My little Pinocchio

I took Channing for her 4 month check up and the Dr. said that her fat creases were not symmetrical. She wanted her to have an ultra sound to see if she had hip displasia. So last week, I took my sweet smiling baby for an ultra sound and then they wanted to x-ray her. And lo and behold, she has mild hip displasia! So off to the Orthopedic Dr. we went today. I was a little surprised at her apparatus. She looks like she has on lederhosen. Matt said she looks like a puppet. So she is our little pinocchio! The point of this thing is to keep her hips turned out so they will grow the right way. Luckily for us, the mall was right across the street, so we went and found some cute onesies so it doesn't rub on her skin and irritate her. She has to only wear it for 6 weeks, but we have to keep going back to the Dr. to get the straps adjusted. She doesn't seem to mind it at all. I even put her down for her nap and she didn't care. Now, she probably won't be able to roll and she just showed me last night for the first time that she could roll from her back to her belly (I guess now I don't have to run out and get that baby gate yet!) My sweet Channing is such a trooper! I love her so much! She just now has "strings to hold me down" :)

Warning

Warning - due to the craziness of our lives.......the next several posts are not in chronological order! In fact, they are all jumbled around, pretty much like my brain lately. But I think you will be able to figure them out! We are starting to get several projects done around the house and are feeling much more settled, so I will have to start posting some pics of all our work in progress! I hope to start getting better at blogging, but busy is an understatement for this family!

10 YEARS!!!

10 years ago, on July 7th, we got married!! I cannot believe it has been 10 years! I must say that I am quite please with my choice of partners! So to celebrate the joyous occasion, we went Jet skiing!! I found a groupon for this several months ago, so I wanted to surprise Matt with an adventure. He always comments how he has never ridden a jet ski. He was quite funny driving it. And I can't believe how SLOW he was! We cruised about 15-20 mph all around the shore looking at all the nice houses on Lake Norman. A couple of times he got up to around 40, but he liked cruising, which I did too so we could just talked and looked around. But he would go fast and then completely let off the gas! So then we would go flying forward. I finally gave in and said I would drive. (I didn't want to because he made it look hard). Boy oh boy, did I take him for a ride!! I liked going fast!!! Therefore, he had to pry me from the driver seat. I am usually the cautious one, but on a jet ski, Matt takes that title. It was lots of fun, and spending time with just him and not having to take care of anyone else was nice (well I did have to take care of Matt, but I know that I will always have to take care of him :)

It was a very relaxing day. And we also got to go out to eat and a fast trip to IKEA. I love spending time with my best friend. He sure has made the last 10 years (well 13 years we have been dating) VERY INTERESTING!!!! And I guess we have a lot to show for 10 years of being happily married....... 5 kids :) So here is to the next 10 years of getting closer and closer to my sweet hubby! I love you Matt!

Potty Training #4

And here we go again! Another child in underwear! We always start off with a pack of panties all wrapped up and the excitement begins as we lock ourselves in the house for a few days. Finley LOVES being a big girl like Carly and Chloe. So she was more than happy to put those panties on and get to work staying dry. Now she isn't quite at the point where she will tell you every time that she has to go, but at least she can stay dry and I take her every hour. So I must say, I am quite proud of you Fifi. You did a great job sweetie!

She really liked the ones with doggies on them ;)

Channing's Dedication

On Father's Day, June 19th, Channing was dedicated. She was actually dedicated with Bella too, one of Finley's favorite babies in the nursery! I love that our babies all have been raised in church and hopefully that will make good decisions and come to know the Lord when they are ready to make a change in their lives. I know that they are all loved by everyone there and that they are seeing the love of Jesus through them. We pray that we can guide them and direct them through life and give them the tools they need to make good decisions as they get older.

After the big dedication, Channing was just worn out and Sydney was more than happy to hold her! Sydney absolutely loves baby Channing and will do anything to get her hands on her!

Happy 4th Birthday Harper

I can't believe this handsome boy is only 4! He seems older to me. I am quite happy he is only 4. He is pretty special. Look at that smile! He is my only boy and he is amazing. I love how he loves his sisters. I love how he talks to Channing and holds her. I love how he takes Carly and Chloe places that they are too scared to do alone. I love how he gets into mischief with Finley. I love how he has to get out all his Black and Decker tools out every time Daddy starts to fix anything. I love how he puts his laundry away all the time without being asked. I love how he gives me foot rubs if I am sick. I love how he laughs and talks (with all that extra spit in his mouth). I love how his stories are so incredibly long that I have a hard time following them so I am forced to just say, "wow" at the end of all of them. I love how he sits in bed in the morning and doesn't get out, because he is waiting for Channing to wake up so he can talk to her. I love how he has to wrap himself up like a burrito in bed in order to fall asleep. There are so many things to love about this boy and he has a house full of people that love him lots.

On his birthday, he was just getting over a stomach bug that he shared with Carly and Chloe. We were going to take him to Monkey Joe's that morning, but he couldn't go. We just had a very small family birthday party here at the house. He was so excited to pick out his cake. He went from Thomas, to Woody, to Mickey and then back to Woody again. He chose his cake because he has a Woody figurine that lost its arm so he figured if he got a Woody cake, he could replace that Woody with one with 2 arms! Smart thinking!

Even though he had just been sick, he still was able to manage to eat his cake and cheesy poofs!

And in all true kid fashion, he loved opening his presents!