November Recap...yes, late as usual :)

Well, things are just "blah" here in the Steg household...I have nothing real pleasant to say. I'm still feeling very under-the-weather and whatever virus has gotten me...it has gotten me good and I'm down and out :( I know I shouldn't complain, but it's so hard being sick this time of year and if I thought I was behind on things before....being sick hasn't helped. But...I didn't get on the ol' blog to moan and groan about life. Instead, I wanted to post a few pics from Nov....a sort of recap of the month....above, the kids helped finish the basement...daddy let them paint the closet :) They love to help!
Hailey does double duty...practicing ballet plie's while rolling paint! :) What a talented ballerina we have!
Even Dylan lent a hand :)
We voted....ok, I (and Kev) voted, but Hailey was my early morning voting buddy :)
Ashley experienced her first Election Day...
She was pretty bored with it....
Baby Ash tried out some leaf-laying...she wasn't so sure about it :)
We had our last warm spell and got to wear our last cute summery clothes....complete with matching shoes :)
Ash decides she much prefers summer clothes over all these layers of winter ones she now wears :)...oh, and don't be jealous, but she's been sleeping through the night for 3 weeks now...not just 6-8 hours either...sometimes 10-12. Yikes, we're lucky! :)
Ashley tries out her crib (she currently sleeps in mom and dad's room in a portocrib)...unfortunately brother decided to join her and raise a ruckus! :)
Ash joined the Navy...ok, not really...but she decided to go sailing...ok, not really...she just got this cute hand-me-down outfit and mama had to try it on :)

Shelb and Dyl had a "Joshua" program at church...they did great :) Shelby sang a group solo (which, I guess, is not really a solo :))...but she did great :)
We finally got our long-overdue baby announcements out! YAY!!! We made a few by hand (for family mostly) and had a bunch preprinted from the computer. I didn't realize what a huge undertaking that all was when I bought the supplies before birth....phew...I was crazy to attempt that...and I'm so glad it's done! Yes, daddy Kev helped...if I haven't mentioned that he's the BEST guy around...this should show you...what guy will stamp and cut girly paper for his wife (and new daughter :))???
If your sister's too small to play with you...then just find your own way to play with her! Ash actually enjoyed this new play technique...
The boy really does love his baby sister :) And Ash loves her play gym...it's one of her fav. spots (aside from the #1 swing spot!) :)
Daddy worked hard in the basement in Nov.!
Shelby had a Thanksgiving feast at preschool with her buddies/fellow Indians :)

Dylan and I joined her...Baby Ash was there too, but she was sleeping in a closet at this time (perfectly safe in her stroller, mind you :)) Yes, we made these little gobblers for the preschool party...very easy and very cute...thank you, Family Fun Magazene!
Somehow this is out of order...but here in the program that Shelby and Dylan performed in...can you find them?! Dylan's the one with his shirt all frumpy and untucked :(
Ash really likes to grab things now...she loves her bouncy seat toys which are so totally unnexciting....but she really focuses on them and holds them tight....oh...and she just started laughing this week Thursday (right after Nina and Pops left)...I love baby giggles :)
Here's something to laugh at...Shelb in her winter? attire :) Goes to show you can never protect your eyes enough from all those harmful UV rays :)
Hailey did A LOT of dancing in Novemember....too much if you ask me!
We took part in the annual Operation Christmas Child....giving toys and supplies (in shoeboxes) to needy kids all over the world...the girls had a good time packing up the goodies....
Dylan's been getting his fair share of time outs (nose in the corner)....such a sad sight...ok, sorta funny from this side....
Is this not the cutest girl in the cutest outfit (courtesy of my sis)...I love it! I even found a matching hat for like 99 cents at Gymboree :) Gotta love this smiley, pretty baby!

Dylan gives his first bath to his lil' sis :) Me and my babe after church...
"Smiley"...that's her nickname and this pic shows you why...she loves to smile...at least at her mama :)
"The Pod"....one of the BEST gifts we've ever gotten (thanks Nina and Pops in FL!)....we've never had a carrier cover for our other kids, but they are awesome! Ashley loves her "heat capsule" and I kinda wish I had one to curl up inside during this snowy, cold winter season :)
Here's our fun Thanksgiving Dinner with Nina....we had some yummy crockpot chix...courtesy of chef daddy :) Ash was complaining about her lack of good food :)
Shelby helped out in the kitchen at Nina Stegs' on Turkey Day...she even got a new "diva" apron! :)

The Steg 4 on Turkey Day giving a "gobble, gobble" shout-out!
Our super yummy pre-Turkey Day shin-dig with our BBF's here in Bloomy! Love you guys and thanks for an awesome Turkey Dinner with all the fixin's!
Here it is...what you've been waiting for...our new basement!!!! Complete with rowdy kids...Hailey doing cartwheels and Dylan running like a crazy boy before falling on his noggen and going to the ER a week later :) Our trip to the Bloom. farmer's market...our first time doing this...we saw Santa....had some organic food (not a fan of that stuff!)...took a carriage ride...and had fun :)
Hailey went caroling with her new Brownie/Girl Scout troop...she was in the newspaper the next morning too! She was also on Fox news with her Nutcracker dance group :) She's so famous, isn's she?!
My happy baby...I just love her smiles :)
Nina visits....and spends lots of quality time with her grandkids....oh, and here are the girls spending their first night in the basement (Ash not included) :)

Ash had her first Turkey Day...but all she got was leftovers :)
We tried her first bottle...she didn't much care for it...


she does however like to watch TV :) Big surprise!
Nina gave Ash a bath with big sis' help :)
here's our carriage ride....and my blue-eyed boy :)
And that's all I've got for now.....let me just end by saying that I think my proper blogging days are over....at least til this crazy holiday season blows by. For now I'm lost in the hustle and bustle of the season and just kinda wishing for the craziness to be over....is it even realistic to wish for less craziness with 4 kids?! Probably not! Hope you all are having a blessed Dec. so far....I'm hoping for better days ahead.....and healthier ones....

Not catching a break :(

Well, if Thursday night's adventure in the ER wasn't fun enough...we have somehow caught a nasty bug probably courtesy of that 3 hours in the ER :( Not the time to be sick as we are already so far behind on everything Christmas. But, like I often tell myself in these situations....sometimes I think being sick is God's way of saying "slow down" and I take it as almost a type of permission to take a break (since there's not much else I can do). Whatever this nasty bug is, it's got me down good. Dylan had it on Friday (104 fever)...then I started feeling horrible during the big Sunday performance...and then baby Ash got it, as did daddy....never good when more than half of the family is down and out (plus Nina who isn't feeling super either). But, what are ya' gonna do...I tried to pull through this gloomy day, but I gave in around 2pm and headed to bed for 4 hours...so much for putting up Christmas stuff today...guess it'll wait for another day. Hopefully tomorrow will be better and I'm not overcome with ickiness and fever :( Oh...and did I mention our basement started leaking again today...happy, happy, joy, joy....sometimes life likes to throw you some lemons....(sigh)...praying for better/healthier/non-leakier days ahead....bah humbug :(

1st ER Visit! :(

Does this look like the face of a newly injured boy? Kinda funny how giddy this whole experience made our Dylan :) But, he was all smiles when mama arrived on the scene...
Showing off the head gash!
Cuddling with mama :)
Time to get the wound cleaned up...
And then time for "surgery"...ok, not really...instead just a couple staples to the head...but look how brave our boy was clutching his box of crayons!
The new head-jewelry (2 silvery staples) :)

And then it was time to celebrate with an orange popcycle! I wouldn't be suprised if Dylan thought this place was party-central! Not only did he get a treat, but he got crayons and a coloring book and a new teddy bear. Who knew being injured could be so fun!?!
Then it was "bye-bye" ER and hello again Pops...what a nice welcome for good ol' Pops...to arrive and have his grandson swept off to the ER...it's a good thing Baby Ash liked her Pops, cuz she (and Shelba) were in his care for quite awhile (and we're thankful Pops was around so daddy didn't have to take the whole gang to the hospital...)


Well, it finally happened tonight....we made our first coveted "child-related" trip to the ER....

The patient: Dylan
The culprit: Some nasty baseboard molding in non-other than...the new basement (kinda humorous if you ask me...it's only been finished a week and we have our first ER injury down there...go figure...)

So, let me back up a bit....last night was probably one of our crazier nights of the week...I've not been a super blogger lately and that's mostly cuz we're in the midst of Nutcracker week and the craziness that this entails. And last night was THE night that Nina and I got to help backstage and see all the Angel action. We had a good ol' time (more about that later)...but in the midst of that Kev was left home with the 3 youngest waiting for ol' Pops from FL to arrive. Thankfully Pops did arrive around 7:30 and shorty after this the "incident" occurred.

The story I got was that Dylan was so excited to see Pops that he was running all around the new basement. And in the midst of his jubilation he somehow fell and hit one of the baseboard edges near one of our sliding glass doors. From what I heard there was no crying (or very little) on the patient's end...and the adults in the house thought little of the injury until they saw all the blood on the side of his head. Apparently he had hit pretty hard...but being the brave boy he is, it had hardly phased him. So, wise daddy called our pediatrician, who unfortunately was not taking any new patients that evening, so instead of a cost-effective doctor's visit, Daddy and son were off the ER for a few hours of fun....

During all this excitement, mama was quite oblivious that anything had gone astray at home...only to pull in the driveway after 9pm to find daddy's car gone. We assumed that he had been called into work (which happens often enough)...and we didn't think anything of it 'til we saw Pops and heard the big story. Of course, as is always the case with Pops Gritz, we didn't know if he was pulling our leg about the accident or not...cuz I think he not only mentioned the injury but also something about 30 stitches (a slight stretch of the truth :)).....anyway...so mama made a quick call to daddy, talked to the chatty son and was shortly on my way to the ER to join my two favorite men :)

Long story short, but the ER is not the most efficient place (especially that time of the night) and about 3 hours later we left the ER with a smiley little boy with two staples in his head. He really did amazing through the whole thing. Daddy joked that he thinks Dylan only cried once the whole evening and that's cuz he had to ride to the hospital in Shelby's car seat (his was in the van with me at IU). So, apparently the injury never phased him. He didn't even have any numbing/pain meds before they used a staple gun to his head. He only wrinkled his brow twice as the staples went in....amazing, if you ask me. So, that was that....our first ER visit with a child. I guess you could say we're lucky it's taken us 8 years to get here...and very blessed that things were not worse. And hopefully...there are no more ER visits in our near future....and no more basement injuries. A special thanks to Nina who we are saying jinxed us into all this by commenting just two days ago as we passed the ER how, "someday you'll be there with Dylan"...thanks, Nina! :) But, hats off to brave boy Dylan and his trauma to the head! :)

**Oops**Well, scratch that whole "1st ER visit" thing...in my exhausted state of mind I completely forgot our VERY 1st ER visit back in FL when Hailey was just a couple years old....the one where my old cat, Sneakers, scratched her eye....I guess I had forgotten that since it didn't actually happen at home....so I guess we have to rephrase and say this was our "first child-related ER visit on the homefront" and the first one in IN...and definitely "Dylan's first" :) The poor injured soul is exhausted today (Friday)...he has been one grumpy fella today after his late-night adventure and the pain finally set in...he just had a little cry-fest in the car before heading down for a nice, long nap....poor guy....