6 Months

Charlie turned 6 months yesterday...hard to believe. And we sort-of accidentally had his 6 month appointment as well yesterday...I had to take Kate in for a last minute MD appt...she woke up from her nap with blood coming out of her ear, and not just a little bit. Her entire inner and outer ear was filled dark crimson blood...so we rushed off to the MD, and it's another ear infection and busted ear drum...can't count the number of those we've had. (I was imagining bleeding brain tumors, so it could have been worse!) I've seen plenty of yellow ooze coming out her ear and down her cheek, but never blood. And the blood has continued all day today, dripping out onto her cheek...very sad. I'm beginning to believe that her very poor pronunciation is due to the countless ear issues that have plagued her...I started the process for speech therapy last week...poor thing can't speak clearly if she can't hear, right? But this post was about Charlie...anyway, the nice doctor just did his 6 month appt. during the same visit so we didn't have to come back next week. He's still a big, fat boy...19 pounds, 4 ounces, 28 inches...he weighs exactly the same at 6 months that Kate weighed at 1 year...exactly. He's coming right along. He rolls all over, LOVES the jumper, is starting solid food, sleeps from
6:30 PM - 6:30 AM, with a hiccup between 3-4 AM to fill up (although I'm about done with that and he'll be crying himself back to sleep soon), is an easy smile, and LOVES his sisters. Here are some recent pics of our boy...

Oh yeah...he LOVES coconut pineapple ice cream...

I really do not enjoy the baby food stage...such a pain, but necessary I suppose.

Great-grandma Purcell during our recent weekend in Utah...

A little more...

In my attempt to be more blog-diligent, here are a few more pics from recent weeks...we went to St. George the first weekend in April...Andy's parents have a home there, and it has been a nice get-away for them to escape the snow and cold...the should-have-been 5 1/2 hour drive was actually 8, but the kids did well and we had a nice visit...Andy spent Saturday mountain biking with family, and I hung with the kids at the house...it was a nice get-away.




3 ducks in Grandma's tub...the little one on the far left is a great-grand daughter



Lauren with her cousin...
A grandson (Charlie) with a great-grandson (Tagg)

Egg hunt treasures...

Water fun in the backyard...

I realize that the color on these photos is not as good as it is on the originals, but I try to load them with lower resolution so it doesn't take so long to pull up...

Treading Water...

...and sometimes dipping below the surface...that's what life is these days...we can't believe how busy these kids keep us. And it's not that we're running a million different directions; we're not. It's just that the kids are 4, 2 and 6 months and there is always a bum to clean, a fight to break up, a snack to prepare, an outfit to change, discipline to render, and another fight to break up. I get called "poo-poo head" at least a dozen times a day. Most days I waver between sanity and insanity, yet I cling to the hope that it must get easier from here! It's a really good thing that I think my kids are cute...a really good thing. It's late right now, and not within my ability to totally catch up on photo posting, so here a just a few, and perhaps I'll throw up some more this week...the highlights of the past few weeks include--Easter with its multiplicity of egg hunts, candy, colored eggs, and parties; a weekend in St. George with cousins; Kate is wearing underwear--I finally got on board; Kate's dimply, hard cheek scar--we are not happy with the way it's healing; Charlie will be 6 months this week--I couldn't be more in love with him and his 2 little sharp teeth; a thousand rounds of Candy Land with Lauren--she cheats all the time, and throws a fit when you call her on it; we went swimming for the first time this summer...Charlie's first time...I was afraid I might lose track of someone as I was by myself...I came home with 3 kids--mission successful.

A few Easter pics...