Poor Baby!

Last night when Mark when in to calm Paige during a Terror, Alaina was standing in her crib telling him, "Ear hurt!" and rubbing her right ear.  He called me up to help her, so I gave her some ibuprofin and otis drops.  This is the first time we had ever heard Alaina talk about anything hurting, let alone, telling us specifically that her ear hurt.  So I took her to the Dr. this morning and sure enough, the poor girl has double ear infection.  She doesn't have fever and is sleeping and eating, so after talking with the Dr. we decided to just try to treat the paid with ibuprofin and tylenol, and try to hold off on prescription meds.  He did write me out a script in case she does start running fever or if her pain/symptoms become worse.  My poor baby is handling it better than I would.  She is cranky and wants me to hold her all the time, but I would rather let it run its course than give her meds that may or may not help.  The Dr. said that at her age a lot of times ear infections will last a few days and clear up on their own.  I'm praying this is true.

A much needed trip. . .

to City Park!  We went with friends to the park this week.  It was such a beautiful day and I think we all needed to see our friends.  Warning: there are LOTS of pics.  I just couldn't disclude any.

Emily, Abby, Paige, Austin, Cameron, and Aubrey

There is a story to the next sequence of pics.  I was trying to get a picture of Alaina at the top of the slide.  I know she doesn't like tube slides, so I wasn't expecting her to come down.

Well, the nice lady, whom you see behind Alaina, thought she needed help.  So she grabbed Alaina, put her one the slide, and sent her down.  Seems innocent enough.

You can see the face here is starting to think she maybe didn't want to go down the slide.

Then she throws this big tantrum in the grass because going down the slide wasn't her idea.

Still upset, but walking back to the playground.

Now playing, but noticeably still upset by the whole thing.  Crazy girl!

Cameron, Paige, and Austin had fun running up the ramp. .  .

and down the slide!

We keep old bread and the butts of the loaves in the freezer to feed the ducks a couple times a year.  Alaina really got into as you can see by the video below.

Then, it was off to the rides.  Alaina and Zach had so much fun together.

Paige and Hannah

I just love their expressions!

Alaina HAD to ride on the doggie!

Paige and Ellie pretty chill.

Ready to ride!

I love that these two are so animated about life and get so much joy from things.

Life's a Beach!

My girls have really started to play well together.  It is great to watch them interact and create play with each other.  You may remember this from a couple years back.  (PS. I've added several posts today, so keep scrolling.  I don't want you to miss out!)

Backyard Bible Club!

This year our church decided to put on Backyard Bible Clubs instead of doing a Bible School at the church.  We were hoping to reach kids that normally wouldn't come to Bible School.  I think the church hosted about 7 different clubs in neighborhoods all over the area.  We are lucky to be in a neighborhood with many families from church and a big park to host.  It was a great week!  Extremely hot, but no rain.  Praise the Lord!  We had around 60 kids come every night and really had a good time.

The first night, Pastor Brooks and another lady put on a puppet show about the prodigal son for the kids.  It was hilarious and the kids really loved it!

We sang songs, then broke into 3 groups for the Bible lesson, games, and crafts.  Paige did a really good job at memorizing the verses each day.  If they remembered the verse from the day before they could pick a treasure.  Paige could recite hers (with very little prompting) each night.  I was so proud of her.

Alaina didn't participate this year.  She got to walk around with Daddy while he took pictures.

This is my group of 6 year olds that I had each night.  They were a fun bunch and it was fun for me to experience being with older kids. 

This is Paige's group!

By the 3rd night Paige wanted to get up in front to do help lead the actions.  It is so neat to see her blossom and experience new things. 

Whatta Face!

Weasels!

Officially Welcoming. . .

my new neice, Amelia Jane to the family.  She was born on July 8th.weighing in at 6lbs 15oz and measuring 20in long.

Paige ADORES her new cousin. (Aren't those itty bitty sandals so cute?!)

I think the adoration is mutual.

The proud parents, my brother Patrick and his wife Kathy, with Amelia, Paige and Alaina.

I see trouble in their future!  Ok, I'm just realizing how much Amelia fits right in with my girls.  They look like they could be sisters.

Here I am with my precious neice!  She is the best baby . . .she sleeps so well, is so content, and truly a blessed little girl.

Mark still has the touch.  He can play cards and put a baby to sleep.

Nana and Papa with their grand-daughters. . .sans Olivia.  Hopefully we'll get some pics in September when we are all together.