I thought it would be fun to see what the girls hair would look like curled so on an evening after baths, I sat them each down and put curlers in their hair. I was surprised to see how still they sat so I could put them in. They didn't even mind sleeping in them. They had such pretty hair the next day. I learned the Abby's hair will hold curl for a pretty long time. Clarissa's on the other hand, only last about a day. It amazes me what unique hair they each have. It is so much fun to have girls!
Our family has wanted to go on a vacation to Washington, D.C. for several years now. We wanted to wait until the youngest could enjoy it, even a little bit. We finally took the leap and made plans and hotel reservations. A couple of days before we went, Abby fell out of the sliding door onto our brick paver patio and cut her forehead open. What a trooper she was! She cried when it first happened and then was as calm as could be. During the time that we needed to wait for the numbing medicine to take affect, we couldn't keep her still. Good thing for Disney Princess videos!! After her forehead was all numb, they placed a sterile dressing over her head and stitched her up. She didn't move once. She was the perfect patient!
I look like I am ready for the Army!
Must you wrap me, I promise to lay still!
Just like new!
They told us to come back on Thursday to get the stitches out since we were leaving on Friday morning. We went back in and they told us they were not ready and that we would have to find and ER in D.C. to have them taken out. YIPPEE! Not.
The day we went in to get the stitches removed and were turned away. because they weren't ready!
Matt and I figured that we would just take them out ourselves since Grandma Jenson has given us surgical supplies through the years. I packed the necessary supplies and we would do it when we saw the wound heal better. On the second day in D.C., after touring the area all day long, Abby was easy to get to bed that night and once she was asleep, Matt became the expert stitch remover. She didn't even flinch in her sleep!
Can you believe it's that time of year again. St. Joseph Mercy Hospital's NICU holds a reunion for the preemies that were born there. This year's theme was "Down on the Farm". So Cute!! I can't believe this is Abby's 3rd one. She had a TON of fun! So did the rest of the crew.
I am the type of Mom that doesn't usually do play-dough and finger painting projects. They are just way to messy for me. Well over Spring Break I decided to let the 3 little kids do it. I know, many of you are asking why? I decided that they are missing out on some of the crafts and stuff their older brothers did. (Back when I was a more adventurous Mom.) Well it turned out to be quite a successful activity. Caleb has always been quite artistic so I wasn't worried about him. Clarissa is a neat freak. She doesn't even like water on her sleeves when she washes her hands, so I wasn't' worried about her either. My worry was with ABBY! Anything simple with Abby quickly turns into a disaster. You name it and she can figure out a way to make a mess out of it! I guess you could say she keeps life interesting. Even Abby surprised me and she stayed clean. Since this was a huge success with all those involved, there is a high percentage that I will do it again!
Today while I was working on insurance stuff with Matt, our sweet little girls were playing upstairs on the main level. I heard Clarissa tell me that Abby was in the sugar and that she has it on her nose. I told her to help Abby out of the pantry and to shut the door. She told me she did and I continued to work on the computer. Well about 15-20 minutes later, I came upstairs to get them ready to pick up Aaron & Caleb up from the bus stop so we could go to the school to see Jake tryout for the annual Talent Show. When I came upstairs, this is what I saw.
Clarissa's only response was, "Mom, I told you I was making pies." I really wanted to scream, but I said to myself, "Grab the camera and call Matt." I did just that. I went onto tell Matt what had happened and I really wanted to cry at the mess that I was going to have to clean up, but we decided it was best to laugh it off. Cleaning up Abby was quite the chore. I patted her jammies and dusted off her hair the best I could. Once the girls were ready to get in the tub, I had to rub Abby's head pretty vigourously to get the flour that was caked onto her scalp. I finally ended up getting her comb and combing the globs of flour out of her hair. While I was doing all this, the phone rang, the boys walked in from school (which I was suppose to meet them at the bus stop) and Aaron hollers up, "Mom, someone is at the door." I start coming down the stairs and see the top of a man's head and proceed to tell him that I am not interested in buy anything from him. Talk about Open mouth, insert foot. He says, before I realize who it was, Mam, I am not trying to sale you anything, I just need to take a couple more pictures of your basement. He was the insurance adjuster. To see his face when he saw my kitchen floor was priceless. I quickly apologized, explained what has just happened and he laughed and said, God bless you. I have four kids of my own and boy am I glad they are raised. I have Aaron watch the girls in the tub while I take him to the basement to take a couple more pictures, he got a sample of the damaged carpet and he was on his way. I quickly had to get the girls dressed and head off to the school to pick Jake up from the talent show tryouts and swing by the library to drop off books, go to the grocery store to pick up a few things and then back to the school to pick Danny up from his first day of track. Luckily, the girls fell asleep in the car on the way home so I was able to get my kitchen all cleaned up before they tracked all the flour through the house.
Just last night, Grandpa Rogers called and I had told him what a handful Abby was and he just said, "She can't be that bad." I told him he was welcome to come visit and see for himself. I know that is not possible, so here is proof how busy Abby and in this case, Clarissa too!!
We all know the saying, "When it rains, it pours." This week has been one of those weeks that we couldn't wait to get over. On Monday, Matt called me around 5 p.m. to let me know he was stranded on the freeway. I couldn't believe it. Matt never has this kind of bad luck. After giving the phone to Danny so he could gather all the tools and things that Matt would need, I left Danny in charge of finishing dinner and Clarissa and I were off to "help Dada fix his broken car". This is what Clarissa kept repeating on the way to assist Matt. Matt was able to switch the battery to get him on his way, but the battery wasn't the right one, so he needed a piece of rope to tie the hood down. After seeing him looking on the roadside, I rolled the window down and asked him what his was looking for and he told me a piece of rope. I got looking in the car and there in an emergency kit that his mom, Pam, had all the family make over 9 years ago was a piece of rope. I gave it the Matt and he was surprised we had something like that in the car. Thanks Pam! After having to charge the battery twice on the way home and examining the car, Matt figured out the alternator needed to be replace. It has been six days and we are stilling trying to find the right one. It's a little unbelievable that we live in the Auto City and we can't find the part for our little Ford Focus. We are very grateful that Matt is able to use a test car from work.
On Wednesday evening around 11 p.m., Jake got up to use the bathroom and stepped in water. He came running up stairs yelling, "Emergency, Emergency." I honestly thought--what now? Anyway, he continues on telling us the carpet is wet in the basement family room. Matt, being sick and already planned on taking Thursday off, mumbled as he got out of bed, "what next?" We followed Jake downstairs and as we saw how wet the carpet was, the sump pump started cycling again and we could hear the water shooting on the other side of the door. Matt opened it up and saw that a pipe on the sump pump had come completely loose. Luckily the door was there so the water didn't spray our treadmill and other stuff directly. About 2 hours and 60 gallons of water later, we headed off to bed with the plan of cleaning the carpet in the morning. Thursday was an exhausting one. Matt rented a carpet cleaner from Lowe's and spent all day working on the wet carpet and we decided since we have been wanting to clean all the carpet for awhile, he cleaned all the carpet in the house. Around 8 o'clock that evening after he had taken the machine back to the store, he was doing a further examination of the carpet downstairs and realized it was worse than he originally thought. He then began pulling up all the carpet to let the padding get more air to dry out. He had to work on Friday so after the work day, he came home telling me that he had contacted the insurance company and the carpet guy. We then had to rearrange furniture throughout the house so we could fit what was downstairs. Nothing like an impromptu change of scenery in all areas of the home! Saturday involved the removing of the padding and carpet so it can dry so the garbage man will be able to haul it away. This is so sad since the carpet was in really good shape and was only about 5 years old. We will see how things turn out with the insurance.
Things happen in threes. Isn't that the saying? Well, tonight while one of the boys was carrying Abby to the family room, she slipped and was caught leaving all her weight suspended by only one arm. She ended up dislocating her right shoulder. Matt could feel the ball out of the socket and Abby was unable to move that arm. We called a friend who is just finishing medical school and he recommended not waiting til morning to take her in and get it set back in place. Here is the part that makes it all OK. While Matt was upstairs putting Abby in her PJs before we left for the ER a strong spiritual feeling came into the room. Matt checked her shoulder a second time with clothes off and could not feel the dislocation anymore. She had been whimpering and whining (she could not use the arm) and now began again to laugh and giggle like we are used to seeing. She even reached up with the right hand, yes the right hand, to wipe away her tears! What a contrast... We call it nothing short of a miracle. A loving and kind Heavenly Father fixed Abby's shoulder. We knelt down as a family and gave thanks for His blessings. Things like this let you know you are not alone in the challenges you go through.
For Abby's 2nd Birthday we took her to Build-a-Bear to pick out her very own bear. This is a tradition we started with Caleb for his birthday a few years ago and since then we have taken the kids there for a birthday. I can't believe this completes the birthday bears.
Abby had so much fun decided what bear to get and which outfit to pick out. I think her favorite part was the stuffing machine and the fluffing area. For those of you who have not been to a Build-a-Bear store, you can go in a pick out a unstuffed animal, choose a sound for it (if you want too), and the worker at the store helps to stuff it. When they are finished putting in the stuffing, they have you choose a heart to put into your animal and they also put in the ID tag for it. They then sew it up for you. You then take it to the fluffing area where you can comb the animals hair. Next it is time to pick out an outfit and dress it. Finally it is time to name your animal. This is a really fun activity for the little kids to do, even teh big kids enjoy this!!
I meant to post this yesterday, February 11th, on her actual birthday.
Wow, I can't believe it has been two years since Abby was born. To look back to see where she started from and to see her today is AMAZING!! Two years ago was a very scary time. Abigail Faith Rogers was born 13 weeks early at 27.1 weeks gestation and only weighed 2 lbs. 11 ounces and was 13 inches long. Little did we know what a roller coaster we would go on for the next 86 days with her living in the NICU. Today, Abby is a beautiful, active, determined, normal toddler. Looking at her now, one would never suspect she started life different than any other baby. She now weighs 20 lbs 7 ounces., is 32 inches tall, walks, no runs everywhere and jabbers about everything. She loves to play dress-up with her big sister and snuggle with anything that is soft. She loves to be involved in what her big siblings are doing and her most favorite thing to do is eat.
We find so much entertainment in watching her at any meal time. She has recently learned that she can eat with a spoon and it really is just as fast as both hands! Every meal is an adventure. If not watched carefully, she will paint herself with her food. Here is the most recent picture of her after Daddy gave her a bowl of ice cream last Friday evening. When I walked into the dining room and saw her, my only repsonse was, "Grab the camera." The boys all laughed and Matt said this is not funny and hauled her up to the bathtub to be bathed. I am constantly telling her not to make a mess and so now she repeats, "Abby messy." Abby truly is a joy to have in our lives. She always has a smile for everyone. She loves to flirt!!! Her big blue eyes are to die for. She is so lovable. Happy Birthday (a day late) Abby, we love you!!
Somehow Abby found a pair if scissors and decided she didn't like her bangs the way they were. Hopefully this will be the only time she decides to take matters into her own hands. I also hope they will grow quickly so it doesn't show too much in her upcomimg birthday pictures!
Abby is offically walking all over the place! She started walking on November 1st, which would make her 21 months/18 months corrected!!
Believe it or not, at her corrected age, she beats our family average for walkers. Only Danny beat her at walking and that was at 13 months old. Our latest walker was Aaron at 21 months.
To put this into perspective, Abby has beaten all expectations and will not let anything or anyone hold her back. She has met or exceeded all of the milestones set by her older siblings.
Abby, we are so proud of you for all you have accomplished in your short life. We love you and are glad to have you in our family!
Our last child is now in nursery. Can you believe it, we can finally have time to enjoy our classes at church! It has only been 11 1/2 years since we have that opportunity. =)
Abby loves nursery! I think it helps that Clarissa is in there with her. It is so fun to watch them play with the other children. I think Abby's favorite part is definately snack time!!
Abby has been pushing her walker around for about 6 weeks now. I thought it was about time I put some pictures of her doing this for family, so they could see her growing up. These first pictures are from July 28th.
Today I decided to take a little video of her pushing her walker. It is amazing to see the difference in that amount of time. In July she kept her little legs straight and her body would arch away from the walker. Now I think it is safe to say that she has it down.
While we were playing, she let go of me and stood on her own for a couple of seconds. This is the second time she has done this recently. She gets so excited about it that she falls down and moves onto another activity. It will be so fun to watch her next stage...walking!!
The Wild Hair Do
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