Easter

It was another busy week at the Rooney house. Just look at Jack and Chris!

A few pictures from Easter Sunday. The kids had been over-photographed by that point, so I tried to catch them on the fly!

Meredith was a super Easter egg hunter at our annual Easter bash

Guess what we've been doing all week (in the three minutes that it hasn't been raining!)?

The swingset is a huge hit!

Mere and Daddy coloring Easter eggs (with Jack watching)

We got through Mia's surgery without any problems. She was a trooper and I can't wait until her stitches come out tomorrow. Unfortunately, her pathology showed an aggressive form of cancer. Her margins were clear, so now we're just praying that nothing spread. The wonderful part is that she's back to our sassy old Mia. We tell her she's the healthiest cancer patient we know.

This is our happy little guy before the bottom fell out. On Sunday, Jack started with some cold symptoms. We've all had it, so we figured it was Jack's turn. We pretty quickly progressed to a fever and a very unhappy fella. The pediatrician said today that he has an ear infection and the upper respiratory crud that's going around. He's been wheezing with this cold, so we're back to our old friend Mr. Inhaler plus some oral prednisone. Today, Jack has had tylenol, antibiotic, prednisone and not much else. Hopefully, once he starts to feel a little better, his appetite will return. I think someone forgot to tell Jack that winter is over--this getting sick business is ridiculous!

Happiness

After a fairly depressing Friday, I spent the weekend enjoying my family and reflecting a lot. It seemed that, everywhere I looked, I found things that made me happy. They may be simple, but they work for me, so I thought I'd share... The stepping stones outside our back door. I did them last summer for Meredith, Jack, Mia and Philly. It's hard to see in the picture, but they have handprints, footprints or paw prints. My new garden (during construction). I can't wait to see what we can grow. Meredith and I have big plans for tomatoes and sunflowers so far. She also says she wants to grow bananas.

The best ever--joint snoot faces. I have no idea why our kids do this, but it started with Meredith and now Jack has caught on. When we say "Snoot face!", both of their faces wrinkle up like this and they giggle like crazy.

My wonderful husband. He always brings a smile to my face.

"Sparkle shoes", as Mere calls them. These have lights all over and sparkle as she walks. Probably my favorite shoes ever just because of how insanely excited she gets every time she puts them on.

Dogs napping in sunbeams. Notice who is sleeping on the bed and who is on the rug. Any question about the canine pecking order at our house?

Playing together. Now that Jack is actually "a fun baby brother", he and Meredith have started playing together a lot. It usually ends up with Meredith teasing him and Jack trying to steal whatever toy she's playing with.

"Mommy, take my picture with Baby Jack. We smiling because we sooo happy!"

Mia's road to recovery hit another snag yesterday. She had some major complications before surgery, so instead of having her procedure done, she ended up with multiple IVs, oxygen and sedation. She's on the schedule again for Friday. Her anxiety has really gotten the best of her, so I'm going to stay with her until the surgery starts and then be there when she wakes up. Please say a prayer for her. If all goes well, she'll be home Friday night. Philly's bloodwork looked good (our vet said Philly is healthier than he is according to the lab results), so we're still not sure what's up with him. On to xrays I suppose.

The other happy thing from this weekend is that Meredith pooped in the potty all by herself! Didn't get a picture of that one :) She couldn't wait to go to daycare and tell her teachers yesterday. She told everyone she saw (including the random strangers in the parking lot) and walked down the hall giving all of the teachers high fives. It was like being the mother of a rock star! She apparently didn't repeat her big accomplishment at school. When the teachers asked if she wanted to poop on the potty, she told them, "That's okay. I poop on potty yesterday."

We were playing in the playroom today and I turned my back to grab something for Mere. When I looked back, Jack had scooted himself halfway across the room. Like his big sister before him, he's only traveling backwards, but it's a start! After three days of antibiotics, he's happy and healthy again (and sleeping like a champ!). Did I mention he weighed 26 lbs when we went to the pediatrician on Friday? The nurse in the office is a big guy who played college football and he laughs every time he puts Jack on the scale. I'm anticipating a call from his alma mater's coach soon (we gave him Eli's number too--our big guys have to stick together!)

I'm off to do my no-more-rain dance. After weeks of waiting, our swing set is being installed on Friday. The forecast is calling for rain, but I'm optimistic. If we get rained out, I'm not sure who will be more crushed--Mere or Chris! Stay tuned for lots of swing set pictures :)

Not so fast...

Remember when we went to the vet and found out that Mia wasn't dying of cancer after all? That was a great day. Today, by comparison, was really crappy. 75% of my babies are sick--I hate stats like that. The day started off with a trip to the pediatrician. Jack has been feeling crummy this week and his cold has gotten worse, so off we went to investigate all of his ear-tugging and sleepless nights. It turns out he has a very red throat and has been running a fever all day. It looks like strep, but the preliminary culture is negative. Whatever virus has been bugging him has gotten Chris too, so we've had two very sick boys, as Mere has been saying. Once we got home from the pediatrician's office, it was time to head to the vet. After having three wonderful, pain-free weeks, Mia has started limping again and the pain pills aren't taking care of her aches anymore. Add that to the fact that our normally robust Philly has lost 10 lbs in the last two weeks and you can imagine that I didn't expect to leave the office with great news. The Philly update first: not sure why he's losing weight so rapidly, so our wonderful vet did some tests in the office (all normal) and is calling tomorrow with the results from his blood work. I'm so terrified that this is something bad for my sweet boy. He hasn't been himself lately and when I pet him now, all I can feel are his bones. Miss Mia seemed to be doing better, but the vet found a growth on her toe today. At least we know what's been causing her pain. He aspirated out some fluid and told me the cells look "sinister". The x-rays still look great, so we're looking at a soft tissue malignancy instead of the osteosarcoma diagnosis that all greyhound lovers dread. Bright and early Monday morning, the Meez will be going under the knife in Dover. Best case scenario is a resection of her (now rather large) tumor, but we're most likely looking at amputation of the entire toe. Could it be possible that we lose these two at once? I don't think my heart can take it.

Spring!

I have discovered the two most beautiful words in the English language: joint naps! We are finally at the place where the kids are taking their afternoon naps at the same time. It's everything I thought it could be! :) Sleeping has been better at night for all of us too. Chris figured out that Jack's night time wakings were due to belly aches from his nasty iron supplements. Some gas drops before bed have done wonders! His most recent hemoglobin level was normal, so it looks like our days with extra iron are numbered. Thank goodness! Jack has totally figured out that Meredith's toys are way cooler than his. If she has it, he wants it. Meredith has been very patient and kind about her "swiper brother" (as she calls him). She tells me on a regular basis, "It's okay Mommy, he just a baby. He doesn't know better." Of course, she also has her moments where she bops him in the head with a toy or steals whatever he's playing with, which snaps me back to the reality that she's still a normal two-and-a-half year old. She sings his favorite song when he cries (Twinkle, twinkle little star) and it magically makes him happy. I'm so lucky that these two love each other so much! A few pictures from the last few weeks: Greyhounds make great obstacle courses for crawling!

This is Baby Susie, Meredith's favorite doll. Baby Susie and Bop go everywhere with us and always sleep with Meredith at night. If she's within Jack's reach, it's a guarantee that she's going to be chewed on. Luckily, she's a tough baby and doesn't seem to mind. She has a bottle that she magically drinks and we often catch that in Jack's mouth too.

What can be better than new sunglasses?

Except for new Dora sunglasses and frog boots to use in the garden! Meredith wears these around the house nonstop.

Swiper brother in action

Now that Jack has six teeth, he has to get them brushed in the tub just like Mere does. Daddy has a funny tooth brushing song that makes Jack giggle every time. I personally think he just likes being like his sister (although the song makes me giggle, so I can't blame him).

Every day around 11am, both kids start to slow down. Jack usually takes a morning nap around that time and Meredith declares, "Mommy, it's time for a TV break." TV breaks almost always happen in their chairs in the playroom and often involve a snack. Pretty good deal, if you ask me.

Hope everyone has a great week!