The Scotts: February 2023

Happy 4th birthday to Juliet! We had a little celebration on the 1st with just us and my parents.

She opened some presents and yes, we have already played all the new princess games.

Grandma also got the kids Pokemon cards and some cute kitty pillows.

And Juliet got to have a birthday play date with her buddy Charli!

Check out how long her hair is these days.

Patrick getting some standard morning smooches from the dog.

I was sent a video of Patrick being being AMAZING at a school assembly. I love this kid so much.

And here is a video of Bradley being equally amazing while learning how to cook spaghetti for dinner. He did such a good job and I taught him how to check to see if the pasta was done.

I took a friend out for a 40th birthday brunch! I love brunch and this friend and this needs to be a more common occurrence.

Grandpa came to watch one of Bradley's basketball games.

Taking pictures with Patrick is always a delight. Please note Bradley has a much better smile in this one.

I had been looking at our newly fenced yard and thinking that the cats probably couldn't escape if we let them out into the yard and sure enough, unless they really really were desperate the yard is actually quite cat proof.

Layla is thrilled by the new level of freedom and has started to request to go out so she can eat some yummy grass.

Sookie thinks freedom is overrated and wants comfort and security.

I got to go to a fancy birthday party with Patrick.

He dazzled a group of adults by his shooting prowess at a basketball game that was way too big for him. They applauded him afterwards. I had told him that it was too high for him, every shot was going to be like a 3 pointer, and to not even try. He made so many shots. We're not worried about Patrick's self-esteem.

The next day we went to Great Wolf Lodge. It's sort of been part of Juliet's birthday celebration over the last few years. She was rather insistent about a solo photo when we arrived.

She tolerated a group photo with her fan club.

Pool time! Fun fact - Patrick did not even get in the pool on our first day there.

Picture with lovely grandparents! This has been such a fun tradition. I do think this was our last year though - the older kids seem to be aging out of it and Juliet will still get to go when her cousin Katie comes to visit.

We were getting ready for a family photo and Juliet was feeling fabulous.

The crew!

Juliet kicking water towards me as I take her picture ... she may be naughty.

Eleanor is so used to her role as #1 Juliet buddy.

We got the birthday package. Of course!

Pizza dinner with cute boys!

This was our easiest trip to Great Wolf Lodge ever. The kids were so happy to hang out!

Time for cake!

The arcade was where we spent most of our time this year.

I got in on a lot of the races.

Eleanor sharing a prize with a delighted Juliet.

Cool racer dude.

A banner on the door!

One last group game to end our time at the arcade.

Patrick got in the pool on the second day after I threatened him and then he didn't want to get out. Typical. He mostly played basketball in a pool with his grandpa.

Nathan with his cute girls. I was feeling deathly ill by this point. Got home and discovered I had a fever. I hate winter.

Callie had a rather fabulous time staying overnight with his foster family from when she was a baby.

They were so excited to have her stay over and she was in heaven playing with their dog while we were gone. We gave them a gift card and banana bread as a thank you for watching her but I think they happily would have done it for free.

She was a very happy and very tired pup when we got her home.

I was very sick and took a long nap with the assistance of kitty cuddles.

Turns out Juliet was sick too! She put herself to sleep on the couch the day after we got home from our Great Wolf Lodge adventure.

She was so lucky to receive as many doggy cuddles as she could handle.

We discovered that Callie will watch shows. My Little Ponies is a hit across all species.

Meg was so pleased that I was exhausted and sick in bed.

As was Layla. Sometimes I suspect they would poison me if it meant they could get these kinds of cuddles on a more regular basis.

Bradley with his baby doggy. I did not expect him to love the dog this much, it's been so sweet.

Me telling the kids how naughty Callie is as she crowds them for cuddles at dinner.

Part of the cats going outside more often means there is more interaction between them and the love-starved dog. Sadly, this love remains unrequited.

Layla is still the most unkind of the kitties when it comes to poor little Callie.

I took Juliet in to Urgent Care on a Friday afternoon because she had giant tonsils and was complaining about an ear hurting. Sure enough, she had an ear infection. But they said the tonsils were not big deal and she was fine on a watch and wait basis and could go to the daddy daughter dance that night at our church.

The daddy daughter dance crew!

They went out to Hawaiian Bros for dinner before the dance.

But good news, there was extra food at the dance.

Juliet's friend Caroline was there too!

Eleanor had her first cookie booth of the season and my feet and hands went numb in my efforts to support her and I stood outside in frosty February temps for the two hour booth. Next year I really want to donate an extra $20 to Girl Scouts and skip the cookie booths.

Eleanor had yet another daddy daughter dance that night with her dad at the school. Fancy dinner before they went to the dance!

It was western themed.

Meanwhile, I had a board game night with the boys and some friends.

Bradley cuddling Callie. So glad we got a doggy buddy for this kid.

The next night was the Super Bowl. The Chiefs won! Please note Eleanor being forced to sit next to Bradley for these photos and his joy/terror at her attacking him for being too close to her.

Juliet and Callie enjoy quality time on morning car rides these days.

And have I been getting in the walks with this sweet pup.

I got Patrick fancy for his Valentines Day class party. His hair has pink and blue and a bit of purple in the back and I sprayed over the top of it with some glitter.

The day after Valentines Day my dad watched the kids so Nathan and I could have a cute little date night (Even though I was still battling a killer cold. This winter was not so great for us.)

Sometimes there are so many kids cuddling Callie that she barely has space on her bed.

For a while Callie was afraid of certain sections of her walk where she could feel water flowing underneath her. We carried her until she seemed to get over her cute little puppy fears.

Thursday the 16th was a particularly brutal day. I took Juliet in for her 4 year old check-up at our pediatrician's office. They said she was healthy, her ear infection had cleared up, and gave her her 4 year old vaccines while I said encouraging things to her about what a good job she was doing. Then - things spiraled. She started acting lethargic about 30 minutes after the vaccines and 2 hours later she started vomiting. Large amounts. On repeat. And then acting lethargic in between bouts of vomiting. I called the nurse line at the Children's Hospital ER and finally got a call back 45 minutes later. I was told the vomiting was just a reaction to the vaccines and meant they were working, I said this was way beyond that, and I was told I could bring her into the ER if I wanted her to be seen. Once we got there they took a quick look at her and then we sat in the waiting room for an hour, waiting for a room to open up.

They finally got her in after she started vomiting brown bile that smelled like poop.

They gave her anti-nausea medication and did bloodwork and gave her an IV.

By this point it was very late and she had been through quite a bit of trauma and she fell asleep.

They quickly went from being very casual about her condition to deeply concerned once they discovered she had a double ear infection and was positive for strep throat. They also got the results of her blood test and her white blood cell count was at 40,000 instead of a more standard 11,000 or 12,000 for her age. Apparently if you have leukemia your white blood cell count is around 45,000 or 50,000 so she was just off the charts for anything normal going on.

She was a champ about all the extra tests they had to run, especially since we had to keep waking her up for them. The Overland Park branch of Children's Mercy has an ER and they perform x-rays and other tests there but they do not admit patients. They were going to admit us to the downtown branch of Children's Mercy but there were no rooms available. Quite frankly, we were beyond exhausted at this point and at 2AM when they told us we really shouldn't take her home and she should just sleep in the room she was already in and we would see how she was doing in the morning, that sounded much better than transferring her to another location.

I read to her and then Nathan spent the rest of the night with her. I went home to relieve my dad of his duties hanging out in our house while the other kids slept.

I was only home for a few hours. But at least I got a bed, Nathan got a recliner. Juliet slept reasonably well and in the morning they checked her levels and everything was fine so we went home with a prescription for antibiotics and some additional anti-nausea meds. It was an incredibly traumatic evening and morning but it was over.

Callie was well tended to in our absence, I was able to leave the big kids with her while I was away to be with Nathan and Juliet in the morning.

Callie was very happy to get to cuddle up with kids on the couch and watch shows as Juliet rested up and recuperated.

Things started to make a bit more sense once Patrick started complaining about stomach pain, fell asleep on our bed in the afternoon, and then vomited a bunch. We think Juliet had been exposed to a stomach bug and that combined with everything else and the vaccines overloaded her system. Patrick was basically better as soon as he threw up. But then I caught the stomach bug and it hit me the next day. We don't like winter.

Nathan ran the show around here and took Bradley to his basketball games.

We took the robotics team out to Chicken n' Pickle for an end of season celebration and this was the girls' "We want a sleepover" face. They got a play date out of their cuteness. Not too shabby!

We've had some really nice days and apparently Patrick doesn't need his shirt once it hits 55 degrees.

With being sick and trying to be careful about getting enough rest to recover, I've been getting a lot of kitty time.

And puppy time. Callie would very much like for me to know that she is happy to cuddle anytime.

It got a little awkward when Sookie decided it was the cuddle time for her as well. At least the cats aren't afraid of Callie anymore. And Callie did a really good job settling down and hanging out by Sookie without being a huge pest.

Cuddles with Eleanor. Oh, there is much joy whenever Callie sees her.

Patrick had a sort of unofficial practice to start his lacrosse season and Nathan got this great photo of him with his game face and gear.

Juliet talked me into painting one morning. Setup and cleanup time: 10 minutes. Painting time: 5 minutes. This is why I normally just have her do this at preschool.

An amazing photo of almost friendship between a cat who knows she's the boss and a dog who is so desperate for all the loves.

And then Callie screwed it up with her joy and excitement but oh well, it was good for a minute there.

School pick-up. Callie loves sticking her head out the window and smooching anyone who walks by and wants to pet her.

So tired in the evening.

Eleanor had her first swim meet at Goldfish Swim School which was very exciting because she's not officially on the swim force team just yet, she's in pro level 2 which is the highest swim class before getting to join the swim team. Apparently you still get to compete at the swim meets when you're in the highest class! So cool!

Eleanor got to pick her events and chose the 25 Free, 50 Free, and 100 Backstroke.

25 Free

50 Free

She had never swam 100 meters before and I tried to warn her how far it would be but she insisted. It paid off though because she was the only person who chose that event and so she won first prize! She did mention that maybe she would choose a slightly shorter race for backstroke at the next meet.

Everyone at the end. It's such a nice program. Eleanor is learning all of her strokes and it's a really happy, positive environment.

With pizza at the end!

It was so nice that both Nathan and I got to be there. The boys were having a sleepover at my parents' house and they had Juliet hang out there with them while we were at the meet.

Juliet has been all about the games lately and it's so much fun. This Busytown Cars and Trucks game is like a cuter, nicer version of War.

Second and final cookie booth of the season with Eleanor.

She was very happy about the photo of her eating the cookie she has on as a costume.

Final basketball game of the season for Bradley. They got second place in their league and played really well, it was fun to watch.

It's so fun having some games that the kids enjoy playing together. Junior Detective has been a hit!

But it's mostly just wonderful to have Juliet happy and healthy again.

She's also really into Gigamons, which is fabulous because the older kids used to play it all the time and they're happy to have an excuse to be playing it again.