Lucky 7!

Last week our biggest little man turned 7!!! Little Joe, being the math wiz he is didn't take long to figure out that on the 7th month of the 7th day he was turning 7. And that his party was on the 7th day of the week...just a touch of Joe for ya there. My Dad, Joe, and I gave him a new bike with no training wheels. He was so super excited. And even just practising for 2 days he can go a pretty good distance without falling over....now ask him to make a turn around a corner and you've got serious problems LOL.

We had a party with just a few local friends filled with silly string and 245 water balloons (Joe and I got a little crazy with a few of leaky ones the night before). Little Joe was so happy and we thank those who came over. I made his cake as usual. He wanted a Jimmie Johnson (a Nascar racer) theme so we made it work. He is a HUGE Jimmie Johnson fan! He keeps record of what laps the wrecks are on, what place Jimmie is in, and how many pit stops he makes. Again with the math...yep.

I'm sure most of you know about Joe's health issues. But if not...this was a very sick little boy when he was young. If not for the wonderful hospital and staff our precious little boy made not have made it to see this birthday so we always consider these big events. And even though Joe still has some serious health problems we know it could be worse and we are thankful for all of his gifts.

Now for 7 things we love about Joe.

1. Gotta say it like we always do...his smile. That kid is ALWAYS smiling. And you can tell exactly how he is feeling just by reading his smile.

2. His brains. This kid is terribly smart. It may bite me later but I love to see this kid in action and learning. He loves to watch the science and history channel, which my husband LOVES, and he will just sit like a sponge and soak up anything he can.

3. His compassion. Joe is a very loving kid. Towards his brother and sister, toward his friends, toward a worm on the pavement. I love that he randomly gives me a hug. I think his struggles in life makes him very aware of others' pain and he wants to help them.

4. His joy. Kinda of ties into the smile. Very rarely is Joe not in a good mood. He loves to laugh and joke and have a good time even in tough times. He is so funny...just love it.

5. His bravery. Joe never cries when I say we need to go to the hospital. He may look concerned as to what they will do but he never cries. We have had a few serious things happen with his tube and the only one shedding tears was yours truly. He is a very tough kid.

6. His eyes. I've mentioned these in past birthday posts too. Those eyes are some of the palest blues I have ever seen. Just beautiful.

7. His independence. Joe was never a cuddler (which I wanted when he was little). He was always reaching, crawling, grabbing for anything new that he could. He is not a shy kid at all. he will dive right in on a playground and come out with 8 new friends.

There are so many other things I can say about Joe, but I am getting long winded. I hope he remembers this lucky 7 birthday. We love you so much buddy!!! Happy 7th!

Kentucky Stops

Well Joe's Mom and brother were here for about 6 days earlier in the month. We had great fun, and as usual my hubby packed our days full of things to do. We went to the zoo, Churchill Downs, Mammoth Cave, Dinosaur World, Louisville Slugger Museum, and I am sure I am forgetting something else right now. Forgive me...I am still recovering from this LOL. Anyway I will break these trips up a little bit. The first big place we went was to the Louisville Zoo. It's actually quite big with a lot of things to see and do, but we had a pretty big complaint about their service. The train wasn't running but they still sold us a ticket...they advertised food that they didn't have, and the food they did have was not good (that's putting it lightly), and we wanted to see a 3-d movie they had there and waited for 20 minutes before they told us it wasn't running. So if you go..I'm just warnin' ya. Bring your own food and ask if the train is running. It was a hot long day but everyone loved it. They had a baby giraffe there that was running around and kicking. Looked a lot like a young calf of a cow with it's tail up sprinting around it's Mama...super cute!

Garrett looking at a pygmy hippo :)

That's Joe's brother holding Garretto. What do you think they are looking at so intently????

.........well if you know little Joe you know he is obsessed with elephants (has been since he he was about 12 months old).The kids and Joe's mom looking at something...jeez I don't even think I can remember what it was!Notice how tan the Bug is getting already! Can you tell we are spending a lot of time at the pool :o)?

More stops to come later!

Let Summer Begin!!

I remember this time last year I was so nervous to face a summer with three kids alone. I remember wishing Joe could stay in school just so it could help me out. Now I was so excited for him to get out!! What a difference a year makes! Even Big Joe will get a break from work. His class graduates on 10 June and he gets about 3 weeks off before his next class comes in :). The kids and I are already loving the water park on post. Little Joe is really starting to swim well. I'm thinking by the end of the summer I can let him swim anywhere in the pool without me being 10 feet away. Big Joe's Mom and older brother will be here this week for a visit :). We plan on making several day trips around northern Kentucky, including the Louisville Zoo and Mammoth Cave, so it should be tons of fun. And Joe and I have attended a couple of balls. It's been a while since we've been able to get dressed up and go out because of deployments. It's been busy but fun.

2010 Regimental BallJoe (far left) and most of his students
Even summer time can wear a kid out :)

My business is doing well as well. I have at least one order a week and I have actually hit the point where I am making money over the investment that I made to start the business. Yay!!!! My next step to to get a combo embroidery/sewing machine and custom make some blankets and burp clothes to add to the cakes. My sewing machine has pretty much gone ca put and I miss making things. Can't wait to add this addition to the house and the business!

All Aboard! Things are winding down.

HUGE NEWS!!!!! The house has been sold!!!! We went to Tennessee last weekend and closed on it. I cried like a little girl...even Big Joe got a little sappy. I couldn't even drive by it...shoot I haven't stepped inside the door since we had the floors redone and walls painted. It was just too hard. BUT I am soo happy that this burden has been lifted! I feel like we can focus more on the family now. We went out that evening with Dad and Susan to my favorite restaurant and celebrated :).

The next day we drove back here and took the kids on a surprise trip to a tiny town called New Haven. The have a railway museum and train rides there. Unfortunately because of the flood their model train museum was severely damaged and had to be closed but we took the kids on the family pizza train. It was about a 40 minute ride and they served us lunch. The boys loved it! Katie had a good time eating and smiling at her brothers. It was just nice family time together.

This is little Joe's last full week of school. And last night was his last soccer game of the season. Strangely I never got any pictures of him playing this year. Probably because whoever took Joe to the game usually had either Garrett and/or Katie with them and wrangling them takes up much of the game. We did get his team pictures though. Just amazes me how this kid is growing up. Seems to look bigger every day.

Happy Birthday Garrett!!

Good gravy! How can this child be three?? Sigh...people always warned be how fast time would go once I had kids and it just seems to get faster with the addition of each child! So here goes Garretto's shortened birth story...

For once Big Joe was home and like his big brother Garrett tried to come early..several times leaving me on magnesium sulfate for a while (NOT FUN STUFF). Finally when I hit 37 weeks and had had contractions all night in the hospital (for the umpteenth time) they decided to break my water. Of course then the contractions stopped. So they started pitocin. Big Joe decided to take little Joe to preschool and then return to the hospital. I had been told for years that I could no have an epidural but we thought I could have a spinal block so I opted for that. But they told me I couldn't get it until I was about 8cm because it would wear off. I was already 4 cm that morning but since the contractions had stopped we thought it may be a while....um no. Within 15 minutes I went from 4cm to 10cm and was screaming that it was time. The nurses didn't really believe me but they soon did. People started running. So much for the spinal at 8 cm!! But I did get it as I was trying to hold back pushing. Joe barely got back in time to see the one birth he would be in the country for and a man dressed in scrubs hit his rolling chair and slid to the bed. He just about "caught" Garrett and said, "Hi. I am Mr. Hoover." We all laughed and Garrett was here! All 7lbs 4oz of him and dimples to boot!

Fast forward 3 whole years!!! Garretto Burrito as we call him is such a joy. He had a great time at his party this year. It was very very windy and of course the first party I have that is not at our house I plan for a chilly windy day. But the kids had fun. Garrett doesn't have a huge sweet tooth (gets that from his Dad) so he was only interested in blowing out the candle. It was sooo windy he had to wait to do that when we got home.

Now for three things I love about Garretto.

1. He is so funny! This kid can come up with different voices and say phrases that leave me rolling! Not to mention his sweet southern accent. You just can't help but smile at him

2. I love that Garrett is a cuddler. Little Joe was never much of a snuggler. Probably because he spent a lot of time in a hospital bed with things hooked up to him. But Garrett loves to climb on the couch with me and snuggle or fall asleep in his Dad's lap. Some mornings we wake up with him in our bed as well. It's so stinkin sweet.

3. Sorry but I have to say those dimples for number 3. Ok well maybe his whole face. Garrett, I think looks a lot like my father. His eyes are so blue. The curly blond hair..everything but those darling dimples which are the icing on the cake. It makes me smile just to look at him because I see my Dad. Good thing his middle name is after him :)

When it rains it pours!

That title can sum up so many things right now. For one my hometown of Clarksville TN is having a pretty tough time with flooding. Here in central Kentucky we have also experienced some milder flooding, interstate closings, and damages to homes. It's just been a mess. The people who were just talking about being 5 inches short on rainfall for the year are no longer bringing that up. Thankfully they are not calling for any more rain until the end of the week. I am hoping that both states can start to see water receding and get some things back to normal.

Speaking of wet and muddy, most of you know the Kentucky Derby was this past Saturday. Joe and I had our first Derby experience :). It was madness! Like part frat party on steroids part sporting event. We saw the running of the port-a-potties as people slipped and hopped across 20 or so potties while spectators hurled mud, trash, TWO LITERS at them!! Of course there were huge hats and lots of people with lots of money...some with police escorts there. I sported a cute purple and black dress and polka dot galoshes and was covered with a yellow raincoat most of the time. The galoshes thing seemed to be a popular theme as I saw several women in Target searching for some and even more tromping through the mud of the infield. It rained on us most of the time we were there but the sun did peek out just minutes before the Derby. Everyone was hollerin' and slip sliding in the mud that surrounded us. It was a blast :)

Another horse adventure we went on was the Budweiser Clydesdales. The little kids and I got to visit them on post. I've seen them a couple of times and they are always beautiful:) Garrett kept saying he wanted to ride them like Gunner. So Cute.

More fun news you say? Weeeeell....we have another contract on the TN house. Wooohoo!! Happy Dance! Sing to the hill tops!! I am praying that the flood doesn't hinder the closing any but I know we were supposed to have an inspection today and since all of the bridges are closed around the home I'm thinking that won't happen. But we have a few weeks until closing and I am praying that things will run smoothly.

One last piece of fun is Little Joe lost his third tooth :). This one was a top one and I think it feels much different to him than the missing bottom ones. Sometimes he gets this funny look on his face..a little confused..and little questioning..and lil surprised. He was still very proud though when it was out and the tooth fairy came to visit.

That has been the gist of the last few days or so. This weekend is Garretto's birthday so that is my big event for the week. I am attempting the use of fondant on his cake....eeek. So we will see how that goes :)

Feel the Thunder over Louisville and life!

So this time of year gets busy around Louisville as it is approaching the Kentucky Derby. Big Joe plans on taking me this year and I am super excited!!! But the city of Louisville has several events leading up to the Derby, including http://www.thunderoverlouisville.org/. Big Joe was out of town for work but a friend and I decided to take our combined total of 7 kids to this madness ;). We mainly went for the air show which my boys went nuts over! There were dozens of jets and planes that flew loudly over head and performed tricks. When Big Joe got home all he heard about was the planes and the boats on the river. Luckily they didn't remember the extra 30 minutes in traffic and the 50,000 people that were there at the time ;)

So for a little update on Joe...we went to Nashville after Easter (which somehow I forgot to put a post up about...I will do that ASAP!) Our wonderful doctor there again said we might need to go to some other hospitals just to see if there are extra things we can do for Joe. He has been having some skin issues (his hands and feet are peeling badly) and his doctor things this might be a vitamin deficiency. What?! The kid is tube fed a perfect diet! Shouldn't he be getting all of his vitamins? Well that's exactly what I said but evidently if you don't absorb well it doesn't matter if you are fed the perfect diet or not so we need to have that checked. His doctor also thinks we need to reexamine the motility in the intestines because he feels there is a possibility that one section of them may not work well causing a lot of other issues and it may be possible to have that section removed and reconnect the good stuff. There are other options as well we can look at now because Joe is old enough to try some things. So we have been referred to two hospitals in Cincinnati and Columbus Ohio....here is to hope!

We are also preparing for Garretto's birthday coming up! He is very excited! We are also having him tested to see if he can join a gymnastics class. Oh how I hope he does well because he wants to do so much that Joe does but he is not big enough yet. So we will see how his test goes Monday :). Garrett is growing so fast these days. Such a sweet little guy but I will post more on him on his special day :)

Bug is doing great :). She is still little, but the doctor was happy enough with her that he didn't want to change anything with her medically for the next 3-4 months! She only says "Mama" and "boo" but she understands almost everything you tell her. With this she has also hit the tantrum stage...dun dun DUN!! AHHHHH! I had no idea what I was in for with little girl tantrums but HOLY COW!!!!! But she is so stinking cute and sweet it is easy to forgive her when she has "said her piece"...for the past 15 minutes LOL.