New bikes!!!!

Paige has graduated into Morgan's old bike - which they now call the Spark bike because it is pink ;)

Morgan got a new bike, and is so excited. The bike came in blue and pink (which Dad liked best) or this white, brown and orange! Morgan picked these colours because they are Brownie colours, and she's almost a Brownie!!!
The girls didn't ride their bikes very much last summer since Ella was so little and it was hard to watch them all. Once Morgan gets her confidence up, those training wheels will come off, and she'll be off to the races!!!!

The syringe.....

I've been trying quite hard to wean Ella, but up until very recently she had been protesting loudly!!!! Well, Kevin has used a syringe a few times to get water into her if I have been out and it has worked really well. So I thought that I would try it with milk at meal times because she is really slow with the cup. I've had quite a few requests for pictures, so here they are!!!!

Crazy girls!!!

The weather has been great lately, so the girls have been playing in the garden a lot. Morgan and Maddison love to climb on the swingset!!!!

A Great Loss

My dear friend Lynn passed away very suddenly at the end of April.

Lynn and I became friends in the fall of 2004 when Morgan went to Junior Kindergarten. Her youngest daughter Maddison and Morgan became instant best friends, and so did we. It started with play-dates so that the kids could play; but pretty soon we just started getting together while the girls were in school so that we could visit.
Lynn was a wonderful member of the community; volunteering in the school. She was also a prominent member of Girl Guides of Canada, and shared her love of guiding with Morgan. Lynn was with me every queasy step of my pregnancy with Ella and was one of the very few that knew I was pregnant before I left for England! We never went more than a day or so without contact, even chatting online while I was in England.
Lynn was like family; especially to the girls. She had such a big heart and gave so much love to Morgan, Paige and Ella. She was a constant support for me; and the kettle was always on for tea and a chat. I can remember a number of instances where I got told; because after dropping Paige at preschool I hadn't come for tea....the kettle was on you know!

Lynn was in our lives for such a short time, but she touched our lives so deeply and we will never forget her. I miss her every day, but am very grateful to have had the privilege of knowing her, and to have her family in my life. Maddison and Ashton; you've become part of our family,and I'm so glad that we have you in our lives!


A very good friend of mine sent me this poem:

She is Gone
By Anonymous

You can shed tears that she is gone
or you can smile because she has lived.

You can close your eyes and pray that she'll come back
or you can open your eyes and see all she's left.

Your heart can be empty because you can't see her
or you can be full of the love you shared.

You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday
or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.

You can remember her and only that she's gone
or you can cherish her memory and let it live on.

You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back
or you can do what she'd want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.



I have wonderful memories of Lynn. I have Maddison here today, and Morgan, Paige, Maddison and I sat around for quite awhile this afternoon looking at pictures and sharing memories.

Busy, Busy

Well things have been a little crazy around here lately. About a week after Ella came home from the hospital we ended back in the emergency room. We had fish for dinner, and within an hour Ella was vomiting and unresponsive.It was exactly what had taken us to the hospital the first time. The strange thing is that we had fish the first time as well, which made me think that it was the fish. They watched her in the ER and sent us home because we had an appointment the next morning with the pediatrician. She was quite dehydrated but bounced back quickly. So now we wait for an appointment with an allergist...poor baby! Ella has lost some weight through all of this, so we go back to see the pediatrician on Monday to make sure that she is gaining it back.
Also in the last couple of weeks Kevin and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary!!!!!
Last week I had Belle at the vets because she has an eye infection. Apparently it is a herpes like virus which she has had before. There was evidence of an ulcer scar in her eye. She is on drops to clear it up, but it could reoccur at any time. As if that isn't enough, she hurt her paw the other night. I was going to take her in to get checked, but have been watching and she is getting better. She is in constant motion so I am not surprised that she hurt herself as she is quite a klutz. If she isn't fine by Monday, I'll take her in then!
Other than that it has been run, run, run, and trying to get caught up from the kids being sick for well over a month!!!!
xx to all!!!

Fun in the Sun

We had beautiful weather on the weekend, and here are the girls enjoying the day.

Before and After

Morgan decided a couple of weeks ago that she would like to get her hair cut as short as Paige's. Keep in mind that when you pulled her hair straight it went to the bottom of her shoulder blade!

Here they are after their hair appointment, while we were at the hairdressers, Morgan decided that she wanted her hair straightened with the iron for fun.
What cuties :)

Playing ball

I've been meaning to post this for a while now, but time seems to keep getting away from me....more pics, and an update to come.

Miss Paigie hard at work!

 
 
 

Baby's got her groove back!

She is walking around the kitchen like an old pro. Actually she's walking farther than I've seen her go before!!! HOORAY ELLA BEAN!!!!!!
Check this out:

Easter eggs and Easter bunnies

The dying of the eggs! Note the spotty face.


This year they coloured them with marker as well.


The lovely basket of eggs.



And of course of resident Easter Bunny!

Chicken Pox are not a joke!!!!

Last Sunday Ella had an off day. She was extremely cranky, not eating, etc.... We just put it down to teeth. Then after dinner she started throwing up. When I put her into the tub to clean her up - she fell asleep, sending off all sorts of alarm bells. I told Kev that we needed to take her to the hospital.
We took her to the General, which is closet to our house, a) because I didn't want her in the car for long while she was vomiting, and b) because I wasn't thinking straight and it didn't even occur to me to take to the children's hospital where her pediatrician is - DUH!!! I know.
They started an IV and took her for a chest x-ray. They told me that she had a double ear infection, and pneumonia. After consulting with Mac they decided that they would give her a dose of antibiotics through her IV and then transfer to Mac via ambulance. I went with her by ambulance and Kevin had to go home to relieve our neighbour. Around 1am at Mac, they told me that she was very dehydrated and had gastroenteritis (stomach flu). Keep in mind she only vomited for three hours and had no diarrhea.....They also said that she had no sign of pneumonia in her x-ray and that both ears were clear. WHAT???? Apparently pediatric chest x-rays are hard to read and they had been mistaken at the other hospital. Also nobody seemed too excited that she was only just over the chicken pox.In the meantime she was really out of it. Around 4am they told me that they would admit her and that they were just waiting for a bed upstairs.

We finally got somewhere the next morning when the pediatrician came in and actually listened to our story. (Kev was with me by then after taking the others to school). She asked us how Ella's balance was and was she still able to walk. So we put her on the floor and she couldn't even keep her balance to stand. That's when they said she possibly had acute cerebellar ataxia caused by post-varicella cerebellitis. In English that means that she had loss of balance due to swelling in her cerebellum (which is your balance center). Apparently they think that this is an auto-immune response to the chicken pox virus. She needed neurology to consult and we would go from there. It was then decided that Ella would have to have an MRI to rule anything else out. She had that done on Tuesday and after she was cleared by neurology and the pediatrician we were able to come home late Wednesday afternoon. This a condition which clears on its own, and she is already almost back to her normal self. We go to see our pediatrician on Thursday. Quite a scary time though.
Poor old Paigie Pie broke out in spots on Tuesday night, and is starting to feel much better now! Thank you so much to L for stepping in and taking the girls throughout last week so that Kevin could be at the hospital with me, and to Grandma for spending Paige's first day of spots with her!!!!
xxoo

Here comes trouble!!!!

Just had to share these (especially for L & A).


She wasn't cooperating, which is why her head is cut off. What a cutie.

Long, long week!

Well it has been a very long week. Ella is much better, but is teething and very miserable. Morgan spent the first couple of days being very itchy and miserable although she was very good about the whole thing. Then cabin fever kicked in. They aren't used to being at home everyday! Once Morgan started feeling better, the girls started being quite wild. Even though they were spending a ton of time outside and we were going for walks most days, they were wild crazy kids! Getting homework done has been quite a task as well. I must say that I am looking forward to her going back to school ;)
Paige shows no sign of getting spots, and I seem to have a bit of a cold.

Two down, one to go!

Morgan broke out in chickenpox on Saturday, so is off school for the week. She is very itchy, but handling it really well. Ella is still quite miserable, and Paige is so far fine. The weather is beautiful outside though, so at least they can get out in the backyard to blow off some steam!

The purple icing:

Last week the girls and I made cupcakes, and they requested purple icing. It wasn't the prettiest colour I have ever seen, but they were pleased with it, and had a great time icing the cupcakes themselves.




Two cuties colouring.

Morgan is home from school today. She is running a fever and is generally miserable. She has a couple of suspect spots but I am not entirely convinced that it is the chickenpox...time will tell. Ella has a gazillion more spots today and is being a trooper! She is in the best mood of the three of them!!

Guess what?????

Ella has the chicken pox!!!! The older girls haven't had it yet, so we are potentially in for a very long month!!!!! I have no idea how she got it either.
Wish us luck!!!
xxoo

Check this out!!!!

Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos

First Steps

Ella just took about five steps BY HERSELF in the kitchen!!! We're in trouble now.... what a star :)

XXOO to all.

Taking a little breather!!!!

We have been running non-stop for I don't know how long!!! March break is finally here and we are taking it easy. A very welcome thing! The in and out of the van with boots and snowsuits is getting old (and exhausting!) so it is really nice not to have to be rushing three little people into the cold every morning.
We are back into a hectic appointments for everybody. Dentist, pediatrician, family doc, etc....Ella has had a bunch of appointments, and all is well. She had her eye appointment and her eyes look great! We go back again in six months. Now we're just waiting for ENT and her follow-up hearing and speech appointment.
Had a nice weekend - visited with friends from Montreal whichwas awesome. We really wish we all lived closer!!!!!
Other than that it has just been the daily grind - and I have been slacking in the picture department.
xxoo to all :)