April

April is Prom month, and even though we don't have any kids anywhere near old enough to go to Prom we still managed to get in on some of the action. Some of the local kids were having their pre-dance dinner under the trees by the hatchery and they asked Erik to escort the girls out to meet their dates.

He was pretty nervous at first, but he warmed up to the idea pretty quickly. By the time he got all three girls to their dates he was having so much fun he jumped at their invitation to stay and eat with them. It was pretty cute!

The first half of the month was pretty normal. Or normal for us anyways...

Just hanging out eating snacks and reading books...on Dad.

The kids love to play outside, especially if it means getting dirty. Sharli may think she's all grown up now, but she still thinks dirt is the best snack ever.

Between what's on her face, and what we found in her clothing and diaper (see pic below) it's amazing there was anything left in the garden.

Snack time!

She's getting so big!

We took advantage of the great weather and went for some nice walks. We went a little too far this day though, all three kids were worn out.

Erik loves to be the big brother. He likes to help me pick out outfits for Maren to wear. It's pretty fun to see him trying to be a helper.

Half way through April we went to Animas to visit my family. The kids had been fighting colds for a few days, but we decided to go anyways since they weren't too sick. The first night we were there Maren started coughing and struggling so much to breathe that we had to have her sleep in the bathroom with the shower going. The steam helped, but she was still having a hard time in the morning so we took her in to the little clinic there in Animas. The doctor thought she had RSV and sent us up to the hospital in Silver City. After testing for RSV, the flu, and pneumonia it was decided that Maren had Bronciolitis (baby bronchitis). She was put on oxygen and admitted to the hospital for observation.

After spending two nights in the hospital she was finally able to maintain her oxygen levels on her own and we got to go home. To this day the poor baby hates to have her nose touched because of those 3 days in the hospital.

By the time Nate and Kate brought their family for a visit the next week Maren was feeling WORLDS better. We had a nice visit and had so much fun watching the kids play together.

Maren and Gwen

Erik and Blaine

Sharli and Neil

Sharli thinks "Tummy Time" means laying on the baby's tummy. Luckily Maren likes it!

One last picture for the month that I had to share. Erik built himself a doctor's office and was doing check-ups on all the stuffed animals. It was pretty cute!