Summer

Summer heat has come to STL! The past two weeks have been really hot and this week is no different. (100 plus!) Soo...we're inside most days which makes it hard to have energy burned off for the girls! Luckily, the weekends haven't been as hot as the weekdays and last weekend we were able to get outside and celebrate our good friend Angie's 30th birthday party! Her family threw her a surprise party and Angie was very surprised :) It was at the Millstadt park and was a lot of fun.

Norah and Isabella got to play with bubbles, t-ball, badminton, and kites! They also invented a fun game ;) of running around the field with a jump rope - imaginations are a wonderful thing!!

William enjoyed the warm weather and slept through the party. It was fun to go out as a family - the first time we've made it out as a family of 5 other than to doctor's offices, the hospital, family, or friend houses - and we hope we'll get to get out a little more before summer is over!


Daddy, Norah, and Bella flying a kite.
Mommy, Norah, Isabella, and William
Norah and Bella blowing bubbles


We've been visiting a lot of doctors for William lately. He is having a hard time with turning blue after he spits up or refluxes sometimes. One of the GI doctor's suggested we try lengthening his feeding to 2 hour feeds (vs 1 hour) or medicine. Since he's on a few medicines already, we preferred to try to extend his feeding to see if that helped. Unfortunately, he was just hungry the whole time and was very, very upset throughout the feeding. After trying it for 2 feeds, we went back to 1 hour feeds. Before we try medicine, we're going to visit a cardiologist to see if the hole in his heart closed. The GI doctor said that might be why he has a bluish tint to his skin sometimes.

We also started William's First Steps therapies this week. We have a wonderful OT/Feeding/Speech therapist and a wonderful nutritionist who each come once a week. Since feeding is the most difficult time for William right now, they are both helping to work with him and us to make that a better experience for him. It's really hard when something so fundamental to life is so difficult for your child. All you want to do is help him through it so he can be comfortable.

It amazes us how happy William is (when it's not a feeding). He started smiling and cooing the past week!! It's so much fun when they start to do that! In one of the picture's below, you'll see him looking at one of the animals on his bouncy seat. It's a lion and Norah and Bella loved it too! He loves to talk to us and smile at all of us and has the best expressions when he is cooing. It looks like he is taking after his sisters and will be a talker :)

We're so lucky to have such wonderful children. Norah and Isabella love helping with William and especially love holding him, singing to him, and playing with him. Brian and I were slightly concerned how welcome William would be, but both girls adore him so much. It's interesting because to them all of William's health issues are typical for a baby since they don't know anything else. When they play house, they keep a bulb syringe next to their babies "in case they spit up"and they feed their babies through a g-button! Most of all, they love on their babies, which makes any parent feel good!


William asleep at Aunt Haley's
William talking to the animals on his bouncy seat. All three of the kids loved the lion the best!