Odds 'n Ends

Here are just some odds 'n ends - pictures taken over the last few months that belong in a post, but don't really fit in with anything else.

 

Finnian has asthma which is controlled by a bronchial dilator and an inhaled steroid.  Both are administered by his nebulizer, and he is such a trooper taking his medicine.  He knows that a neb treatment makes his chest feel less tight and he can breathe more comfortably afterwards. 

 

We also recently found out that he is allergic to peanuts and other tree nuts.  It's a miracle that he didn't have a life-threatening situation since I regularly fed Latham peanut butter on his toast for breakfast.  I tried making it a couple of times for Finnian and he wouldn't touch it, claiming that it was yucky.  Last Easter, I thought he didn't like chocolate since he wouldn't touch his Easter chocolates; he would just unwrap them and line them up on the table (they were Reese peanut butter eggs).  I started clueing in when Collin was trying to get him to eat a Reese peanut butter cup one day and he would have nothing to do with it.  Finally, he had a spoonful of a Thai-inspired soup that had peanuts in it, and although he didn't swallow it, the soup touching his lip made it swell up and we figured out that he was probably allergic to peanuts.  A trip to the doctor and a few tests confirmed that he is highly allergic to peanuts and some other nuts (hazelnuts, almonds, etc), and now we carry epi-pens and liquid benadryl everywhere we go.

 

The older boys got super hero gear for Christmas and loved running around the house in it, saving the world from evil.

 



Super hero Latham

 



Papa McLoughlin got in on the action too - playing light sabers with Latham while in costume.

 



Oh, to be a child again!  Finnian and Latham on the rides at the mall.

 



Ronan was so proud of the Valentine's Day card that he made for his teacher.

 



Funny face Latham

 



These are the treasures that Finnian pulled out of the sub-woofer: three toy trains, an orange ball, and a pair of underwear.  Lightening McQueen underwear to be exact.  I'm still trying to figure out what would make a three-year-old put underwear in a sub woofer.  Ideas, anyone?

 



Latham's artistic rendering of our friend, Mary Carol.  He made sure that he got her eye color right, and that she did, in fact, have two hands.  Really...he asked her that!

 

 



Finnian's 3rd Birthday!

On January 24th, our third son turned three years old!  We celebrated with a family birthday party on Super Bowl Sunday (yay Seahawks!).  Of course the party was over in time to watch the big game, which we won by a landslide!

 

As with all birthdays, we had cupcakes; vanilla, with vibrant blue frosting.

The birthday boy ready to blow out the candles.

 



As evidenced by the frosting on his face, the cupcakes were a big hit with Finnian!

Seahawks plates.



Present time!  Finnian was very excited, and, as such, the pictures were not in focus.

 



Octonauts are so cool!

 

As usual, a brother or two is always in on the present action.

 

Good growing, Finnian!

Vaughn Mania!

 By looking at this post you may assume that I have a favorite son, but honestly that is not the case.  This post is all about Vaughn because he's growing and changing so fast, and achieving new milestones all the time!  He's now nine months old, and here I attempt to bring you up to speed with his development over the past few months.

  Vaughn's first Christmas was so special.  He loved the lights on the Christmas tree and was involved with all the unwrapping that happened on Christmas morning.  Christmas is so much more fun with children!

Shortly before Christmas he started rolling over and every time he was put down on his back he would promptly roll over to his tummy.  He loves tummy time, and his favorite sleeping position is on his tummy with his little behind up in the air.

 Mornings are quite busy in the McLoughlin household with getting Ronan fed and dressed and out waiting for the school bus, making breakfasts for the other hungry brothers, getting Latham ready for preschool and generally starting our day.  The picture above is part of our routine - Latham feeds Vaughn his first bottle of the day everyday, and I am so grateful for his help!

 

 His eyes are still blue, but Ronan and I are hopeful that they will change to green.  He does have left-handed tendencies, so maybe he will be like us in that regard!

 Up on all fours and so excited to figure out this new skill!

 In addition to feeding him every morning, Latham is so hands-on throughout the day.  I walked into the living room one day to find Latham sitting like this with Vaughn.  This was before Vaughn was sitting up on his own.

 

 First time getting into a seated position by himself, and the look on his face is priceless - "look what I did all by myself!"

 

 Handsome boy!

 He is such a happy baby, and for that I am extremely grateful.  The fourth pregnancy was definitely the worst, so I deserved a break.  He is a content little guy, and a good eater and sleeper.

 

Vaughn's first time sitting in the front part of a cart.  This is especially good for me because now I can fit more groceries in a grocery cart!  Before, him in his car seat took up the majority of the room and there were nowhere for the groceries to go. 

 Vaughn and the brothers love the local library.  We go a couple of times a month to get books for Ronan to read for his school reading program, and for books for me.  Our library also lends out Wii games, which we recently discovered, and the boys pester me all the time to take them out.

 

I had to include this picture of Vaughn to show you how he has his tongue all the time; it's hanging out, and, in my opinion, so adorable!

 

 

Raising a reader!  He's pulling up to standing and standing independently.  No un-aided steps yet, but I'm sure that is just around the corner!

 

This basically brings you up to date on Vaughn.  He's growing and changing everyday, so check back for future updates!