New BABY and Sick Log

Hoping everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving as much as we did! Although quite hectic on my end, I made a point to stop, take a breath and appreciate those people around me several times throughout the day. Only the good Lord knows what is in store for next Thanksgiving and who will surround us at the dinner table so I really did take time to appreciate my family this year. It was also my little man's first Turkey Day and boy did he look dapper in his preppy attire! (Who knew dressing a boy could be so much fun?) Not only was it Cameron's first Turkey Day.. but it was also...

MY NEW NIECE'S! YES! Stella Mae was born November 23, 2010 at 3:53am weighing 8lbs 1 oz! She is DARLING! A little Italian Princess complete with a full head of dark hair! She is doing well aside from having some jaundice issues. Big sister Reanna adores her and I am soooo very happy that Reanna will know what it is like to have a sister to walk through life with. Lord knows where I would be without my Julie Moolie!

On the sick agenda... Hannah's ear saga continues and she will be having her completely blocked ear tube removed and a new one put in next Tuesday. Fingers crossed that this will solve her most recent ear issues and reoccurring ear infections. My poor Hannah. I may be getting a 2 for 1 deal since Layla is now on her umteenth ear infection as well. It looks like it is time to get her to the ENT as well. I found this out after having a horrible night with her Friday when she had an awful asthma attack. Thankfully, I had some prednisone in the house and I gave her a dose which in essence saved us a trip to the ER. After being seen Saturday morning she is now on an even bigger dose and more inhalers. Roid rage anyone..??? My poor Layla. Last but not least, I swear little man is also suffering from an ear infection as he has not slept in a few nights and he is acting quite the same as he did a few weeks ago when we found that his ear was infected. We will see tomorrow what is bugging him as I plan to take him along to Layla's checkup. Poor Cameron... (Hmmm are you seeing a pattern here?)

To Be Continued ....

Oh My Gosh it's November!

How exactly did November creep up on me? How exactly is it almost Thanksgiving???? These past several weeks have been tough on us all but we are hanging in and keeping the faith. I know that we are being watched over by our angels in heaven and I believe that we are only given what the Lord knows we can handle. That being said, the kids are all doing great. Cameron is getting over his first ear infection and Hannah also was diagnosed with an ear infection this week. It's apparent the right ear tube is not in right, so we are heading to the ENT on Monday with her. (Sometimes I really do feel like my life is so rhetoric) Layla is actually healthy... and I am knocking on all the wooden surfaces in my office as I say this! I am praying we can keep them healthy for the holidays.

Cameron is getting bigger and bigger by the second. He is laughing and babbling and loves to wake up around midnight and just talk to me. As tired as I am, I love this special time with him. He is practically sitting up and I am just waiting for that first tooth to appear. All he does is SMILE.. all the time! If anyone talks to him.. he grins from ear to ear. He is such a happy little boy. God I am so very lucky!

Layla is cracking me up more and more as the days go on. She is just so very funny. She is three however, and three in our house seems to be a bit more to handle than age two. She likes to tune me out and the other day as I had asked her 50 times to put on her socks and shoes, "Layla-Grayce... PUT ON YOUR SOCKS AND SHOES!", she finally responded by saying, "ALRIGHT MOMMY GRACE!" We are doing well with the potty training and her new thing is that once you put her on she'll tell you she needs her privacy. I love her verbage. "Whats that smells?" and her little high pitched voice with all of her exuberant expressions. I could just cuddle this bug 24 hours a day.

Hannah is growing, growing, growing. So much so that it seems that this week she has outgrown every last article of clothing in her drawers! What happened? They fit her a month ago? I literally had to go out and get her a few new things to wear as the poor child had nothing left acceptable to put on for school! She was so happy heading on into school this morning and for the first time all week, she got dressed in 50 seconds flat! I love the little girl she is becoming. She is so strong and tough and yet so sentimental and emotional. We had rented Ramona and Beezus this week and she actually cried at the part where Ramona runs away. I looked over to see tears streaming down her face and it melted my heart. She does have some of her Mommy in her after all. She is such a HUGE help with the little ones and will do anything I ask. I am so blessed to have this little shining star dancing around in my life!

We said good-bye to Pete on Thursday as he flew overseas to Kuwait. I am so going to miss him. Hannah has already begun to draw him pictures. I pray that he stays safe and returns to us safely. Please keep him in your prayers. It's going to be a long year!

Now it is time to change gears after a very long week and get ready for Mom & Dad's 40th Anniversary. God Bless them! Following right behind is Thanksgiving and I have yet to do a thing for it. It will get done.. in the end it always does.

The Passing of Time

My Monster Cheerleader, Monkey & Mickey Mouse!

Good Lord it has been a bit since I have been able to get myself to a computer and actually think about the events of our week or weeks in this case. It's rhetoric, for sure, but life is just crazy busy. There is nothing more I can say in respect to that. If it weren't however, then we wouldn't know to appreciate those days when we were relaxing and cuddling at home.. so I will take it any way I can get!

Let's check off the Health Report first and catch you up to date. For the most part we are all well. We did however, learn that miss Layla does indeed have asthma. It wasn't a surprise to me at all. (She couldn't have gotten my red hair??? Instead she got my asthma). Asthma is quite common in kids that have food allergies, allergies in general and eczema. She never really recovered after having the RSV last February and every time she gets the tiniest cold, it turns into this full blown wheezing and coughing bit. Now it is just a matter of keeping it controlled. She refuses to do nebulizer treatments and it is impossible for us to force her to do them so right now we are solely working with inhalers and are about to start Singulair. She was wheezing enough last week for them to put her on Prednisone. Layla and steroids.. dont mix! Billy and I had to take turns being around her the poor kid was off the wall! Hyper one minute, yelling the next, crying the next. It was a bit... how shall I put it.. exhausting to be around her. She was also on antibiotic for an ear infection. Hmmm.. why is she getting so many of these all of a sudden??? No sooner did we make it through the weekend, the poor kids ended up with the vomiting/diarrhea bug. The poor kid cant catch a break but as of today.. I think she may have gotten over it and I am keeping my fingers crossed she will have a healthy week. Hannah went to school complaining of a stomach ache which I am hoping isnt the beginning of the bug for her.. no phone calls from school yet. Last but not least, Chubba Luv and I seem to have this nasty chest cold type thing that we are muddling through. I feel so bad for him because I know how horrible I feel and he sounds so congested! Hopefully he will get through it this weekend and be back to my healthy baby boy by Monday!

The kids are all well otherwise. We are having more fun watching their little personalities develop. Hannah is turning into my sensitive little darling with a style all her own. She is studious and conscientious and is really enjoying dance and hockey this year. She is one heck of a hockey player and I am so proud of how far she has come. She kills me with her attire because I want to say, "OH NO.. that looks horrible" but in my head I am reeling back to 30 years ago and remembering how my mother and I use to butt heads about my attire. Instead I let her be and figure who am I to change the person she is? (All within reason of course). Layla is a trip. Simply put. She is so very funny that Billy and I will be keeled over in laughter at some of the things that come out of her mouth. She is SO sincere and SO lovable and affectionate. Her expressions are priceless. We have been back and forth with the potty training and her new thing is when she goes into the bathroom and I follow her to help.. she shoos me out and says, "I need my privacy." Her birthday party was a blast and I would have spent a million dollars to see the expression on her face when Mickey Mouse entered the house. She was completely thrilled and in all her glory. I still can't believe she is three. Cameron is a doll. A DOLL! He is SUCH a good boy and is usually very content just hanging out. He is all over the place rolling and cooing. He looks so big to me already I cant even believe how quickly these past 4 months have flown by. He loves his blankets and loves to cuddle as well. He is sooo alert and is always trying to grab things and turns his head to whomever is speaking in a room. He LOVES his cereal and bananas and will devour a huge bowl of it. He sleeps in his crib most of the night and cuddles with me the rest of the time. All I can say is that this is going to be such a fun Christmas with my three little blessings and I am so looking forward to it.

Aside from work, this is also my busy time for photography and it has really begun to take off. We have been able to do a bunch of Fall photo shoots and I am thrilled that everyone seems to be really happy with our product. I wish I had more time to devote to this passion of mine. I am still holding out much hope that this passion, in time, will become my career. I couldnt ask for a more fulfilling one!

So we have been running all about from showers, to birthday parties and school activities, CCD, sports and such. We are gearing up for another fun filled weekend and I am truthfully glad that it is Friday! I will try and post some pictures of the past several weeks over the weekend. You can check out my recent photography at http://www.kerrimurphy.smugmug.com/ Pete was able to get home for three days before he leaves for a year and I had the pleasure of capturing some really special moments. Stay safe Peter.. we are thinking of you always..

Last but not least, I am patiently waiting for the arrival of my new niece or nephew! T minus 3 WEEKS! Whoopppiee!