Day 3

March 17
We spent the morning at a park again with some friends. It was wonderful to get outside and run some energy off. The kids played nicely and enjoyed their time.

Ashton's teacher sent a week's worth of lesson plans today. She did math in Spanish for a while and then worked on her spring break book in Spanish.

We used our playdough to work on math skills and played subtraction SMASH. Then, we designed new bugs with Gemma and Tanner.

After naps, the kids played and Joseph took them to the store to get mulch. He also cleaned the church quickly. One of his callings is to manage church clean up. It didn't happen last Saturday with all the changes so we had to run up and empty trash quickly.

Quaranti-cation Day 2

Monday, March 16

Joseph took the morning off after a crazy weekend of work. He stayed home with a sleeping Lydia while I took the three big kids to a park with another family. The kids got to play and get some energy out while socializing with some kids.

We had lunch and naptime as normal. Ashton worked on her learning workbook again and had quiet time. I got my work done for the day.

I made some word family activities with Legos and worked on those with Ashton. She enjoyed making up sentences with the different words and learning about word families.

It rained in the late afternoon but that didn't stop the kids from playing outside.

Quaranti-cation Day 1

I'm starting our "quaranti-cation" on March 15. Ashton had spring break last week and the schools cancelled one more week. I am doubtful it will only last a week. I'm mentally preparing myself for a month or more of this. With Church cancelled too, our kids are feeling the effects of this event. Thankfully, we visit parks frequently and for now, that can continue. I have seen Italy shut down parks as well so I am praying it does not come to that.

Today is Sunday, March 15. We had church at home this morning. The kids did very well at staying reverent. Joseph blessed the sacrament for us and I am even more grateful to have a priesthood holder in our home. I taught a primary lesson and led singing time (we played Hot and Cold, an oldie but a goodie).

After "church," the kids played with some neighbor kids. Some people may say that's a "no-no" on Sundays but we feel okay with it. They always play nice outdoor games and have a good time.

As our typical Sunday routine goes, Ashton and Joseph played the Wii during nap time. Then, Joseph got called into work again. He left for a few hours while we played at a park. Then we finished the night with our traditional movie night of watching Frozen 2.

Doing a little "GoNoodle" that Ashton does at school

Lydia is oblivious to all the changes. I'm grateful the risk of her catching the flu or RSV is probably less because of all the changes.

I got these books for summer for Ashton and Tanner. But with all the adjustments, I pulled them out early. Ashton couldn't wait to do a few pages. She wants to learn how to tell time.

Papa and Nana Visit Texas

My parents came to visit over Ashton's spring break. It was a perfect week to spend with them. Joseph's crazy hours continued throughout the week so having my parents around was even more help. They always rent a house or bring their RV when they come. This allows them to do sleepovers with the big kids. Ashton and Tanner had a blast on their individual sleepovers. We also visited the nature center by us, played at a nice park, redid our garden beds, and played a bunch at home. I'm glad I didn't plan a lot of excursions as this was the week Houston started to shut down everything. We also celebrated Gemma's birthday a few days early with them in town.

I only took a couple pictures. It is always a good sign that you're having a blast when you're too busy to stop and take pictures.

Gemma's heart update

At the end of February, we had our heart check up for Gemma. We went six months between the last appointment and I was nervous going in. I always am nervous. Gemma hates doctors and that hasn't changed in the past six months. Thankfully, the cardiologist had Frozen to watch and that kept Gemma from screaming the entire time. This time, she just whimpered and whined off and on. I still had to sit with her during the Echo but she did better than last time.

Our cardiologist did the measurements and imaging. Gemma's levels continue to stay the same as the past year or so. The numbers kept progressing until about a year old. She is in the high moderate range and intervention isn't done until she hits "severe." At this point, Gemma is almost two and it's likely the valve won't worsen after this age. She will always have the heart defect and it will never improve. But we shouldn't need surgery anymore. We will continue to have annual cardiology appointments at least until 18 and then Gemma can decide if she wants to continue seeing a doctor.

Time will tell if Gemma tires easier at physical activities or not. So far, she doesn't slow down compared to her siblings. She still gets pretty sweaty but our cardiologist and pediatrician agree that she is probably just a sweatier kid. We're grateful for answered prayers in helping Gemma's heart. It's been a constant worry on my mind since we discovered this defect nearly two years ago.

A picture right after her first heart appointment

Grandma Wilcox comes for a visit

We flew Joseph's mom out to stay with us for two weeks in February. Once again, Joseph had a big work project/turnaround right after Lydia was born. At first, we thought he'd be able to maintain normal hours during it. But right before Lydia came, we found out he was going to be on shift plus working weekends. I'm grateful his mom could come and help. She basically stayed home with whoever was sleeping at the moment. This way, I could go get Ashton from school without waking everyone up. Or I took Tanner and Gemma places and could leave Lydia home with a bottle.

The biggest adventure the kids had with Grandma was the school carnival. The school does lots of fundraisers and we participate with the carnival. They do a great job at it so I don't mind spending our money there instead of buying weird popcorn or whatever other fundraisers they have. I stayed back with Lydia and Gemma as it was during nap time. Grandma Wilcox took the two big kids from 11am to 4pm (the entire time of the carnival). The school offered a wristband for unlimited games and we did that for the kids. They definitely got their money worth out of it. I'm grateful the kids could still go despite having a new sister and their dad working weekends.

Tanner and Tee-ball

Since watching the World Series last October, Tanner has been desperate to play tee-ball. Another family in our ward has a son who played coach pitch baseball last year. We went to a game as well and Tanner loved it.

We signed him for spring ball in November and he couldn't wait for the season to start. He's had a few practices so far and loves it. Games start later in March and I know he is excited to play a real game. His team name is the Rangers. He's a little bummed that he is not the Astros but he is dealing with it.

Almost every time, he spins around the whole way with the bat and then runs.

He wears his helmet all the time, even in the field.

We tried to be cautious of how much we purchased for this activity. They required pants and baseball cleats. But I wasn't about to spend $25 on shoes that will fit for one season. So they approved tennis shoes. I also didn't want to purchase a $20 metal bat that I am confident will end up breaking a window or a sister's face. But the league really wanted each player to have their own. I purchased it but it is still in its box. I think it will be hidden all the time and only appear at practice.