We have been busy!!

Hi again all,

Wow, has it been hectic around here, getting in the swing of having two under two and then some surprises with Angelina. So I will start from early July when I last posted and come back for the pics, as I know I will not have time to type and then wait for the pics to load now. Probaby get more pics in tomorrow.

We had a fun 4th of July weekend. We BBQ'd at home, just the family (as you can see from the pic bacon was the theme for dinner!!), and then went to the fireworks up in Dover. Bell liked them for a few minutes, then lost interest and had more fun climbing into the car and putting on and off the seatbelt. Earlier in the day she played with her dolls and took them all out to change their diapers. The little preemie diapers you got for her to play with are coming in handy mom!!!

Austin is doing a dog agility class with Lucky on Thursday evenings. Lucky is doing well and Austin seems to be having fun teaching him the jumps and going through the tunnels. He really likes working with dogs and may continue with it after this class.

We have proof that mom can actually be around dogs!! She is getting better with our dogs, as you can see from the picture where they are actually at her feet!

Mom came down to Delaware on the train last week to help out with the kids while Angelina was in the hospital. She had a fever on Saturday (7/7) and since she was less than two months old, the doctor wanted her evaluated in the hospital. As it turns out she had a urinary tract infection (UTIs) and was in for three nights, poor baby!!

We went for tests yesterday and to see teh pediatric urologist today. She has Level 2 (they run from 1 to 5 (worst) Urinary Reflux. Normally urine travels from the Kidney, down the Ureter and into the bladder. There is a flap that closes so that urine cannot flow back up into the kindey. Well on the right side, her flap does not work properly, and thus the Reflux. This can cause UTI's and Kindey infections, which can lead to scarring of the kidney. So they put her on a preventitive maintinence daily dose of antibiotics and we have to go back for more testing in 6 months and 1 year, then yearly. Hopefully it is something she will outgrow, kids usually do with this level reflux by age 5 or so. We just need to be careful whenever she gets a fever to be sure to have a urine culture done to make sure she does not have a breakthough infection.
But all in all, it could be so much worse. just being at the AI duPont Childrens Hospital today made me realize how blessed we are that our children are so healthy!!

Bell is a bundle of fun these days. She is talking up a storm and is saying 4 and 5 word sentences, and wants to tell you teh color of everything. Of course right now everything is "lello" or "geen", so we started a color box. Right now everything in teh box is yellow and we are pointing out all kinds of yellow things. Once she learns that, I will move on to another color, as it seems to really interest her right now.

She also loves to climb on and in everything (except thankfully out of her crib!). She found the cabinet in the kitchen empty the other day (usually full of DDP, but it was the day before shopping). She was in and out of it so many times. She would close the door and say "bye mommy", stay in it for a minute and then come back out "here I is", all proud of herself. The fact that it was pitch dark inside when she closed the door did not bother her! Oh and if you are wondering about what is on her legs..... that would be pen. When I told her we do not write on our legs she said "write paper". OK, she knows how to say it.....

And then yesterday was so funny, I could not help but laugh and take a picture. Someone (ummm, Austin!!) left the bathroom door open. Bell climbed up on teh toilet, got teh bubble bath bottle, climbed into the tub (clothed!!), opened the bottle and poured it all over - the tub and her clothes. She did this so quitely, I was sitting in teh liveing room and did not hear her! Of course then she started screaming because it was so slippery she could not stand up to get out of the tub.

We went to the drive in movies last weekend to see Harry Potter (then I went home with the girls and Don and Austin stayed to see transformers). We have it worked out - we take two cars (you pay per person, not car). That way we can put the sleeping kids in the one quite car, we can listen to the movie from the radio of the other one, and then the boys stay to see the second movie and I go home to bed!! Last time I stayed for both I slept through most of it anyway. So this week. Don and Austin usually bring a football to throw around because you have to go early to get a good spot. Bell loves the football! She runs back and forth between them yelling "I got it" over and over. They intentionally drop it for her and she throws it about two feet!

Don went up to the snakc bar to get some fries (otherwise we bring our own snacks and drinks). In typical daddy fashion her came back with an ice pop for Bell. But not just any ice pop, it was one of those fat round ones with rainbow colors. You know the ones that drip all over and stain your mouth and hands blue and red. He handed it to me and I said "no way"!! He bought it, he could deal with it. See I would only give her sometihng like that in a high chair with a bib. Hey, that is what dads are for!!!! She was such a mess (and stayed red for two days!), but she had so much fun with her daddy and that Ice Pop! Before and after pictures....

Don and Austin were cutting up some wood that was in a pile behind my garden this weekend and look what they found. You know you live in the country when you have Black Widows in the wood pile!!

Well that's it for now. Oh I forgot, Don got poison ivy two weeks ago, so we were all off limits for awhile until it went away. I ended up getting a little of it, but luckily the girls did not!! A very convient way to not have to change diapers for a week or so, don't you think.

Karen