Another ear infection

I took Roman in for his 9 month check up this past Wednesday and guess what??? A double ear infection! He wasn't sleeping well and was grabbing at his ear a lot so I had a feeling it was bothering him. He's about halfway through with his antibiotics and seems to be feeling better. We also got a referral for him to see an ENT as this is his 5th-6th ear infection. There's a strong possibility he made need tubes but we'll see what the doctor has to say.
He's crawling ALL OVER the place and is in to everything. We definitely have to keep an eye on him every second but it is nice that he can have his freedom and can roam from toy to toy or place to place to keep him entertained.

Ava is beyond excited for her birthday... 3 more days! We had Grandma Mary and Grandpa Dick over tonight to celebrate with them and Ava got a swimsuit, clothes and a Barbie she can take in the tub.

She's been doing really well at preschool lately and has really started to come out of her shell. She is still quite shy in the mornings when I drop her off but when we pick her up in the evening, she's interacting a lot and playing with all of her friends. She is writing and sounding out letters very well. Tonight she read "dog" when she saw it in the book. Simple word but it was exciting to see her do it. I think I was more excited that she was.

This is her serious face when she does her homework for preschool...

She's also been doing a fantastic job brushing her teeth. She wants to do it all by herself but still needs some hand over hand assistance. She is now begging to brush her teeth every night and every morning. I'm not sure how long that will last but we'll take it when we can get it.She's learning how to brush her tongue, too.

Our neighbor across the street has a very friendly cat that visits us nightly. The kids get so excited when he arrives...

We are planning to go to the zoo on Wednesday for Ava's birthday as long as the weather permits. It was 70 here Friday and Saturday but it dropped into the 40's and has been raining all day today.

Baseball and the Easter Bunny

Happy Easter!

Joe and I started out the holiday weekend by attending Opening Day on Friday. In Milwaukee, Opening Day is a holiday... it just happened to coincide with Good Friday and Easter weekend this year. It was one of the warmest Opening Days I can remember and we had a fantastic time. It helped that the Brewers came from behind and won the game in dramatic fashion in the bottom of the 9th to beat the Cubs. Woot!

This morning the kids woke up and found their Easter baskets. Actually, Ava found both and took it upon herself to show her brother everything he got. She thought it was the funniest thing that Roman got Cheerios and goldfish crackers in his plastic eggs.

One of Ava's many little gifts was a dry erase board for her to practice her writing. She is doing a fabulous job writing her name and a few others. In this picture, she wrote "Ava Mae" but had a hard time with the M. I wrote it for her and she copied... the other letters she did all by herself!

Roman is officially a crawler but would prefer to stand all day. He is able to get himself up on his knees but needs help to get to his feet. He gets super giddy once on his feet and really upset if you get him down.

We went for a walk this evening. It was decent weather but you can't tell b/c the kids are bundled up. When the sun went behind the clouds and the wind whipped around, it was freezing! We are anxiously waiting for warmer weather to arrive... and stay!!!

Roman is finally feeling better.
Poor kid has had a rough winter.

I took the kids to Madison earlier this week to stay with Brian and Ree's kids while Charisse flew down to Texas to see Brian one more time before departing to Iraq. Charisse's mom, Betty, was also there when we visited and was a big help. 5 kids would have been way too much for me to handle on my own... how does Crazy Octomom really think she can do it???

The kids had a blast together. Roman and Genevieve sized each other up and enjoyed watching each other slobber over their toys. Ava and Dominic really bonded, especially when Soleil was at school both days. They hid from monsters and enjoyed playing doctor...
even bandaging Roman's head! Once Soleil was home, though, she and Ava started their "girl's only" tactics and would run away (or chase) Dominic any chance they had. In the end, it was a fantastic time!

Not much else going on at home. Ava is getting super excited that her birthday is coming soon. Her Hannah Montana themed birthday party is slated for the 25th and can't get here soon enough!

Roman is officially crawling!!!! He also has 6 teeth and I just saw #7 tonight trying to pop through. At this rate, he'll have his molars by his first birthday...