Grow, Monkeys, Grow!

The Monkeys are growing like crazy... Chloe just finished out 1st grade with a 4.0 gpa. She made the Principal's List all 4 quarters. She also received an award for having some of the highest MAP scores in her class. She had her dance recital with Beaufort Academy of Dance last Saturday. I made a collage of her recitals starting from her 1st until now. My baby dancer is becoming a beautiful ballerina. She has competed in several pageants...she competed in Tiny Miss of America in March. She placed 1st runner up in talent, made the top 5, and then placed 3rd runner up in gown. The Miss Hell Hole Festival Pageant was in April (yes that's a real festival in Jamestown, SC!) and she placed 1st runner up. She competed at The Watermelon Festival Pageant in May and won Melon wear and placed 3rd alternate. I'm very proud of my girl. Noah turned 5 on April 25th. He's my shy, quiet gentleman. He loves to play in the dirt, play soccer, and ride his bike. He is Chloe's biggest cheerleader. For his birthday, he had a Batman birthday party and I invited my friend, Christine, and her girls, Abbey, and Bailey, over and we had pizza and cake. He got all kinds of goodies...a Batman chair, a bike, a bike helmet, clothes, Batman PJ's...he had a blast! Eli...well Eli is a true MONKEY! He CLIMBS EVERYTHING!!! He is the child that sneaks out of the house and gives me a heart attack. He is the child that jumps from his sister's loft bed on to her ceiling fan and broke one of the fan blades off. He paints my bathroom and carpet and walls with fingernail polish. He drew all over his sister's new loft bed with black permanent marker. But, he's MY monkey and he makes me happy and he makes me smile. He loves to walk up to me and say "I want you Mommy. I love you". He gives this smile that only he can give with the little twinkle in his eye that makes my heart swell up with joy even though I will be scrubbing fingernail polish off my walls for several hours. He will be turning 4 in August. We are currently attempting to potty train and we are making progress. He now pee pees in the potty and is in underwear full time! My Sweet Gabriel is now 6 months and 3 weeks old. He is finally growing! We ended up seeing a pediatric gastroenterologist in Savannah, GA. He was diagnosed as failure to thrive due to esophageal reflux. At his 6 month appointment, he weighed in at a hefty 17lbs 1oz and was 26 inches long. He's a chunk-a-butt! He loves his jumperoo and he loves to babble and smile. He said his first word "Da Da" on May 19th to his dad, Shawn...so perfect and precious! I still call him "Moose" as well as his brothers and sister. He loves to cuddle and snuggle and gives big sloppy kisses...but they are the best!

Moose is 7 weeks old today!

Sweet little Moose is 7 weeks old today! Not sure of exactly how much he weighs but we'll be finding that out at his 2 month appointment. He is now drinking 4 oz every 3 hours. He has smiled a couple of times and he likes to watch our mouths and then make his lips go up and down like he's talking but nothing comes out...cutest thing ever! He also coos at his stuffed animals. I think he thinks they will talk back. His siblings adore him soooo much. They all love to talk to him and Noah loves to help put his paci back in his mouth. Eli will give him little kisses on his cheek and hands. He is a big snuggle bug...Here are some pics of him:

7 weeks old

Saving the environment...1 cloth booty at a time!

I am cloth diapering my 3rd baby (3 out of 4 ain't bad!)...So here is a pic I took of Mr. Moose a couple of days ago in some super cute newborn/size small fluff! So darned cute!

Mr. Moose sporting his Winnie the Pooh and Friends fitted diaper...


Mr. Moose sporting the Lil' Stinker (describes him to a T!) over the WTP & Friends dipe...

Mr. Moose and his Dr's Appointment, Day 3

Moose went to his Dr's appointment this morning. He's been so much, he's very famous with the Dr's and nurses in family practice! They know when he's feeling better, he has a temper when you undress him and today, he paid me and the nurse back for weighing him...he 1st attempted to pee on us which he did not succeed at since I was in the middle of putting his diaper back on and then he spit up on my shoulder and down my back. He got mad and kicked the nurse...very strong lil man for only 5 weeks old! Moose has only lost 2 ounces from yesterday so nothing too significant.
His pediatrician saw him and immediately noticed that he was very feisty today. Moose screamed at her when she checked his ears and mouth. We are going to switch his formula to soy until Tuesday to see if it makes a difference since he has already been switched to the gentle formula. If it gets better, then we will know that Moose is lactose intolerant (just like his big sister!), and if things don't improve or they get worse, then we will know that it is something else.

Here another shot of Moose's Daily Dose of Cuteness...

He was a cowboy when he went to the Dr today!

Moose and the Pyloric Stenosis Monster...

Moose has been having some issues with his digestive system. When he was 3 weeks old, he ended up in the hospital for a fever and it was determined he had a gastro intestinal bug. A couple of days ago, he started getting sick again, so Greg made him an appointment with family practice. He saw 2 dr's that he hasn't seen before since his pediatrician was still on Christmas vacation. The same symptoms keep popping up every time that he gets sick...constipation, fussiness, refusal to eat, and this time projectile vomiting. When he was a week old, I had mentioned to his pediatrician that the normal formula was making him fussy and he was having issues with pooping. She had me switch his formula to the gentle formula. Unfortunately, it's still not working. This time, the Dr's that he saw came to 2 conclusions...another gastro intestinal bug or pyloric stenosis.
Pyloric stenosis is when the ending to the stomach is too small so every thing backs up (which could cause the projectile vomiting and constipation).
We saw his pediatrician yesterday and she thinks its just a bug, but if this happens again, then we know its something more. We find it a wee bit strange that Moose would have 2 gastro intestinal viruses within 2 weeks. His sister has been out of school for break and Greg was out of work on vacation for a week and no one else has a bug here. Sooo, after spending the last 2 days at family practice and running a poop sample back to the lab, we are headed back again today...this time for a weight check. We gotta make sure that Mr. Moose is getting what he needs and not getting dehydrated so he can grow.
So we are praying that this is just a freak thing that he has 2 bugs in 2 weeks and not pyloric stenosis since the way to fix that is surgery.

WIth that, I will leave this post with...
Mr. Moose's Daily Dose of Cuteness
This was Moose when we got home from his Dr's appointment yesterday

Chloe's 1st sleepover

Chloe went to her very 1st sleepover on 26 Dec 11 for her best friend, Lynn's, birthday. Chloe and Lynn met last year in kindergarten and then they also had dance together. Lynn's mom facebooked me on Christmas Eve and asked if I could bring Chloe over to surprise Lynn. They don't have the same class this year for 1st grade and Chloe was a little bummed about that. So, I ran Chloe over to Lynn's house and she got to surprise Lynn for her birthday! I picked her up on Tuesday around lunch time and when I got there, the girls were all decked out in their dress up outfits playing the Wii. Chloe informed me that she had pancakes (the best pancakes she's ever had as she puts it, lol) for breakfast...she also said "They made grits too but I am not eating no grits!"

Here's a pic I snapped of Chloe getting ready to go over to Lynn's house...

Happy 5 week Birthday Baby Moose!

December 26th was Baby Moose's 5 week birthday and since I love taking pics I thought I would share some!

My 21 inch Big Boy at 5 weeks old


The cutest baby slippers ever


My Baby Burrito...Snug As A Bug In A Rug