Sorry the blog has been a little quiet...it's because our lives have been a little loud. We had one or more sick kiddo for the past 3 weekends and are getting ready for a double bathroom remodel. Which I'm very excited about, not the work but the finished product.

This weekend the Gabster picked up a yucky virus and was/is so sick. She went on (and is still on) a nursing strike, and isn't sucking her thumb either so her throat must be bothering her pretty bad. On Saturday she stopped nursing and had a fever so we were concerned she'd become dehydrated, but luckily she started taking a bottle and has been eating a few ounces here and there. I miss cuddling up to her while I nurse her and our quiet time together, hopefully she'll drop her picket sign soon and come back to me. I've tried to negotiate with her but she doesn't communicate so well.

So, needless to say we missed church again and missed the super bowl fun. Hopefully we'll be back to the land of the living soon!

Hot off the presses: Gabbi has (finally) rolled over!

Down but not quite out.

This week we had a visit from our beloved parents as teachers educator. She recommended reading a book to Gabbi everyday, and I have to admit I groaned a bit inside because lately there is not enough time in the day. But, a little tiny light bulb went off in my brain. Combine the fact that Bella loves to "read" to anyone with ears and Gabbi needs a story a day and what have you got?

Bam!

We are all down with colds this week, and spent a lot of time lying around. From left to right: Daddy, Reid-O, Bella, Panda, Pinky-pie, Gabbi, and beary.

Poor Gabbilicious had her first ear infection, but she's taking it like a champ. Check out that drool action.

Hopefully this weekend will be restful and everyone will be back to 100% by Monday.

5 months!

Bella playing with Gabbi. In her swimsuit. In Gabbi's bumbo chair.

Gabbi's entering her 5th month of life! She has 2 teeth, eats cereal, and has tried bananas. She does not sit up yet (too top heavy), or roll over (too bottom heavy). She is so happy and sweet, and lights up when she sees a familiar face. She loves her sister, brother, and teething toys. She is 17lbs of pure joy!

Smiley Girl

Sledding down our driveway.

Reason #6 why we had kids. I took this picture while sipping hot chocolate, snug as a bug in the house.

Going to bed after midnight ruins me for at least 4 days.

Happy New Year! We rang in the new year with my lovely cousin Stacy (who is like a sister to me) and her boys. We had Chinese food, fondue, Champagne, and sparkling cider for the kids. The kids didn't like the cider, will not be wasting money on that again.

The pack and play was set up in order to accommodate baby Charlie, but the older kids decided to take over and play super babies in it. If you are a Dora the Explorer viewer you know what super babies are. If you are not a Dora viewer, consider yourself lucky. Brian gets excited when visitors are over, he considers himself a sort of amateur mixologist. He was so busy making a strange rum/hot chocolate concoction for us that we all missed the big countdown. Alas, I stayed up till midnight for nothing! It was fun to have someone over, we've been out of the loop lately and I miss other adults.

Bern, Benjamen, and Bella being super babies.

Babies Gabbi and Charlie, working hard to smile but their cheeks are too heavy.

All the kiddos the morning after.

The girls partied a little too hard.

In honor of the new year, Gabbi produced a tooth. It's a nice little tooth, all white and pointy. She resolves to get more teeth this year, and maybe sit up, roll over, crawl. She's also been eyeballing us eating and drinking, so we started cereal. She's concerned with her weight gain lately, so she only took a few bights. The drool production is at full force, we might need some more bibs.