My Matthew......

Matthew had his GI appt this week with a new doctor-a second opinion. He had a nice weight gain this time around (compared to the ZERO weight gain last time over a SIX month period!) and now weighs a whopping 24.4 lbs!!! :) I found out that Matthew has had a Vitamin D and Zinc deficiency for some time now. Doc thinks this is due to his ileo....valve removed during his intestinal surgery back when he was six months old.....She did say that these low levels can cause slow growth, ... as we have seen in Matty. We are going to do a weight check in six weeks (since he had such good weight gain this time) and if weight gain is not good, then we are doing a full colonoscopy, along with a REE test for metabolism. She also wants his levels rechecked to see how his Zinc and Vit D do.....So in any event, we see the nutritionist in six weeks, and follow up with this new GI in 3 months. :)

Emma at Chili's for lunch

I took the kids out to Chili's for lunch the other day......it was a bit crazy.......just Lexi and me along with five kids. But all in all, they did well. We had the chips and salsa keep coming.......and the chocolate milk!!! :)

Nick's first karate tournament

Nick competed in his first karate tournament on Saturday, July 18th at Rider. He did EXCELLENT! He placed 3rd in sparring and forms---I am sooooo proud of him! He told me he worked EXTRA hard to get a trophy! And he got TWO! :)



Nick competed in his first karate tournament on Saturday, July 18th at Rider

We're in a boat, Mommy!

This is what my little munchkins were telling me the other day........"We're in a boat, Mommy!" sooooo cute!

Eating in front of the TV.............

Lately, I've been a bad mom! It's just been soooo much easier to plop the kids in front of the TV and have them eat, instead of putting them in the table, where they end up throwing their food everywhere...........at least the TV keeps them entertained and they eat!!!

Cub Scout Day Camp

Bathing beauty!

Multi-tasking??? LOL

Great manners!

Lexi and I took the little ones to the chinese restaurant for lunch........they did really well!!!

Stroll down Memory Lane.........

On Sunday, Patti, Vinny, and I took the kids to Keyport, the town Patti and I grew up in......we bought some seafood at the Fishery, then ate on the pier........it was a beautiful day and I thoroughly enjoyed the relaxing stroll........ :)

PS-I had to add a pic of the house we grew up in----seemed sooo much bigger when we were little! :)

Happy 4th of July!

Our family enjoyed a fun filled day at our friends' house to celebrate Independence Day. The babies had a blast with the run of the backyard, and Nick turned into a "fish" by the end of the day-with all the swimming he did! LOL

Fireworks in a parking lot?!

Yes, Mommy was too lazy to bring the crew to the actual fireworks celebration. Instead, the kiddos, Aunt Patti and Uncle Vinny, and I went and bought some ice cream and went to the local shopping center parking lot and saw the fireworks display from a far. The babies did great----lots of "pretty" from them......so I guess it was a good thing they didn't hear all the big booms!!! LOL

Emma's trip to the doc

I had to bring Emma to the local night time doctor due to a nasty rash she was having........she was in good spirits.......and we got medicated cream to help with the rash.......truly never a dull moment! :)

Painting?!?!

I had to snap this picture.......my four little babies were "painting" or "dotting" with Dawn, one of our speech therapists! This is their first "painting" moment and they LOVED it!!!! :)

More swim lessons for Nick.........

Katie joined Nick and I for his weekly swim lessons.......she sure enjoyed some "alone" time with Nick and Mommy! :)

Summer fun!

We've been enjoying the hot summer weather the past few days......playing in the pool and with the hose!!!

First black eye! Yikes!

Yes, my Austin has his first black eye! I am not sure how it happened--Austin tells me "Matty did it", while Matty tells me "Emma did it." :) In any event, he has quite a nice shiner on his eye......it has really puffed out and gotten black and blue.........

Nicholas and Nanny

Superstar!

Austin Ryan Wilke.......my true "baby" boy :)

My "little big guy" is getting so big. He amazes me every single day. He is my last born son.......the one that took the doctor two full minutes to pull out of me.....while the other three babies were born all within ONE minute, little "big" Austin must have been quite comfortable in his Mommy! LOL Austin has ALWAYS been the biggest of the babies. He weighed a whopping 4 lbs at birth, while the other three weighed about 3 1/2 lbs each. He was the tallest at birth (18 inches) and still hovers over his sisters and brother. Austin is a very sweet boy. He is sooo "big", yet still cries for his "blankie" so he can suck his thumb when he is upset. His vocabulary has been amazing. He has picked up new words daily, and sometimes I can't believe the things that have come out of his mouth! LOL He was such a "rough and tough" "bulldozer" a year ago.......and he still has those qualities, but it has been amazig to watch his transition with his expanding use of words. He definitely thinks he is older than the other three.......he almost takes a "take charge" type of role with them.......yelling, pointing fingers, telling them the business! LOL He is also very content sitting in a quiet area by himself playing with his toys, or trying to figure something out. He will sit for a long time, trying to put a puzzle together, or just figuring out how something works. It is amazing to watch him! Mommy loves you Austin!!!! :)