Bye Bye Germies!

Wow has it been a long 2 weeks. The Greers are still fighting to get over our nasty colds. Ella got an ear infection 2 weeks ago. We all got snotty that week. Ethan waited until this last Sunday night to get a double ear infection. I didn't manage to have time to get myself to the doctor until today when I found out I had an upper respiratory infection and a sinus infection. Luckily, Baby Matthew has managed to keep his to just a cold. I got my doctor to take another peek at his ears today just to be sure. As usual, Eric made it through this virus unscathed. He never gets sick. I was glad to have his help at night. Nana came to help a couple of days this week too. Mimi and Papa were fighting the bug too but when they had enough strength they came over to help.

I think that when your kids are all sick at this age that is when it is the toughest to have more than one. They all want Mama to "hold you" (oh and they say it so so pitiful!) They have started to not want to share me! It just made me miserable to not be able to do it with each of them all day. But alas Mama has to hold Buddy, Sissy, & Baby Matthew. Oh yeah and fix breakfast, lunch, dinner, do 20 loads of laundry a week, be the sole nutrition source for Matthew, ya da ya da ya da. : )

I know this is all because they have weak immune systems. We joke that they are bubble kids. Let me defend myself a little though. I am not a complete crazy mom. When Ethan and Ella were born, they were born right at the beginning of cold & flu season. Since they were preemies, they spent 5 long weeks in the NICU before they could come home with us. We were lectured by the neonatologists and the pediatricians about keeping them at home so they don't get sick. They easily could have landed back in the hospital for simply getting a low grade fever. It wasn't until Spring when we felt it was safe to start to take them out. Honestly, it was such an ordeal I didn't do it as much as I probably should. It was so much easier to get Mimi to come over and things done in a quarter of the time. They started to get more mobile and that made it easier so we started to venture out more. Then I got pregnant with Matthew and was told I couldn't hold them. So that nixed that. They were walking, but still needed to be held after a little while. So here we are......cold and flu season again....newborn. I do venture out with the 3 of them by myself every once in a while. It is tough, but I am so proud of myself when it is over. I am trying hard to balance the need/desire for us to all get out versus the fear of us all gettting sick because it is so miserable. Next Fall Ethan and Ella are starting Mother's Day Out 2 days a week, so that should be really fun! I guess that will be baptism by fire germies!

So today Ethan and Ella went to Mimi and Papa's to escape a little bit. Before I went to the doctor, I went to war with the germies living in our playroom. The kids made sure they slimed every last toy in that room. I gathered all the plastic non-battery toys, tossed them in tub and douced them with Clorox and hot water. I took the below picture because I thought it was funny.

Matty Gs 4 months!

I have a really good reason for my lack of posts (aside from the whole 3 kids 2 and under thing...) We all have a really crummy cold. It started last week with Ella and a cough that led to an ear infection and slowly it trickled to each of us. Eric is unscathed as usual. I guess it pays to be out in the germy world everyday ; )

Matthew had his 4 month appointment today. It was good to have his chest and ears looked at since he has a cold. Fortunately, everything is good! He is a whopping 13 pounds 4 ounces and a full 2 feet tall. He just giggled and talked to the pediatrician the whole appointment. It is amazing that the bulk of our last appointment a couple of months ago was about his colic. In the last week, we (read that as Steph) have really made great strides with his sleeping. I am able to lay him down in his crib awake and he will fall asleep with very little fussing. That is a huge accomplishment for us. I really struggled with getting him to sleep while still watching Ethan and Ella. Now that isn't an issue. Since we have started this, he has slept so much better and is a much happier baby. And that makes for a happier Mama!

Happy Birthday Daddy!!

Monday was Eric's 31st birthday. We celebrated all weekend long. On Saturday night I surprised him with a dinner with some of his friends. On Sunday we celebrated with his family with a cookout. We had wonderful weather so it was perfect for playing outdoors! Ethan was thrilled to see some candles again on Daddy's cake ; )

When Eric was opening his present from the kids he said "this isn't another shirt like last year is it?" (See Blog entry Feb 8, 2008 - that is how I told him I was pregnant with Matthew!) No - not this year. But he did get a Life is Good T shirt. And how!

A Little Vitamin D

We finally got a little warm weather and sunshine this weekend. We have had some serious cabin fever this winter, so it was great to get outside and play. Poor Matthew slept through the recess but maybe he can join us next time!

Exersaucer Fun!

Matthew is just growing up too fast! He has had really good upper body strength since birth really. He always has to have his head up looking around. He doesn't want to miss a thing! We decided to clean off the old exersaucer and let him give it a whirl. We had to put some blankets underneath since he was a little short, but it worked pretty well! He really enjoyed, but I think his big brother and big sister enjoyed it even more!