In other news, Violet is pretty much able to sit up on her own now. I quickly snapped these pictures of her, and then she planted herself on her face not 10 seconds later. Guess I jumped the gun and should’ve also placed pillows in front of her as well. She is competent in that area most of the time though.

The drama didn’t stop there though. As soon as Annie was feeling back to normal and returning to school Violet decided it was her turn. She came down with a fever starting Thursday and continued on with it until Saturday afternoon. Thankfully, Tylenol did the trick with making her feel better and kept her from getting too fussy. Nonetheless, Vi did lose her appetite during those days and put us back to square one with her solid foods introduction and was waking up almost every hour at night. She still isn’t eating as heartily as she was before all this began, but I still sit patiently with her each meal trying to pry those little lips open. Vi is back to her normal sleeping schedule though.

Mike was in Utah for the bulk of all this, so it was a bit more difficult to deal with everyone being sick. He’s home now and shackled down. Life is finally getting back to normal. Thank goodness!

I’ll leave you with a couple of pictures of my dear children.

Violet in her pod.

Annie and Mimi hijacking my camera.

The point of bringing this is up is because we’ve been trying to make it to as many open swim and skate sessions as possible to help the girls practice their skills (usually once a week for both). When we go swimming together Violet also gets the opportunity to slip into her suit and swim around with Ma and Pa. Annie wasn’t really interested in the water as a baby and let us swim her around without much excitement. Mimi, on the other hand, just plain hated swimming until she was about 2-3 years old. I wasted money on an infant/toddler swim class for Mimi once, and she screamed during EVERY SINGLE CLASS FOR THE ENTIRE TIME. I ended up not attending the last few sessions because I was so embarrassed. Vi is a completely different beast and immediately took to the water and can’t stop moving once she hits it. Take a look for yourself. I’ve never seen anything like it. Is she Esther Williams reincarnated?

Ok, so I apparently have to explain who Esther Williams is because Mike just said to me, “Who’s Esther Williams?” {Am I the only person from my generation who loved watching old movies as a kid and can name most actors/actresses from the 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s?} Esther Williams was an actress from the 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s but was just as famous for her swimming abilities. She even swam the English Channel and set other swimming records. Many of her movies revolved around her swimming prowess and were known as “aquamusicals” and featured synchronized swimming and diving.

Annie isn’t having such a great weekend. She’s sick. Again. Yes, again for like the 5th or 6th time this winter. She’s been plagued with coughing and wheezing fits, and no amount of inhaler puffs, breathing treatments or other medications we’ve pumped into her are doing anything to halt the non-stop coughing. Vi and I stayed home with her from church today. I texted Mike multiple times asking is there anything I could do to JUST STOP THE COUGHING. It was really starting to drive me nuts. I’m not trying to be the insensitive mommy, but it could literally drive someone mad to hear someone cough every 2-3 seconds for days on end. Annie will probably have to miss yet another day of school tomorrow and possibly visit the doctor, too. At least Sadie tried to comfort her.

Vi isn’t quite able to sit up on her own, but I was able to get a couple of shots of her sitting up before she toppled over. Why do all my babies roll over and almost crawl before they could sit up whereas it seems other babies sit up before they even roll over?!?

Violet loves getting put down on the floor so she can roll over and can really pull herself up high during tummy time.

This face was a first, and I’m glad I captured it. Too funny!

And had to include a smile. I don’t know if you can tell in the picture, but Vi has a way with her tongue. That baby can curl it in the strangest ways like I’ve never seen anyone do. Do I see a future talent (her daddy would be proud)?

In other news, Lucy approves of the new kitty.

And in other other news, they built a Monkey Joe’s in our town. Essentially, it’s an indoor playground that is full of bouncy houses. My cousin and his wife have one in Atlanta and take their kids there all the time. My Kenosha friends and I always thought we needed a place like that here since it’s too cold or snowy for playing at the park for 5 months out of the year. We finally got our wish and tried it out with the Johnsons last week. I don’t know how much time we’ll spend there because it seems every other family in Kenosha has thought the same thing as us, but we may stop by once in a while.

So Mike got to fulfill part of his dream this past weekend. He and his friend, Chris, headed west to Buffalo, SD (how appropriate) to get themselves a buffalo to bring back. I won’t say how they obtained the animal, but I will say that they got what they wanted and by legal means. ‘Nuff said. I don’t have many details about the trip because Mike had very little cell phone access/signals, and he just returned from his trip late last night. However, Mike asked that I posted some pictures. Here you go.

This looks cold and reminds me of the last time we went to SD. Please tell me why Mike so is intent on living there?

Lucy got to go on the trip, too. She needed a break from us girls. Ha!

Anyway, what is the point of this post, you ask? Evidently, I am being oppressed by hives. Again! After not having hives in over 8 years! I can’t help but wonder if these are sympathy hives for the unfortunate woman I mentioned earlier to remind me physically what she is going through. Why now? What did I eat, use, breathe in, absorb, or touch to cause these awful and itchy welts?!!!? After a few days they seem to only be getting worse. Ugh! Now what? I thought I’d snap a few pictures just to give you an idea of what I’m dealing with.

On my arms. Let me tell, it’s really quite difficult to snap close-ups of your own limbs.

On my stomach.

On my legs.

I have hives on my back, too, but tell me how in the world does someone takes a picture of their own back?

To brighten up this post, I’ll leave you with a recent pic of Mike with the girls.

Then today Annie only had a half day at school. She came home and immediately wanted to go outside to play in the snow. I was all for that, but it was lunchtime. I gave into her as she decided to stay in her gear and eat a quick lunch. Mimi ate quickly, too, so that she could follow her sister outside.

After all this time away from school I ask myself why I don’t just homeschool these girls. I can’t imagine much is being taught to Annie with the numerous sick, snow, and half days away from school. I’m just sayin’.

Last Tuesday was Pirate Day at Mimi’s school. Mimi was not in the least pleased to dress up as a pirate (including tears). I should’ve just let her dress as her normal Mimi self, but I felt like it was my duty as a preschool mommy to make sure my kid participates. I must say though that this girly house is not well-equipped with pirate gear. All I could come up with was a ruffly, knit shirt, jean capris, white tights, and a bandana.

I have to say that Sadie is probably the most patient cat I’ve ever met. This is what I found the other day while Mimi was eating lunch. Is she perhaps using Sadie as a napkin?

While cooking dinner the other night I thought it would be easy to just feed Violet in between busy cooking moments. Violet takes very long to eat and is always so distracted by her sisters during dinner. Mimi snuck in and started feeding Violet and actually had better luck than me to get her to willingly take bites. I think I’ve found a permanent job for Meems.

Also notice that Mimi is wearing the same shirt in the past 2 sets of pictures. It’s Annie’s “birthday” shirt from a couple of years ago. Mimi asked if she could wear it for her birthday. Mimi insisted on wearing it 2 days in a row, and I relented. But I put down my foot when she begged to wear it a 3rd day.

Last night was the annual fish fry at the Catholic elementary school where Mimi’s preschool is located (they aren’t officially affiliated though). The school has the preschool kids participate in their musical program. I still get a kick out of a school fundraising event making beer and wine available to the guests.

Here’s Mimi singing with her fellow classmates. It was nearly impossible to get a semi-decent shot of her. The flash didn’t reach far enough, and not using the flash resulted in blurry/noisy pictures. Oh, well.

Annie, Daddy, and Violet enjoyed the festivities eating fried food and tasty treats. Well, Violet was more than happy to just chew on a plastic spoon.

How was your week?

I can’t believe it, but my little Mimi is 5! She’s almost a kindergartner. It’s just not possible that I can still remember like yesterday when I gave birth to that sweet baby and watched her grow too quickly into the very strange girl she is today.

That wrinkly and tiny little infant.

Eventually turned into such a chubby and delightful baby.

Then into an undeniably loud and screechy toddler that we still adored.

And finally into a still loud, weird but lovable kid (who maybe likes to fib and pester a bit much).

We decided to celebrate Mimi’s birthday one day early because it was kids eat free night at our local eatery. The Johnsons actually were the ones who invited us, but we took over the show and turned it into an impromptu birthday party. Afterward we all headed back to our house to indulge in a Coldstone Creamery cake and open a few birthday presents.

First off, Grandpa Indiana sent some more AG stuff that Mimi really needs including Sugar the dog and a bed/food dish set for Sugar. Thanks, Grandpa! Mimi was really thrilled to receive these and got Sugar all set up in bed right next to her this evening.

The Johnsons definitely know my girls. A lifetime supply of flavored lip balm and a Strawberry Shortcake hippoty hop will definitely get used all the time. Even though I told you guys not to get anything for MImi, we still really appreciate the thought and time you put into her gifts. Thank you for celebrating with us!

This picture cracked me up because of Alex’s hair.

I actually consider the gift bag that the Johnsons put Mimi’s present into to be my present because it’s sooo cute and is a “green” bag that can be used over and over.

And now for some CAKE!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MIMI! WE LOVE YOU!

Grandma Indiana had been wanting to take the girls to the American Girl store since she moved to Chicago this summer, but I thought it made more since to wait to go until they actually owned dolls. Annie was all geared up to visit the store as soon as we got home from NC, but Grandma decided to take a trip down to FL putting off the much anticipated visit to the store until yesterday. Let me tell you, it was worth the wait. My mom and I decided to make a day of it including brunch there. The girls were beyond excited and couldn’t stop talking about it until we finally arrived. Rather than keep rambling on about it, I’ll just start with the pictures.

We started the day with brunch. As you can see the cafe allows the dolls to attend the brunch as well with their own seats and tea cups and saucers.

Since Mimi’s birthday is this week we decided it would be appropriate to celebrate it during our meal. They even brought out her own cake with a candle.

Violet was a good sport throughout the entire trip with only one or two fussy spells. She eventually fell asleep in the stroller.

It is amazing how much these American Girl doll creators have put into the whole concept. The outfits, accessories, hobbies, books, movies, and even furniture. You can find just about anything for a doll in this place.

Does your doll need to get her hair done? Apparently, the 20-something people in line needed a new do’ for their dolls.

Has your doll got a boo or boo or other physical problem? Well, the doll hospital has got you covered even dressing your doll in a hospital gown during her visit.

Head on over to the shoe section, if you feel your doll is in need of some new footwear.

Have you found that your doll has bad vision? Well, the spectacles section has got you covered. Plus, pick up a pair or 2 of earrings while you’re there.

Of course, we had to get a picture of all of us in front of the Kit and Ruthie section. It’s not that great of a picture because we asked a passerby to take the picture, and she seemed to be in a hurry to hand the camera back to me.

Each historical doll had an entire section dedicated to her. Just to give you an idea, here’s what they had for Kit Kittridge.

As you can see, someone could easily go bankrupt if they purchased even a fraction of what’s offered in this store. I tried my best to keep the girls from wanting everything in the place, but we did let them pick out a couple of outfits for their dolls (including ice skates) and t-shirts for the girls. I figured this will probably be our only visit to the store, so we might as well splurge a little. I am glad that the girls finally got their wish of going to the store. Thank you, Grandma, for making that dream come true for them. It was a wonderful and dreamy day.

Another interesting thing happened on the way to the store. I was warned by the AG operator while making brunch reservations that some kind of construction would be going on from 7 to noon and would cause some noise and the parking garage to be closed. I didn’t think much about it until we tried to get close to the store for parking and discovered that several blocks surrounding the store were closed. It wasn’t until we were driving around the back a few blocks away that we saw a helicopter loading up what looked like a large, stainless steel box with windows and lifting it up that we figured out what was going on. After finally finding a parking space a couple of blocks away and walking up to the store we were told by a police officer that we couldn’t cross the street for a few minutes (even though we could see the entrance to the store). The police officer looked up to point out the helicopter and said they were lifting new elevators up to the top of a building dozens of stories high. I wasn’t able to get a picture of the helicopter in action lifting one of those monstrosities, but here’s a quick snap I got of the helicopter afterward.