never ending sickness

even though it is almost april we are just going through our first round of sickness in the sisco home. i'm not so thankful for the timing, considering we have a newborn in the house! about two weeks ago our older kids got sick (see earlier posts) and spread their loveliness on to their mommy and baby brother about 10 days ago. on sunday morning we knew that something was really wrong w/ riley and took him to the urgent care facility. he was given a breathing treatment b/c his oxygen level was only 94%. he also had a chest x-ray and they determined that he had pneumonia. this caused them to give him an injection, take his blood count, and do a blood culture. poor kid got it all done! it was miserable.

later that day, i began to realize that my left ear was really hurting and by 8pm i had a full blown ear infection! around 9:30 we got a call from a pediatrician (not ours, one on call). he said he reviewed the xray and didn't think riley had pneumonia, but bronchitis. i decided to schedule an appt. with our doctor and get to the bottom of this. that evening mommy and riley were up ALL night and, i mean, ALL night... NO SLEEP!

the next day i got to the doc and impressed him with my "most unusual ear!" (his words) and then drove riley for his appointment. the end result was that he had a double ear infection... nothing more and we should all be better by wed. evening! we'll see!

keep praying. we are suppose to leave for vacation wed. at 7pm! yipee!

over thirty with three under four!

how about those numbers? you know, i have had SO many people ask me how the transition from two to three has been and today i've decided to share with the world what this woman is thinking...

here is the cold, hard truth of yesterday:

awake at 2:30 and again at 6:30 (that was a GREAT night).
began the morning sick with three sick kids.
rain came which means the dog can not stay outside (he digs holes).
one time out
four spankings (yes, we spank and would be willing to share our thoughts on this if you are offended)
three couch meetings to discuss eph 4:32 and phil. 2:14.
20 minute nap
allie's swim lessons packing list: towel, change of clothes, snacks, drinks, books, rain jackets, diapers, wipes, breast pump, and, of course, three kids w/ shoes (we forget shoes often).
20 minute drive in the pouring rain
three kids out of the car in the rain
swim teacher's response, "pool's closed."
three kids back in car
20 minute drive home w/ three crying and wet children

we'll stop there... some days are harder than others. despite the occasional insanity, we are so blessed by each of our kiddos. allie's independence, caleb's snuggles, and riley's easy temperament remind us that the Lord created each of them uniquely and purposefully. we love them... we love this life! we wouldn't trade it for anything!

happy one month Riley!!

allie at it again...

"Hey dad, guess what? milk is coming out of my belly button."

happy birthday to me!!!

well, yesterday was my 31st birthday and it was a super special day! i feel completely blessed by phone calls, messages, cards, and gifts! thanks to all of you that helped me celebrate! my first gift was from our newest, little bundle of joy! i woke up to riley's crying around 4... that means he went five hours b/t feedings! we had our forge student/friend, mallory over for a green breakfast. Mallory and i are birthday twins and both grew up getting a special birthday breakfast of everything green. this year we had green blueberry muffins and cinnamon rolls with green icing! yummy!

lance is always the best at making birthdays special. i woke up to tulips in the kitchen, he ordered the wii fit for me (something i've been asking for!!!), and took us all out for chinese later that night. anyone who knows lance, knows that he does not care for chinese and that was a super selfless move!

after dinner, we picked up slices of cake from newks..... amazing and enjoyed them at home while watching american idol! it was a terrific day!

sadly, however, today is different... both big kids have fever and we are takin' it easy in our pjs.

photo shoot

as promised... here are the pics that my friend and college roomie, meaghan, took the other day. she did such a great job and even put up with allie "helping." HA! she changed a few to black and white and you can see those on her blog (just click her name above).

allie added the flowers to this picture... so sweet!

more of riley

my sweet friend, meaghan, took some gorgeous pictures of riley today. i don't want to spoil the reveal of them just yet, but i did want everyone to see his chunky cheeks. lance and i noticed yesterday that his face is really changing. at his doctor's visit on monday he weighed 9 pounds. i'm sure that has something to do with the new look he is sporting! here is a little peek at him, but i'll post more of meaghan's pics in a later post....

thanks again meaghan... they are all so cute. i'm having a hard time picking for the announcements!

mimi's visit

my mom came for several days last week. she helped us brave two doctor's visit, allie's first swim lesson, and a trip to target with three children. the good news is that we all survived! HA! no really, thank you mom for all your help and sacrifice. i know that the sisco fam can be super exhausting to stay with! we appreciate you!

this was one afternoon when a picnic in the back yard was just a MUST!

and here is mimi with all three of our kiddos...

coming home....

riley got to come home last thursday. he is now one week old!
this is a pic of riley and his dad just before leaving the hospital.

his first time in his car seat. lance and i laughed at how "well used" this seat looked. we had washed it, but it still didn't look clean for this brand new baby... my, how things change as you have more kids.

mom and riley posing by the stork sign. my sister was sweet enough to bring this from dallas for us so that we could announce the news to our neighbors! thanks aunt jeni!

riley checking out the bassinet that uncle matt and aunt amy loaned to us. he said to say thanks for the comfy bed!

riley had his first wash cloth bath at home... check out that hair when it is wet! WOW!

fun with grammie!

we have had grammie with us the last few days. she had the impossible task of keeping the house clean, doing the laundry, cooking the meals, playing with the kids, and much, much more!! she was such a blessing and we are grateful for her! thank you SO MUCH grammie!

here are two pics of big sister and brother loving on riley!

****soon to come: coming home from the hospital pics!!