nerve racking as a parent to send your child into surgery. Even though I am a nurse and I know that this surgery carried a very minimal risk, it was hard to see them wheel her back.
After they took her back it was only about 20 minutes until the doctor came to talk to us. He said that the surgery was successful and he described her adenoids as big and juicy. (Gross!)
When we got her back from recovery she had a hard time waking up. She seemed very confused and was tossing herself back and forth. It was a long 45 minutes while she woke up. When she finally did wake up she drank some juice and we were ready to head home. Bryce and Caleb were very nervous about their baby sister having surgery so they were happy to see that she was okay.
We were lucky enough to have my mom there watching the boys, so Abby and I went to bed when we got home. Poor Robb had to go to work for a meeting but he got to come home early and take a nap too.
Abby is crabby and unsteady tonight but she seems to be doing fine. Thanks to everyone who thought of her and said prayers today.

Happy New Year!

Robb and the kids rang in the new year with jello and whipped cream that they ate without hands and pop before bed. It has become Robb and the kids tradition to celebrate without me. I had to work. I guess if I have to work a holiday this is the best one to work. It was nice seeing all my work friends again, but my body was not used to working night shift.
I hope that everyone had a safe and happy New Year! 2010 was a busy and fun year at our house. Our kids are growing up so fast and doing so many more things everyday. I can't wait to see what 2011 has in store for us. I'm sure it will be busy and crazy but bring it on!

Cleared for Surgery

Abby had her pre surgical appointment on Thursday. I was a little nervous about what Dr David would have to say since she had been pointing to her mouth and saying "Owie". Turns out everything looked good, so I don't know what her crying owie was all about. Her ear infection was gone, thanks to 10 days of Augmentin and just to be safe he wants her to continue the antibiotic until surgery day. Since she is 23 months and we were already at the doctor I asked if this could count as her 2 year check up. Lucky for us Dr David was ok with this so we got 2 things done with one copay. Yay! He was very happy with her development. She can run, throw and kick. She says a lot of words and is even working on putting 3 or more words together to get her point across. He didn't have any concerns about her development so that was good to hear. She weighed 27 lbs and 5 oz and was 35.5 inches tall. Our little chubby baby has really thinned out. The only concern that he had was that she may have allergies to nuts and eggs like Caleb. We did the blood test and the results came back today as a Negative. We were very relieved!
So our surgery date is January 4. Say a quick prayer for Abby that is a relative quick and painless procedure.