Happy Birthday Caleb!!

Happy 2nd birthday to our baby boy! Can you believe it has already been two years?!?! I keep saying this, but it's more and more evident every day that time is just getting away from me! It really does seem like just yesterday that we were holding this sweet, dark-haired little boy and feeling just slightly overwhelmed at the prospects of having two kids so close! I can honestly say that, thus far, it (usually) hasn't been as hard as I expected it to be!

How could it be difficult with such a cute little guy to love?!?!

Here are some things about Caleb:

• He is a busy, busy boy! He moves from one moment of curiosity to the next moment of mischief with the speed of a cheetah! Trying to keep up with this boy is next to impossible!
• He has been affectionately nick-named Caleb the Tornado. Grandma L. gave him this name after staying with him for a few days last year.
• He loves to be outside. He would live out there if I would let him
• He loves to eat pretzels, raisins, yogurt (which he calls low-gurt), popcorn, jellybeans, bananas, granola bars (knowns as ah-la bars)...ok, so he likes to eat - period!
• He likes to chew on the corners of one certain blanket, which has almost completely destroyed it!
• He is very particular about his bed-time routine. He will not settle down without his 3 favorite blankets, his giraffe, and his bear. And he always tries to get extra stuff - like toys, his sippy cup, books, etc.
• He is quite the chatter box and is very loud - especially when he's crying!
• He can already identify Maceys and Wal-Mart before we even get there!
• He is quite the charmer - he really knows how to use his big eyes to his advantage!

I could go on and on about this boy! He is truly a unique, enjoyable, lovable kid! We love you very much little Caleb! We are so glad you're a part of our family. Life just wouldn't be the same without you!

Spring/Winter, Easter, and Other Stuff

We had the worst April Fool's joke ever this year! Mother Nature sure was cruel sending all this snow!

Our cute kids all decked out in their Easter clothes. I decided to forgo the Sunday clothes this year since we had General Conference on Easter. Don't they look cute in their lime green?!? I can't believe how hard it is getting to get a good picture with them all at least looking in the direction of the camera!

We had a great Easter weekend and really enjoyed having General Conference as part of our Easter festivities. All of the conference talks were so good, and it was fun to eat our Easter candy while we watched and listened! We had a good time finding eggs and visiting with the Ripplinger side of the family during the evening.

There were some crazy wind storms in April too. In the worst one, our next door neighbor's willow tree snapped off about halfway up. Thankfully it fell into her driveway and not on our house!

The kids decided to try flying a kite from the swingset one day. It didn't work very well, but they had fun doing it!

Emily had to complete a science project as an assignment for school. So she and I spent the week of spring break working on it. We smashed up lots of potato chips onto graph paper to see how much grease each kind of chips had. She did a great job working on it and then presenting it.

And last, but not least, Stacie and Phil got married in May! It was a fun day, and the kids really enjoyed running around at the reception. It was a little chilly, but the weather cooperated well. Rachel and Caleb have really taken a liking to Phil - we're glad to have him join the family!

Knee Surgery

I had knee surgery on April 20 to repair a torn meniscus. Here's a looksie at the fun!

This is right after surgery. My knee is all bandaged up, and there's a white sock from my toes all the way up to the top of my thigh. It is to help with circulation, so the chance of getting a clot is reduced. I had to wear it until I was able to get around without crutches. I was able to put as much weight on my leg as I could tolerate. Amazingly, I didn't feel an ounce of pain until about 2 days after the surgery.

This is 48 hours after the surgery, when I got to take the bandages off and have a shower! Can you see the orange all the way from my ancle up to my mid-thigh? That's the antiseptic stuff they cleaned it off with before the surgery. It was tricky getting my leg up over the edge of our tub (which is higher than normal) to get into the shower!

This is how it looks without the bandage. The surgeon wrote "yes" on the correct leg just before they took me in to surgery. I'm glad they took the extra precautions to keep from operating on the wrong knee! Consequently, it took at least a week for that "yes" to wear off! You can't really see the stitches, but there are two of them, one on either side of my knee cap. They came out one week after the surgery.

I was on crutches for almost a week, though I was only using one for the last couple of days. I went to physical therapy 4 times. They really push you, but I really enjoyed going because it always made my knee feel so much better.

Speedy the Goldfish

How could I forget to mention Speedy?? I mean, seriously - he(or she??) has been such a fixture on my kitchen counter for the past 3 months (literally)!

It is with a heavy heart that I announce...um, no - there's no heavy heart here! The dang fish finally kicked the bucket this morning!!

And now I get my counter space back and don't have to look at the disgusting murky fish water anymore! And I don't have to clean up after two curious kids who seem to like the taste of fish food! {I just have to clean up after one child who really likes to eat cat food...ugh!} And I don't have to remind a certain child, who shall remain nameless, to take care of the fish!

I knew this would turn out to be a good day!

It's Been a While...

Um, yeah, it has been a while since I blogged. Bad me!! I've been too overwhelmed with everything going on (aka - normal life) to feel like blogging! But, in case you're interested, here are a few things to look for in the coming days:

Rachel turned 3!! (I can't believe I didn't get a b-day post up for her, so I'm going to do one and post-date it so it LOOKS like I didn't neglect her! So scroll down to see it, but in a day or two.)

I had knee surgery

We had another wedding in the family

We've been living through winter, spring and everything in between! Winter sure hung on for a long time this year!

We celebrated Easter

Emily (and mom) did a science fair project (you'll never want to eat chips again!)

I know you're all (all 3 of you!) on pins and needles to read about our oh-so-ordinary lives. So I promise to get back into the swing of things. Soon. Hopefully.

Happy Birthday Rachel!

I can't believe it has already been THREE years since our sweet little Rachel rushed into the world! Time really does pass more quickly each year! And my how things change! Here's a little walk down memory lane, starring Rachel.

A few days old

One year old (and loving brand-new Caleb)

Two years old

The Birthday Girl!

Here are a few tidbits about Rachel:

• She loves to sing, especially I am a Child of God and I Love to See the Temple. She hums and sings all the time!
• She loves candy (not much of a surprise), fruit, granola bars and pepper jack cheese.
• She is full of personality and spit fire. Don't mess with her because she knows how to defend herself!
• She still has red, naturally curly hair, though not as curly as when it was short. It is amazing how long her hair really is (and she's never had a haircut)!
• She knows lots of letters and loves to let us know when she sees any that she knows.
• She loves everybody (and she tells me all the time that she does)!
• She loves to be a helper.
• She is a really good sleeper.
• She loves to go on walks and bike rides and play at the park.

Rachel is such a special girl. We love her to pieces and are so thankful to have her in our family. There is something about her that is different - hard to explain - but I think she has a very strong spirit and will do amazing things in life.

We love you Rachel! You add such an amazing amount of warmth and love and energy to our lives.

Spring Happenings

RESOURCEFUL

(toys double as step stools)

CREATIVE

(new uses for hard-boiled eggs)

ARTISTIC

(Easter egg hands)

BUSY, BUSY BOY

(wearing Emily's shoes)

THOROUGHLY CAREFUL

(more color on the egg than on hands)

TOOTHLESS

(no top teeth)

INNOCENTLY IMPISH

(no explanation needed)

MUSICAL

(orchestra concert - a terrific violin player)

(sorry for the horrible picture)

Get This Off Me!!

I had just slipped into sleep last night when I woke up to Rachel crying. Assuming it was potty time, I dragged my sleepy self out of bed and walked to her room to help her. When I got there, she said, between sobs, "Get this off me!!" I assumed she was just not entirely awake, so I helped her out of bed and into the bathroom. As she sat down, she again sobbed, "Get this off me!" Then I noticed her finger. She had wrapped one of her hair elastics around it, and her finger was in the process of turning a very ugly shade of dark purple! I pulled the elastic off and immediately her finger started looking a little more normal, although a little red. I am so thankful it woke her up because the last thing we need is a little more medical excitement at this house!!

Note to self: take Rachel's elastics out before she goes to bed from now on!

Cellulitis

Just for the record (so I can remember), Emily developed cellulitis as a result of the cuts she got from the cat attack last week. Here is what she looked like throughout the day on March 6th.

Before we headed to the hospital,

In the Emergency Room

And in the evening

These pictures really don't do it justice! The swelling around her right eye was a lot worse than it appears, and by the evening was pretty red.

She had 3 doses of IV antibiotics, and this is what she looked like on Sunday

An amazing difference! The redness and swelling were almost completely gone!

Two things played into the development of the cellulitis:

#1 - a bacteria that all cats carry in their mouths that is introduced to humans from bites and/or scratches.

#2 - the fact that Emily is allergic to Augmentin and Rocefin, which are the first two antibiotics doctors would normally prescribe for cat bites/scratches

We are counting our blessings that we caught this when we did and that Emily responded so well to the antibiotics in the hospital!

Unexpected Happenings

Emily was attacked as she tried to pick up a stray cat this week. She had already pet the cat and thought it was friendly, but the cat wanted nothing to do with being picked up. In Emily's words, "I tried to pick it up and it jumped on my face!"

I've never heard such horrifying screams come out of someone so small! I will spare you all the gory details, except to say that we spent the evening at InstaCare, where she received 5 stitches in 2 different cuts on her forehead. She is recovering nicely, but still very sore. Here she is the morning after the ordeal.

The worst cut is thankfully hard to see - right along her hairline. It was completely through the full thickness of her skin! She also has several other scratches and puncture wounds on her left arm and shoulder and back/neck area. Since cat wounds are so dirty, she has to take a course of antibiotics to protect against infections. Let's hope it works!

I am so thankful things weren't worse. I think her glasses probably spared her eyes from being clawed. Thank goodness she was wearing them! I still can't believe something like this could happen. Every time I think about it I just want to cry! I am never fully prepared for how much it hurts to see your child in pain. That is an emotion that sneaks up on me every time!