Check Ups

Tuesday I took the boys to their 4 year and 18 month check ups. Amazingly, we got right in and the doctor was in the room before the nurse closed the door after taking all of their stats. Thank goodness because Matthew was in RARE form. He was still not feeling well from the virus he had while we were on vacation. As I said in my previous post, his fever broke Sunday evening BUT Monday he woke up from nap covered in a rash...poor guy. I guess I'd be crabby too.

So anyway, we got right in to the doctor. The nurse weighed Andrew and measured him on the big boy scale: 41.5 inches (70th percentile) and 36 lbs (25th percentile). Now Matthew of course was a different story. He is still weighed on the baby scale and without fail EVERY TIME we walk into the room at the pediatrician's office he freaks out. So of course I can't hold him on the scale so after 4 times of him trying to dive off, the nurse took his binky and held it so he would reach for it instead of me. After two attempts of that, we got his weight, 22 pounds, 5th percentile. (I'll explain further). Then we got his length by me laying my head on top of him she was able to get it BUT I couldn't hear what she said as far as how long he his because he was so mad. I do know he's in the 50th percentile. So after the nurse earned her paycheck, Dr. O'Neil walked in. Now that I think about it, I think THEY wanted us in and out as much as we wanted to be in and out.

Dr. O'Neil did Andrew's check up first and of course he did great. Nothing to worry about with him. Then it was time for my little man. Matthew checked out fine as well even though he cried through the entire check up. Then came my list of questions...all pertaining to Matthew.

1. He won't drink milk anymore should I be worried?

2. He is extremely picky and would rather go to bed hungry than eat what I put on his plate unless it's the food of choice of the week. (IE one week he'll only eat pizza, the next week he hates pizza and will only eat oatmeal..not kidding).

3. Will he be on Miralax his entire life?

4. He's not talking, should I be worried?

Guess what Dr. O'Neil's answer was to EACH of these questions. MATTHEW IS STUBBORN! Obviously I already knew that but he said it all comes down to him being in control and these are things I can't control so here we are. SUCH A MCLAUGHLIN! :)

Then it was time for shots. Last year they were out of Hep A for Andrew so he needed that. Matthew needed the two 18 month shots. But being the paranoid mom I am and after all of the research I've done, I asked Dr. O'Neil if he thought it would be alright for me to bring Matthew back when he was 100% better. He actually agreed with me and said that would be the safest thing to do. For once I didn't feel so crazy:) Andrew is usually really good with shots. So I didn't make a big deal about it. He watched the shot go in and did awesome AND THEN he was MAD! Once the band aid was on and the nurse was finished he was hysterical. "THAT HURT MOM!" I guess he wanted me to prepare him better. Oh, well once we got the cookies and stickers, everyone was happy again.

Thank God, they put a drive thru Starbucks next to the doctors office because I needed a treat after those appointments:)

I actually brought my camera to the appointment hoping to capture a shot for the blog but that didn't happen.

All Star, Garbage Truck, BEACH

We've been so busy I haven't had time to blog. So here you go 3 in 1!!!

First of all Happy 4th Birthday to my 1st born son! Love you Andrew!

All Star Game

It was an exciting time in St. Louis a few weeks ago with the MLB All Star Game in town. The weekend before the game we took the boys to the Science Center where they were hosting some of the MLB mascots at the Build A Bear shop. We had a great time and it was the perfect way to get the boys excited about the game. Then Sunday we had Sunday dinner with an All Star theme. My parents got Andrew an All Star shirt and Matthew a hat. Andrew pretended to be Albert Pujols and Ozzie Smith the rest of the week. He even got excited about the home run derby which we were surprised about. Tuesday, Drew got to go to THE game with a client and had amazing seats! He was in the first row behind the visitors dugout. He said it was a great experience. Then to finish off the baseball themed week, we all went to Drew’s softball game and for the first time Andrew enjoyed the game as much as the dirt.
Here is a link to all of Drew's pictures if you are interested: http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1419685007/a=28308882_28308882/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/


A Visit from MiMi and PawPaw

Friday, Drew’s parents came to visit. To start off the weekend we took them to our traditional Friday night dinner, Racanelli’s. At dinner we discussed Andrew’s garbage truck themed birthday party. I told them the story of how we invited our garbage men to the party.

We left the invitations on the trashcans that day. Of course Andrew waited for them and after they came Andrew came running in to tell me that they read the invitation and put it in the FRONT of the truck! Not with the garbage! He was so excited. Then for lunch we decided to have a picnic (I figured this was the best way to keep the house clean for a showing we had later in the evening). As we were sitting outside at our picnic, the garbage men made a special trip by to let us know they would be able to come to the party! I was asking if they worked on Saturdays (hoping they could bring the truck by). Well it ends up they don’t, so they’ll just be at the party, hanging out in their every day clothes☺ Now THAT is a good story!

After I told the story, I was telling them that I was hoping Drew would be able to make a garbage truck out of card board boxes. So after dinner we decided to see if we could pick up a refrigerator box my mom had told me about. Of course we didn’t think about the space we would need to fit it in the car so we left it and planned on picking it up in the morning without car seats.
Once we got home we played a little bit and then got the boys in bed. Once they were in bed we got to talking about the garbage truck project and decided to make it much more elaborate. After putting all of our heads together we decided we were going to take a Lowes trip in the morning and make the truck out of wood. The more we talked, the more ideas we came up with. We finally decided to call it a night and reconvene in the morning.

Of course Matthew decided to wake up at 3am and not go back to sleep. So once we were up and around in the morning Drew began having second thoughts about the project. We met his parents at the hotel for breakfast and discussed the enormity of the project. We decided we should just go to Lowes and price it out. Once we got there and looked around for a while we decided to “JUST DO IT”. My job was to keep the boys happy and look for the accessories while Drew and his parents got the right shapes and sizes of wood, hinges, screws, etc.
Amazingly, we got the car loaded up and headed home. Of course it’s hard for Andrew to think abstractly at his age so he had a hard time understanding what we were going to do but he was excited for about the first hour just watching dad use the tools and getting to help out with a few things. Then he lost interest and found other things to do. I forgot to mention St. Louis had the most amazing weather this weekend. The highs were in the mid 70s and at night it got down to the upper 50s. It was unbelievable.

So basically the entire time Drew’s parents were in town we worked on the garbage truck. It was quite a project but I must say, it looks awesome. (We are adding the finishing touches for the "reveal" at his party on Saturday...pictures to follow). They decided to stay Sunday night so we took them to Sunday dinner which they always hear about. It was the perfect evening, great food, weather, and company, the perfect way to end the weekend. We met them for breakfast Monday morning and Drew headed to work while I headed home and started getting ready for our next adventure…our family vacation.


The Dunes Beach

We left Tuesday morning for a much needed family vacation. We were headed up to my aunt’s house in Beverly Shores, Indiana, better know to Andrew as the Dunes Beach. It sits on Lake Michigan and is basically on the Michigan/Indiana boarder right outside of Chicago.
The ride up was better than expected. They boys did well considering the 6 hour car ride but of course were all so relieved when we arrived. Once we got to the house and unpacked we ran to the store to get some food and necessities for the week ahead. We got back to the house and had dinner then started to calm down for bed. Of course Matthew was in an unfamiliar place and a little out of sorts while Andrew was so excited he couldn’t calm down so bedtime the first night was interesting but we all got to sleep.

Wednesday the boys were up with the sun at 5:15 and Andrew wanted to get to the beach ASAP. Drew made French toast and then we headed to the beach just to check it out and feel the sand before getting ready for a long trip to the beach. We found out, Matthew is the exact opposite of Andrew when it comes to the sand. Andrew ran down and started making a “sand angel” while Matthew started freaking out that there was sand on his foot. We tried to ignore Matthew and see if he would just get used to the sand. Thankfully there were a lot of bigger rocks on the beach which distracted him and he started collecting them and then saw seagulls and he seemed good to go.

After about an hour we decided we better go get some sand toys and get ready for a morning at the beach. Well I guess beach season is almost over because it took us going to 4 stores to finally find clearance toys at Walgreens. We had a fun morning at the beach and then headed back for lunch. This was the first day we decided to try and hold Matthew off and lay him down for one nap. We figured otherwise, we be stuck at the house all day between both boys nap schedule. It worked like a charm. They both went down right after lunch and slept well. Once they woke up we hit the outlet mall. Both boys got new shoes at Nike and we got some amazing deals at Children’s Place. Then it was home for dinner, baths and bed.

Thursday our early risers were at it again. We decided after French toast and coffee to take a long walk and then come home and get ready for the beach. Matthew wasn’t too thrilled about the beach this day but Drew did a nice job of distracting him by sitting close the water. It was much windier and the waves were huge so at least when he was whining the waves drowned out the noise. Then we went home for lunch where Matthew was falling asleep at the table. We laid him down, then Andrew and Drew and I continued our tournament of Gin (the card game). Matthew woke up like a furnace…guess that explains his mood at the beach. His temperature was 102 and he was pretty groggy. We gave him Tylenol and decided to chill until it kicked in and then reevaluate. Once it kicked in he was up around and playing. We decided to go to a few local stores in search of Dunes shirt for the boys. We didn’t have much luck but had fun looking around the stores.

Matthew was up a lot of the night on Thursday but we did the best we could to enjoy our “vacation”. So we got up and had our normal breakfast and took a walk. Matthew fell asleep on the walk which was great for everyone. Once we got home, we headed to the beach then naps, lunch, and back to the outlet mall for some more deals. Poor Matthew was such a trooper.
In the middle of the night Friday there was a big storm and Matthew was up for that. Drew being the great husband that his is sat out on the couch with him and said it was actually really cool to watch the storm in basically a box of windows. Saturday morning was overcast so we went on a really long walk while trying to figure out what to do on our last day of vacation if it was going to be a cloudy day. Once we got home, it started to clear up and we were excited to be able to spend one more day at the beach. Matthew took a 3 hour nap and woke up pretty upset with a pretty high temperature. We decided to take Andrew to my aunt Missy’s house and find an urgent care clinic for Matthew. Once we got that all arranged, we arrived to the clinic 15 minutes after they closed. We went back to Missy’s where Andrew was having the time of his life (golf cart rides, trampoline, ice cream man) and ordered a pizza. We left Missy’s and prayed Matthew would sleep through the night and wake up all better. Drew and I packed up what we could and headed to bed.

Sunday Matthew woke up after sleeping much better than he had been and seemed a little better. But once he had some breakfast he seemed uncomfortable and irritable. We decided once we packed up we’d head back to the urgent care (we made sure to check what time they opened on Sunday) before heading out of town. So we packed up and headed out. We got to the urgent care and saw that by 7 days a week, they really meant 6…go figure. Thankfully Matthew had fallen asleep on the way and we decided to hit the road. He ended up sleeping for 3 and a half hours, all the way to Springfield! And when he woke up his temp was down to 99! What a relief. Thankfully we made it home safe and sound.

You Want Me to Wear WHAT?!

Wednesday I had my monthly check up for our baby girl. I had another ultra sound b/c last month it was too early to see a couple of things that they like to check. So I was able to see our cutie pie again. She was laying on her belly (of course another belly sleeper). And it looked like she discovered her hands. At one point the tech switched it to 3D and I got to see her hand right next to her face. She opened it and closed it like she was waving. It was so cute! See her profile pic and the 3D of her hand by her face below (keep in mind she's only 21 weeks in the pic so it's a little skeletal looking).

Then I went to my appointment with my doctor. Everything checked out well. Then I asked him about this new collection of veins I have on my right leg. It's pretty gross in my opinion. He was like oh yeah, that's common especially on your right side. So what do I do? "Oh you need to get these leggings so they don't get worse and then a % of them will go away a few weeks after she's born, the other will have to be fixed surgically." My first thought: just start signing me up for surgeries after this pregnancy, between this and the hernia, my goodness! Then he goes on to tell me I'll need the "industrial strength" and they'll take me 30 minutes to put on and they'll have to go from my ankles past my belly AND I'll be about 300 degrees once they are on. REALLY? I'm glad men think this is so comical. Drew couldn't get enough of it and I don't even have the stupid things yet.

So Thursday, I go to the medical supply store that he tells me have the "industrial strength". I walk in with both boys and am totally freaked out by all the medical supplies they have just sitting out (including the toilet chair things). I'm like Andrew, don't touch a thing! So they ask how they can help, I'm sure I'm the youngest person that has walked into the store this year. I'm like I need those "legging things". The nurse says, "right this way." I'm thinking she'll lead me to the section and I'll pick out my size and be on my way...WRONG. She leads me to a team of nurses who specialize in these stockings. Oh boy, then the nurse asks for my prescription. What prescription? "Well we need to know which "level" you need." I tell them I need industrial strength. Well that's not good enough. So she gives me the paper work to take to my doctor then I can come back in and get them ordered. Oh and yes, they can cost up to $200. I'm beginning to think my veins are much improving and I should just get a new pair of designer jeans:)

Of course by the time I leave the store my doctors office is closed so I have to wait to give my doctor a piece of my mind. Then of course he is off on Friday. So I leave a message with his nurse and am waiting on the next chapter of this wonderful comedy. I'm sure there will be more details and I'm sure I will not have any pictures of this chapter of my pregnancy. Stay tuned!

4th of July Weekend

I love long weekends! It's so nice to have an extra day with Drew around the house. Friday was a great day. We hung out in the morning and got two phone calls that people wanted to see our house. So we picked up the house and headed out. We grabbed lunch and then headed to the Magic House. Boy, we weren't the only ones with that idea. (I'm so mad I forgot my camera.) The boys had a great time and the timing worked out perfectly because we were out of the house during the showings but home just in time for naps. Once the boys woke up, we headed over to my grandma's for dinner with my aunt, uncle, and cousins from California as well as the local family. Everyone had a great time.

Saturday Drew was playing in a golf tournament and I planned on taking the boys to the VP Parade (4th of July Parade) with my mom. We got a ton of rain starting about 5am. The forecast all week was saying it would stop early but it lasted a little longer than expected. They delayed the parade an hour (which worked out better for our schedule) so my mom and decided to chance it and head down town. Right as we got down there the rain slowed down and finally stopped. We got an amazing parking spot for $5 which we couldn't believe. Then as we walked towards the parade route we began to wonder if we missed it. There were very few people along the streets. So we asked a police officer and she said the parade was just starting and would be by in a few minutes. So we got an amazing spot and waited for the parade to begin.

My mom and I could not get over how few people had braved the weather but we were also thankful for all the space and the great view that we had. Andrew wore a patriotic hat that he had taken from my grandma's house the night before and it ended up being the perfect candy holder. Everyone that came by just dumped more and more candy in his hat. At first he was in shock of all the activities going on and sat very stoic as Matthew waved to every person that came by. Andrew said his favorite part was the fire trucks. After the parade we walked a block to Panera and grabbed some lunch. As we went to our table Andrew asked, "Mom, um did you by any chance bring a change of clothes?" I asked if he wet his pants and indeed he did. Of course I didn't have a change of clothes. So he stood during lunch and was actually a really good sport about it. We also got to see some of the All Star Game decorations in preparation for next week. When we got back to the car I found one of Matthew's swim diapers and squeezed Andrew into that until we got home. Pretty funny!

The boys took great naps and then we got ready for the golf tournament dinner. As we were on our way I got a text from Drew that there was a playoff. Since the party was at my aunt's I fed the boys when I got there and then my mom and I walked over to the course to see if we could catch the playoff. My mom got a cart and of course the boys were in heaven as we drove around and looked for them. As we got close Matthew started to do his loud point and "get everyone's attention" noise. So we basically drove in circles trying to get a glimpse without disturbing. My dad and Pete's team ended up beating Drew and John's team as well as another team that was in the playoff but everyone had a great time. The dinner was great and the boys enjoyed staying up late and catching lightning bugs. We saw a few fireworks but the boys started to fade so we didn't head to a "show". We let Andrew watch a few on TV once we got home since he seemed to be into them this year.

Of course staying up late doesn't equal sleeping in for our family so we got up and headed to 7:30 mass. Then came home for a very low key morning. Then we grabbed lunch and it was surprisingly chilly eating outside. How crazy is that for July?! The boys went down for a much needed nap and I headed to Josie's baptism. She was adorable and did such a great job. Then we headed to Bartolino's for the celebration where the boys joined me. Of course the food was amazing and everyone had a great time. Andrew and Kiersten had a great time causing all sorts of trouble. At one point we turned around to them putting their fingers in beautiful cake. Matthew was quite a pill because he hadn't caught up on sleep from the weekend. So we headed out as the festivities were winding down and he was in bed by 6:45. Now we'll see what time he wakes up! It's been a fun filled holiday weekend, now it's back to reality.