African Safari!

Thursday morning we spent a couple of hours at the water park at our resort before eating lunch in our villa. After lunch 19 of us (everyone except Drayton and Maurice) drove 20 minutes to the African Safari Wildlife Park. We drove three vehicles through the safari. Some animals came right up to our vehicle. Ian got SO excited about feeding fawns. Some animals would stick their head right in our open windows. Some would lick massive amounts of disgusting slobber over our window if we rolled them up (especially the buffalo and bison). We were given many 5 pound bags of carrots and large cups of pellets of grain to feed the animals. Some animals were still behind a fence as we drove by and fed them (such as the zebras and giraffes). One animal tried to take a bite of our already partially broken rear view mirrors.

After the drive-thru safari we watched four pigs race each other. Nadia and Joshua were given free ice cream cones for holding flags during the race. Then we walked through and saw some other animals before the kids each got their free camel ride (Micah was too small and Grace declined but the other 12 grandchildren each had a camel ride). Four kids opted to leave early, but the other ten stayed for the show at the end which gave them opportunities to pet snakes and a tortoise. Andrew got a free ice cream cone for helping with the hand sanitizer during the show.

Prior to our trip to the water park I painted Julianna and Grace's fingernails and toenails. Susie then painted Uncle Maurice's nails bright pink! One of the cousins painted Nadia's nails. I had painted Susie and Jenna's nails when they were preschoolers so it was time for me to do the same with the youngest nieces. I painted Jenna's last month in Maryland. She remembered how I had done it when she was younger. Memories are being made!

Comparing 3 four-year-olds

1. Ian was the least outgoing of the three kids, although he was a lot more social at the age of four than he was the first three years of his life. Nadia was the friendliest of the three. Ian still cried at times when I dropped him off at his class at church. This never happened with Nadia or Oliver.

2. Nadia definitely had a favorite color (pink at that point) whereas neither of her brothers did at this age.

3. Ian and Nadia were far more into into wearing costumes than Oliver ever has been.

4. All three of them typically slept 11 hours at night (8 pm to 7 am) at this age. Nadia had given up her nap. Ian was still taking a 45-60 minute nap. Oliver had given up his nap, but last month he got back into the habit of taking a nap (although he rarely took it in his bed). Ian was the only one who slept with his sheet and comforter completely pulled over his head (and therefore sweated the most in bed of the three).

5. Nadia and Oliver were both playing board games. Ian hadn't started yet. Ian spent more time running than his siblings did at this age.

6. Nadia and Ian could identify all the letters of the alphabet (upper and lower case) and identify at least one sound each letter makes. Ian was also reading short vowel words (plus a few sight words like "the"). I worked with Nadia to help her learn her letters. I didn't work with Ian on them. I have started working with Oliver to learn his letters. He knows 18 of the uppercase letters.

7. They all loved to be read to, tickled, and hugged!  Ian was the most prone to giving me compliments.

8. Nadia was far more schedule oriented than Ian or Oliver.

9. They all drank skim milk most of the time. Oliver is much more willing to drink water than his siblings were.

10.  Ian and Nadia could both do a 100 piece jigsaw puzzle independently before they turned four. Thus far Oliver hasn't done more than 60 pieces on his own.

11. Nadia often spoke of herself in the third person. The boys have never done that.

12. Nadia wasn't crazy about vegetables (needed raisins with them), but she would feed herself just about everything else and finish in a very reasonable time frame. Ian was a much pickier and much slower eater. Oliver loves vegetables. Aside from a few fruits, he will happily eat just about everything. He prefers to be fed although he certainly is capable of feeding himself.

13. Nadia was very attached to her Poland pillow. Ian and Oliver didn't really have "loveys," but they do each have a small blanket they usually sleep with.

14.  Ian and Oliver both weighed 35 pounds, which put them at the 42nd percentile for weight. Ian was 39 inches tall, which put him at the 22nd percentile for height. Nadia's 4 year appointment was delayed 4 months because of my bed rest and Oliver's NICU stay. At that appointment she weighed 40 pounds and was 40 inches tall. Oliver hasn't had his four year check-up yet so I am not exactly sure of his height, but I am guessing he is about 41 inches.

15. All three children were pretty close to 100% independent with getting dressed, undressed, and going to the bathroom when they turned four. I still sometimes helped a little with wiping after they went #2. Oliver is VERY proud of the fact that he now pees standing up. Ian hadn't attempted that at this age. Ian had to be encouraged to be independent with dressing and undressing whereas Nadia and Oliver expressed their desire to "do it myself."

16. All three had been in Cubbies. Nadia and Oliver finished the first year of Cubbies before they turned four. Since Ian has a December birthday he was closer to 4 1/2 when he finished. Ian and Nadia had a MUCH easier time with memorizing than Oliver. Ian had even started memorizing the books of the Bible from listening to Nadia work on them.

17. All three had taken some gymnastics. Nadia had taken the most and therefore had progressed farther with her skills. Oliver did a better job of following instructions in that group setting than Ian did. All three had also taken preschool swimming lessons. Oliver also took one week of Level 1 lessons, but he will need to take that level again next year. Nadia had also taken ballet lessons.

18. Ian could write the letter "I." Oliver hasn't learned to write any letters yet.

19. Nadia was sucking her thumb, and Ian played with his belly button. Oliver didn't have a soothing habit.

20. All three kids always included Mommy, Daddy, and Uncle Maurice in every prayer.

21. Nadia was by far the most compliant. Ian was pretty compliant but often didn't seem to hear instructions that were given. Once you had his attention though he would usually obey. Oliver is definitely the most strong willed which has translated to the most defiant and also the one who fusses and whines the most. Ian was a follower. Nadia and Oliver are leaders.

Sandusky, Ohio

On Monday morning it took us two hours to load up the three vehicles, and then we drove to Ohio. This is the farthest west Oliver has ever been. It was the first time that Nadia and Ian had been in the state of Ohio. I hadn't been in Ohio for 13 years. The drive took us 6 hours including a 45 minute stop for lunch at McDonald's. I had it easy in that my passengers were Jenna, Joshua, Andrew, and Nadia. We listened to the book Half Magic on cd (performed by a full cast not just one narrator), and they also watched some dvd's. My main goal was to stay awake because I was very tired and still didn't feel well (and no one one was sitting beside me in the front seat to help keep me awake). We arrived at the resort at 3:30, which was 30 minutes before check-in. The kids decorated cookies (free activity they have every day) and then we checked into our villa, had dinner in our villa (we brought some food with us), and then went to the water parks. The Benners (coming from Chicago) arrived while we were in the water park. Oliver and I went to bed at 8:30 pm. Nadia and Ian stayed later at the water park so they didn't go to bed until 9:30. Nadia joined me at 9:30 and then a few hours later Julianna came from upstairs and joined me in our bed. The rest of the night I was sandwiched in by the two girls (and didn't get much sleep due to being kicked and cuddled).

Tuesday morning we headed to the water park (except for Joe who wasn't feeling well from the DPT shot he had on Sunday night at his ER visit). Seven of the kids did the zip line once before swimming. I'll include a video below showing Nadia doing one of the four sections of the zip line course. They did the whole thing. We came back to our 5 bedroom villa for lunch and then most of them went back to the water park. I took a blessed two hour nap. I can't remember the last time I took a nap. We had a two hour dinner at Steak and Shake (won't go there again!) and then came back to the villa. Some enjoyed the jacuzzi in our villa, some were enjoying the pool table in our villa, some played board games we brought, and many were watching the Olympics on tv. Maurice arrived after I went to bed that night. I made sure mine were all in bed by 8:30 because we are headed to Cedar Point tomorrow! I am praying I have the stamina for a day at an amusement park. Coming on this trip definitely was something I did for my kids not for myself.

Birthday Weekend

I think Oliver had a very special 4th birthday weekend. On Saturday morning he got his birthday donut (with a candle) and then most of us went to Home Depot where 8 of the 10 kids built a skateboard shaped pencil box. From there we headed to the touch a truck event at the Children's Museum. They let us all in for free because of our family membership (rather generous of them to let 9 extra people plus Micah in for free). The kids were able to explore a Bookmobile, fire engine, tank, jeep, tow truck, utility truck, etc. and also explore the museum. Some of the people at the trucks were giving out free things like freeze pops, hats, chocolate milk, and iced tea. We were there about 2 hours and then headed to the playground close to the museum to eat a picnic lunch at a picnic table and then enjoy the playground for about an hour. Next the kids enjoyed playing inside and outside our house before a taco dinner. Our day ended with an outdoor Pops concert put on by the Williamsport Symphony. The kids would have enjoyed that more if we had brought water.

Sunday morning we went to church and then had lunch at a car hop famous for its fish called The Fence. Then we hung out at our home for two hours (they opted not to go to Oxygen Day at the Priestley House as I had originally planned). Finally we spent about 3 hours at the swimming pool which is where we had pizza, chips, cookies, cupcakes, and an Elmo birthday cake. The desserts were all from Aunt Millie and Uncle Al. Everyone (19 of us) had a great time except my Dad and Joe sustained injuries. Joe hit the bottom of the deep end with his head when going off the diving board (got 8 stitches at the ER later that night) and my dad hit his leg on the diving board. He did some impressive back dives considering he will be 73 in December! Paul's parents took him to Walmart after our lunch at the Fence to let him pick out a new bike. He got a Spiderman bike and rode it from the bike section to the cashier to their car without ever getting off of it, ha ha! I think he had a great birthday weekend!

It was a challenging weekend for me because I still felt utterly lousy, but as we all know, moms don't get sick days. It wasn't obvious how lousy I felt until I lost my voice on Monday (and today it's almost completely gone). I still don't feel great by any means, but I definitely felt worse Thursday-Sunday than I've felt the last two days. I am glad though that everyone else was feeling pretty good (aside from the pool injuries) and had a special weekend. It was the first time anyone from my side of the family had visited our church that we've gone to the past two years. We went to the first service and then Sunday school. Paul helped in Oliver's class (for the first time) so that I could go to Sunday School. My teacher, Bruce, ended up asking Joe to share about their work in Turkey instead of covering his lesson that he had prepared from the Gospels. Everyone in the class had many questions to ask Joe, and they were encouraged to hear of their work with the Iranian refugees in Turkey.

Four years old!

Over the last four years Oliver has...

Gained 32 pounds. He weighed 3 pounds at birth and had just hit 4 pounds when he was discharged from the NICU four weeks later. He's gone from wearing preemie clothes to wearing size 4T clothing and size 8 shoes. 

My first time holding Oliver (he was 6 days old)

Has been hospitalized five times and ridden in an ambulance twice. He spent the first 4 weeks in the NICU (one week in Harrisburg and three at Geisinger). He had urological surgery at CHOP in February and ended up spending one night in Philadelphia because his oxygen saturation levels were too low to send him home after the surgery. He spent 4 days at Evangelical Hospital in April of 2014 due to RAD and RSV, and he spent 4 days in the PICU at Geisinger the end of December into early January 2015 due to RAD, RSV, and a collapsed lung. His most recent hospitalization was at Geisinger in February 2016 due to the human menopneumovirus and RAD.

1 Year Old

Shown he loves to be the center of attention. He is an extrovert like his big sister. One of his favorite expressions is "hey guys look at me" or "watch me, teacher" (in swimming lessons). He is quick to point out even to his teacher what the class might do next (ex. in swimming lessons). He is definitely a leader not a follower. The downside of this trait is that he has to work more on being obedient. He is prone to defiance far more than his siblings ever have been.

Grown in his independence. Like his big sister, he is prone to insisting that he can do things on his own. Ian on the other hand often has to be prodded to try to do things independently. Oliver is the only one of my three who learned how to buckle his car seat at the age of three. The other two didn't learn until they were switched to a booster seat at the age of four. He prefers to dress himself. One of his favorite expressions is "I do it by myself."

Learned how to eat. At six months old I began introducing Oliver to solid foods, and he has done a terrific job ever since then! He is willing to try anything. He recently was promoted out of his booster seat at the kitchen table. He still likes to be fed sometimes although he certainly is capable of feeding himself. He likes vegetables more than fruit. He is requesting his bib far less often. I think it won't be long until they are put away for good.

Learned to sleep through the night. Currently he sleeps (on average) from 8pm to 7am. Several months ago he gave up his afternoon nap, but he will still often take a nap in the van if he's in there during the afternoon. He's gone from an incubator to a bassinet (in the NICU) to a crib at home to a twin sized bed. 

2 years 

Learned to climb. Although he shows some fear of water (doesn't want to submerge his entire head), he shows no fear of heights or climbing. He scared me once by climbing to the top of one of our very tall apple trees.

Learned to enjoy many different activities.  He really loves to help me cook in the kitchen. It doesn't matter what I am cooking, Oliver wants to help! He has learned 18 letters of the alphabet and enjoys pointing them out to us when he sees one he knows while we are out and about. His favorite game by far is Candyland. He will play that game again and again and again if you are willing! He can now ride a tricycle or a two wheel bike with training wheels. He can do puzzles up to about 60 pieces on his own. The books he asks us to read the most often are the "If you give..." books by Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond.

We love you SO much, Oliver, and we look forward to seeing how you will grow and change over the coming years! He is having the biggest birthday party that any of my three children have ever had - the five of us, three grandparents (my mom will be missed), two uncles, two aunts, and seven cousins are joining us for a pool party later today! He has been VERY excited about this birthday, but thankfully it's not the gifts that excite him. He truly doesn't have a materialistic bone in his body yet (yahoo!). He is just looking forward to party hats, cake, and party blowers (is that what they are called?). Hope it's a very special day, Oliver Elliot!

Getting Ready!

We have been gearing up for Oliver's birthday weekend. My dining room table is actually CLEAR right now (aside from a tablecloth), as I had Nadia and Ian move the Legos so we could actually eat off the table. Later this evening my dad and my sister's family will be arriving at our house, which means 15 people will be sleeping here tonight and tomorrow. Maurice will be coming on Sunday night to bring the total to 16. On Monday morning 21 of us (including the Benners in Chicago) will be driving to Ohio for our 5 day vacation. One of the days we will be going to Cedar Point amusement park! Paul came home early from work today (awesome!) to help with some projects around the house including fixing the garbage disposal (someone had put a spoon down it at the beginning of the week so it hadn't been working since then) and blowing up some air mattresses for our guests. Yesterday Paul got the apple tree stump out of the ground (this has turned into a 3 month project), and so today I was pushing dirt back into the massive hole.

Paul and Nadia also helped with that project while I was mowing the lawn. The project is not yet done because the stump is too heavy to lift up into his dad's truck, but the end is in sight! We shall see how long it takes for the lawn to recover from the digging, dragging the stump, and the truck's wheels tearing up grass. That part of the lawn is more dirt than grass at this point, but we are down to ONE apple tree, which is more than enough for me. I didn't mind if we left the stump in the ground, but Paul really wanted it out, and he finally succeeded.

Yesterday morning I woke up with a 101 degree fever, which is high for me as my normal temperature is usually 96 or 97 degrees. My throat has been killing me, and I've had a headache since Wednesday. At first I thought I'd need to scrap a lot of the plans for yesterday (it was to be our busiest day of the week), but thanks to Ibuprofen, cough drops, and Tylenol, we were able to go to swimming/diving lessons, the grocery store, a 3 hour program on the water cycle and groundwater at Camp Susque, and to a Big Daddy Weave concert at the West End Fair.

The concert was free. I just had to pay $12 for the four of us to get into the fair.  I told the kids I'd either buy them a handstamp for the rides ($5 each) or something to eat. They all picked something to eat so we shared a funnel cake, shared 2 waters, and each had some soft ice cream. Uncle Al and Millie were there for the last part of the concert, which was a special treat. Oliver was definitely too young to appreciate the concert, but it was better to bring him than pay a babysitter. When we got home at 9:30 pm I was exhausted, but we had a good day. Today the ONLY thing we did outside of our house was swimming lessons. I was cooking, cleaning, mowing, etc. to prepare for their arrival. We got donuts on the way home. Usually I get 6 donuts for the 5 of us on each birthday, but this time I got 18 donuts for the 15 of us. Hope everyone enjoys Oliver's special birthday breakfast tomorrow. His birthday is Sunday, but we'll have his donuts a day early.




Today I took a video of Oliver's birthday interview and also one showing which letters he knows of the alphabet so far. I am confident he would know them all if I had worked with him more. We have worked on them VERY little. As a comparison here are links to last year's birthday interview of Oliver, Ian's 4th birthday interview, and Nadia's 4th birthday interview.

I also decorated for Oliver's birthday today. I used some of the same Sesame Street decorations I used for his first birthday. Tomorrow we plan to go to Home Depot, the Children's Museum (for a touch a truck event), playground, play here at our house and have tacos for dinner here, and then go to a Pops concert by the Williamsport Symphony tomorrow. Hopefully everyone will have a great day! Paul is taking the day off to spend it with us, which is greatly appreciated.

National Night Out

Tonight we again enjoyed attending Lewisburg's National Night Out. The kids and I were there for 3 hours. We planned to stay longer than that, but the swimming pool was closed due to someone pooping in the pool. Nadia and Ian wanted to go down the water slides. Instead we stopped at "our" pool on the way home to swim for 30 minutes (pool closed at 8:00). Nadia called Paul on the phone and asked him to meet us there at 7:30 pm. He was able to see Nadia do her back dives off the diving board and also it was his first time seeing Ian go off the diving board. She worked on a front dive in her lesson this morning, and she had a lot more trouble with that than she did the back dive. She'd start out in a head first position and then at the last minute switch and end up going in feet first. The video clip below shows her coach on the diving board with her helping her make sure she went in head first.

We had dinner at the event tonight without spending any money. Everything is free - the face painting, going in the inflatables (including a bungee run one this year), all the food (hotdogs, pizza, cotton candy, water, ice cream, snow cones, popcorn, chips, etc.) and so much more. They didn't have the zipline this year, which was a disappointment to Nadia, but she'll be able to do ziplines at the resort in Ohio next week. The new attraction this year was a large air balloon that they had lying sideways on the grass so you could walk inside the balloon. The zip line was a million times better than that in our opinion. Nadia had her face painted like a panda, and the boys opted to look like Mutant Ninja Turtles. We didn't stay for the bicycle giveaway door prizes or the fireworks, but a good time was had by all.

Diving lessons!

Nadia had her first (hour long) diving lesson this morning. There were five kids in the class, and she was the only girl. I will share below two videos of her diving today - one from the class this morning and the second from when she was practicing at the pool we belong to this afternoon. Ian did a great job in his level 2 swimming lesson today. He has really come such a LONG way in the past 8 days with his swimming. Oliver also did a fine job in his level 1 class. He wasn't wanting to try to glide or float on his back, but he did everything else his teacher asked him to do. I do think Ian will probably pass level 2 this week, but I am not expecting Oliver to pass Level 1. I am planning on having him repeat Level 1 next summer, but I thought since we were already at the pool for Nadia's diving lesson I might as well sign him up so that he can continue to make progress in his swimming skills. Ian watched part of Nadia's diving lesson, and he told me he wants to take diving lessons next year, which is fine with me. I will be happy to sign them both up next year.

When I was in Maryland with my mother I found out through Facebook that a student of mine from when I taught in Annapolis had recently become a widow. Her husband, Andrew, was 33 years old and worked for NASA; he was killed in a kayaking accident on Lake Michigan on June 26. I cannot even begin to imagine what Valerie and her three young children are going through right now as they grieve the loss of their father/husband. If you think of her, I am sure she would appreciate even more people praying on her behalf.

Today I let Oliver pick out his birthday balloons. He picked two out at Dollar Tree (where everything is truly $1) - an Elmo one and a Mickey Mouse one. On Saturday night I purchased the gallon of chocolate milk that I let the kids enjoy the week of their birthdays. He is going to have more guests at his party than have been at any of his siblings birthdays because Yvonne and her kids will be joining us in addition to Paul's parents and my dad. Oliver is very excited that his days in a car seat are very numbered. Booster seat here he comes!