Wow! Just saw it's been awhile since I've posted. May was a bit hectic. Well, all months are kinda hectic here. I guess with me feeling lazy was added to the picture the posts just didn't happen.

Abby went to the doctor of her 1 yr check-up on May 10th. The doctor was pleased with the gains in her weight (18 lbs 7 oz), height (30") and strength. We went to the lab for her re-tests afterwards. The following Monday we got the results - Abby's alkaline phosphatase levels were completely normal. They are now attributing all the abnormal levels from Feb to the rotavirus she had - nasty bug (grumble grumble).

The boys & Rachael finished school last week. They are all a bit confused. Rachael keeps asking for her backpack and the bus. Joshua, at first blush, is enjoying sleeping in. But he is later completely out of sorts from the lack of routine and boredom. Jacob is in tantrum heaven. He asks for a movie, then it's not the right one, then it's not on the right tv, then it's not on the right player on the tv, then he changes his mind and wants another movie, then I say "Forget it," and walk away (process repeats approx every 1/2 - 1 hr during the day).

The boys did break up the monotony by breaking out with head to toe rashes. Turns out they have Fifth disease. I had to go to the OB and get my blood drawn to test for antibodies, since Fifth disease can be dangerous to fetuses. No worry there.. (sarcasm inserted). I heard back from the doctor 4 long days later - I have antibodies, so the baby should be protected. The great (once again, sarcasm inserted) thing about Fifth disease is most people don't know they have the virus until they break out with the rash, which usually starts on the cheeks. And by then they are no longer contagious - they've already unknowingly spread their 'love.' So we're still watching and waiting with the girls. The rash appears about 2 wks after they've contracted the virus, so it will be about mid-June before we know.

Other than that, we're passing around much-more-mundane bugs this week, a cold and a mild stomach bug. Deren and I are starting to wonder if we'll again see the day when all of us are healthy at the same time.

My mom called the Thursday before Memorial Day and said she needed to hug some babies, and wanted to come visit. So Mamaw and Papaw joined us for the holiday weekend. They didn't balk at the rashes (and man, did the boys look bad!). They chased, tickled, hugged, and (even better, in the boys' minds) filled the inflatable pool up with water each day. Rachael has become our in-house princess. She likes to go outside and supervise her subjects "No splash, Jacob, No splash, Josh!" And woe to the subject who errantly splashes the princess! Abby, on the other hand, competes with Joshua for Pigpen status. They both love the water and the mud. We had a really nice visit. Hopefully my parents would agree, although between babysitting and yardwork they worked like dogs.

And FINALLY, I wanted give everyone an up-to-the-minute update on Abby. She started taking some steps (on her own, sans push-toys) TODAY! Of course, she does everything in front of daddy first. She just loves her daddy! Every morning it's, "bye bye dadda!" She really lives up to her namesake, 'father's joy.' Last week she had another weight check. She's now 19 lbs. Another pound or two and she'll be in forward-facing seat! Which is good, because she's getting pretty cramped in her rear-facing seat. Both the OT and nutritionist from ECI have been thrilled with her progress. It's been such a blessing to watch her!

Oh, and one more exciting event today! Mr. Jacob started jumping with both feet in the air while watching a Little Einstein video. He's been trying to jump for years now, so it's really an exciting accomplishment. He seems to be really proud of himself. And Abby started saying "want Rocket" for the Little Einstein videos, today, too. My cute babes!