Bluebonnets 2012

When we missed our opportunity last year due to rain and illness to take the yearly pictures in the bluebonnets, I was determined to make sure it happened this year. As we got out of the car we had the "bluebonnet rules" refresher course, and Lukas made a point of mentioning that he would pick me a yellow flower instead (sweet boy!). We chose a spot near Eric's office. There's several beautiful patches, and we chose a section that had a large hill with a couple large bluebonnet patches. This turned out to be the perfect spot because we were the only ones there, so we were not in anyone's way and the kids could run in the grassy areas. And there were a ton of butterflies, and you can imagine the fun the kids had with that! No one wanted to sit still and pose, so our posed pictures did not turn out as well as our "on the move pictures". Good thing I've learned over the years just to keep snapping to get something good. Here's a sampling of what I caught.

Lukas' Pictures - He's actually so used to bluebonnet pictures that as soon as we got there, he picked out his spot, sat down, and declared himself picture ready. Unfortunately those smiles were not very good. Once he stopped paying attention to me and started looking at the ladybugs, butterflies, and bluebonnets around him his pictures got better.



He has a ladybug on his hand. :) He was SO excited!



Corina's Pictures





Asher's Pictures





Getting all three kids to look decent in one picture is HARD! I took about 10 or more, and maybe have 2 or 3 that are decent. And none that are awesome. Oh well, they're still cute!



The great butterfly hunt. This made me wish we had nets.





Daddy's picture



Mommy's picture



This is how Asher felt about the whole thing by the time we left. He was DONE!

The Craziness

In all honesty as crazy as life is right now, I do feel (right now...this could change later) that making the transition to three kids is easier than it was to transition to two kids. Lukas and Corina entertain themselves a good portion of the day. So that leaves me able to take care of Asher, clean on the house, and play with them.

Asher has been diagnosed with silent reflux. He's on medication for it, and it's starting to help (we think anyway). He has a ROUGH time sleeping. He goes for days without hardly sleeping at all, and then finally crashes for a day. We're trying to figure out if this is due to reflux or some new animal we've never had to tackle before with the other two.

Corina just got over the flu. That was a rough few days, and quite honestly the worst part was giving her the Tamiflu. That stuff is NASTY! Adults be very glad we get to swallow a pill and don't have to choke down the liquid. She's also dealing with what maybe continued reflux. We thought it went away back in June. But since she's had croup so many times this winter and has a horrible persistent cough, her doctor is afraid she might be refluxing and aspirating the acid. Great.

Don't tell Lukas' body I'm writing this....but he's actually been pretty healthy. He's currently getting over a sinus infection. But asthma-wise he's been doing pretty good lately. Yay!

Overall my house is a mess (even more so than normal), the laundry is horribly piled up, there's lots of tears on everyone's account at times, sleep seems like a thing of the past most days, Eric and I barely get to even talk to each other anymore, but I wouldn't change any of it for the world because I have THREE amazing children and one INCREDIBLE husband! Thank you God for my craziness!

I Love My Amazing Kids!

Here are some recent pictures of the kids I'm blessed to call mine.

Lukas loves his brother! He's so ready for Asher to be able to play with him.



Art time!



I love the baby clothes that have cute things on the butt!







L and C gave Daddy a foosball table for Christmas, and they love to play with him.



Lukas usually only wants to play dress up with Corina (like dressing her up), but occasionally he decides to dress up as well.



The best of about 5 or 6 attempts to get a good sibling picture. In one Corina was crying, Lukas had his tongue stuck out, and Asher was just asleep. They do all love each other, though, and that makes my heart happy.

Corina 23 Months!

My baby girl is almost 2 years old! She is becoming an amazing little girl with her own opinions and ideas. I love it!

Corina at 23 months:
- is about 26.5 lbs.
- talks constantly when she can get words in around Lukas. I love listening to her point of view of the world.
- is still (probably even more so) very strong willed and opinionated. Where as Lukas will negotiate to get his way, she just looks at you and tells you the way it should be (in her mind).
- is pushing boundries, but doesn't like to be in trouble.
- knows many of her ABC's. I've had a hard time tracking down exactly which ones she knows, but she knows the majority if not all.
- knows basic shapes - square, triangle, circle (her favorite shape), and triangle.
- knows basic colors - red, blue, yellow, and green.
- really likes to sing. One of her favorites to sing is Isty, Bitsy, Spider. She often sings to the music in the car or to shows.
- LOVES being a big sister! She thinks Asher is the best thing ever.
- enjoys playing with puzzles, baby dolls, her kitchen, Little People, and balls.
- has started "reading" on her own. She's always loved books, and now we find her with a favorite book telling the story as she turns the pages.
- really enjoys coloring, painting, dot painting, stickering, and anything else crafty she can find to do. She is very methodical and precise about her art work. She has also started labeling what she's drawing verbally so everyone knows.
- easily remembers the names of her classmates or teachers at church, school, and Kiddin' Around Playcare.
- is still a VERY picky eater. The list of foods she will eat is small and changes daily. Typical toddler.
- is a dress up queen! She loves to accessorize and dress up.
- can count to 3.
- loves her Mommy, Daddy, and Brothers more and more every day!!!!

Asher 1 Month Old!

At one Month, Asher:
- weighs about 9.5 lbs.
- is breast and formula fed. At 2 weeks his pediatrician had us start supplementing 2-4 oz of formula a day because he wasn't gaining enough weight. Now, he's about half and half (and much happier since he's getting enough to eat).
- sleeps 5-6 (or more) hour stretches at night.
- sleeps on his tummy. At about 3 weeks, we gave up trying to make him sleep on his back because no one was getting any sleep. As soon as we did, he started sleeping at night. :)
- has found a routine (for a while anyway). He wakes up, eats, plays for a couple hours, eats, sleeps for about 4 hours, and then repeats throughout the day.
- cries the least of all three kids. He only cries when he's hungry or over tired. Both of which we are usually able to "fix" quickly. He's a very quiet and laid back baby (knock on wood, that he stays this way).
- is a very clean eater. He hardly drips anything even when drinking a bottle, and he rarely spits up.
- likes to look at lights, high contrast colors, and faces. He will focus on something and stare at it for several minutes sometimes.
- will turn his head toward Mommy, Daddy, Lukas, or Corina when speaking near him.
- loves his Mommy, Daddy, Brother, and Sister more and more every day!

Our fantastic family of FIVE!

Asher Rhys Swayne

Asher Rhys Swayne

February 1, 2012
3:46pm
9 lbs 2 oz
21 3/4 in

Christmas 2011

This year Christmas was NOT what we planned. Starting on Friday (the 23rd) Lukas was diagnosed with RSV. This wasn't really a shock to us because he gets it every year, but the timing was awful (although better now than in February). Saturday (the 24th) due to Lukas and Corina both having fevers, we had to miss out on seeing my extended family at my grandmother's house. Lukas also developed an ear infection on Saturday, so we had to get medicine through the on-call doctor since even the after hours doctors were closed. Sunday (the 25th) we had our family Christmas in the morning, and Mimi and Papa came over that evening for Christmas dinner. That night we noticed that Corina's right ear drum had likely ruptured. Monday (the 26th) we had Christmas with Mema, Grandad, Aunt Ashley, and Uncle Ryan. Between opening presents in the morning and dinner that evening, we took Corina to the Acute Kids (the after hours pediatric doctor). They confirmed that her ear drum had ruptured and she had a double ear infection (fourth one in three months) and likely the beginnings of RSV. Tuesday (the 27th) Lukas' breathing got gradually worse until that night he started coughing with every inhalation, and complained that he couldn't breathe. Scared us badly, a lot because he looked so scared. He went off to the ER, but was thankfully fine by the time he arrived (after treatments at home and in the car). The ER doctor was less than helpful, and Eric (who took him) left very frustrated. Wednesday (the 28th) we took everyone to the doctor to be checked for various things. At that point Lukas had turned the corner, and was starting to get better. Corina was still at the beginning of her round of RSV, so was expected to get worse before better. Thursday (the 29th) Corina ran a fairly high fever all day until it finally maxed out at 104. That was her worst night, and she started getting better (RSV-wise) the next day. By Saturday (the 30th) it was clear that Corina's ears were not feeling better, so we went back to Acute Kids to check it out and get new antibiotics. Monday (the 2nd) was Corina's appointment with the ENT. He recommended that she get tubes (which we expected), and so that surgery is scheduled for January 27th. Through this whole mess Eric and I were also not feeling fantastic since we likely had the same RSV virus from the kids. Thankfully as of Tuesday (the 3rd) everyone is mostly better (I'm still working on it), and went back to normal routines.

Even with two kids with fevers, two kids with RSV, two kids with ear infections, and two parents also under the weather, we had a nice Christmas. Some pictures from all of our celebrations. While Lukas doesn't look horribly excited in most of these (due to being the sickest at that time), he really was.