Merry Christmas

This year we enjoyed a very blessed Christmas. First we blessed with the healthy birth of Ethan. We were able to enjoy time with both of our families. We are all happy and healthy.

One could call our Christmas a musical Christmas. Michael wanted a drum set and Thomas a guitar. They must have been good boys because Santa brought what they wanted.

Although if you ask Michael, Santa didn't bring what he wanted. He wanted a real drum set, not a fake one like the one he got.

Mass Christmas morning was interesting. Anyone who has been to our church or heard us talk about Father Joe, know that he passes out lots of suckers to kids, before during and after mass. We were sitting near the front of church during mass on Christmas morning and the boys were being a little ornery. Father of course spotted them. He then got Michael's attention and motioned for him to come up on the altar. So of course Michael runs up there, while we hear a few laughs around us. He comes back with two suckers, but of course not a flavor that Thomas wants. So Thomas takes it upon himself to run up the altar to Father and get different flavor. As we hear more laughs around us, I hear Thomas say "Yes, I got a green one!"

Cookie Decorating

The last couple of years we have enjoyed an evening of decorating Christmas cookies with our friends. Again this year we had a great time visiting with friends and enjoying each other's company.

Thomas with his plate of cookies.

Michael with his plate of cookies

Somehow we got all the kids to sit on the couch.

Change in 2011

The year 2010 ending on a high note with the birth of Ethan. 2011 is proving to be a year of change, and the year is just barely getting started. There is some exciting news coming from the Dillner Household. David is going to be leaving the City of Edgerton, where he has worked as city administrator for the last four years. The next stop for the Dillner's is the city of Abilene, Kansas, where David will be their new city manager. He will be starting in February. After much thought and many prayers we have decided that the boys and I will stay in Edgerton to finish out the school year. David is going to work four long days and be home for a 3 day weekend. We plan to put our house on the market in the spring and begin looking for a new house in Abilene, with the hopes of moving everyone to Abilene at the beginning of the summer.


For those of you with no idea where Abilene is at, I've included a map showing its location. Grandma Susie and Grandpa Brian are excited that we will only be an hour and half away. It will take about a half hour longer to get to Grandma Mel's and Grandpa Dale's house in Omaha. My youngest sister is considering going to K-State next year and hopefully the thought of us being very close will help her make a decision.

I'm including a few links that have been in the media:
http://gardneredge.com/news/2011/01/11/3607-david-dillner-resigns-edgerton-post-accepts-city-of-abilene-manager-position

http://www.abilenecityhall.com/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=42

Visit to Santa

This year Thomas and Michael were very excited to visit Santa.

They wanted to sit on his lap and tell him what they wanted for Christmas. A change from last year, when they were a little afraid of him. We visited Santa at the City of Edgerton' s Annual Christmas Tree Lighting.

Ethan's one month check up

We went to the doctor early in the week for Ethan's one month check up. He is continuing to do well. He weighed 8 lbs 1.5 oz. Still pretty small, but putting on weight, so that is good. He was 21 inches long. We can't believe how much he is changing and how fast the time is going. It is hard to believe he is a month old already.

December 6 Weight Check

After our first visit to the pediatrician last week, Ethan wasn't putting on weight as expected, so we had to go back for a weight check. We went yesterday morning. After being put on the scale and having to be taken off the scale as it wasn't turned on. Ethan let the nurse know what he really thought about the weight check, being woken from a nap and having to be lay naked on the scale by peeing and pooping all over the scale! After we got the scale all cleaned up, we were able to weigh Ethan. We were very excited to learn that he had gained 11 ounces in the past week, coming in at 6 lbs 10.5 ounces. Having surpassed his birth weight and gaining more than an ounce a day, we were given the all clear! I am very excited to not have to go back again for another weight check.

First visit to the peditrician

We took Ethan for his first doctor's office visit on Monday. All in all it was a good appointment. The doctor's only concern was that he wasn't putting on weight like he had expected. We will go back in a week for a weight check. Which I think we will see that he is gaining weight. As often as I am feeding he should be putting on the pounds.

We are all adjusting well to life with a newborn. Thomas and Michael love him to pieces. They do great around him. They seem to have a calming effect on him, we will see how long that lasts!

Ethan William Dillner

Ethan William Dillner was welcomed into the world on November 19, 2010 at 12:30 pm. He weighed 6 pounds, 9 ounces and was 19 inches long.


He was welcomed by two very proud and excited big brothers!

Mom and Ethan did great in the hospital. We were very lucky to have lots of family in town to meet the newest addition to the family.

We went home from the hospital on November 22, to a quiet house as Thomas and Michael went to spend a few days in Omaha with Grandma and Grandpa.

To see more pictures of Ethan, visit the following link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=245063&id=598762182&l=56ecb500bd

Baby number 3 - 37 weeks

This week the boys have gone with their grandma and grandpa to visit their new cousin Patrick in Indiana. I am enjoying the peace and quiet around the house during the countdown days to the birth of the baby. The c-section is scheduled for November 19th. Hopefully I will make it until then.
Besides getting extra rest, David and I are working on getting the last few things ready for the baby, including picking out a name. We made progress tonight and actually have two girl possibilities and two boy possibilities. We have first names, but now have to think about middle names! I know many of you are itching to know the names we are thinking of, but don't worry you don't have very long to wait to find out. You will know November 19th at the latest!

Halloween 2010

Halloween has become the favorite holiday of Thomas and Michael. We are still talking about it. Each morning and afternoon they will tell me about which houses were out of candy while trick or treating, the scary house. They enjoyed Halloween so much, they asked if they could have a Halloween birthday party. Enjoy some pictures of all our Halloween fun!

A visit to the pumpkin patch.

Decorating our pumpkins.
Carving the pumpkin with dad, an annual tradition.

The boys wanted to decorate Halloween cookies!

My superheros ready to go trick or treating!

Soccer pictures

Here are some pictures of the boys playing soccer. Enjoy!

Soccer!

The boys have been enjoying playing soccer the last few Saturday mornings. They count down the days until soccer days! They do a good job of listening to their coaches. Last week Thomas defended off about 5 goals. We might have a future goalie on our hands. Michael won't take much from other players. If another player is pushing or shoving him out of the way, Michael will do it right back.

They have greatly improved since playing in the spring. They still tend to get frustrated if they haven't scored a goal about half way through the session. Once they get a chance to score a goal or feel like they've had the ball for a bit, they are generally happy again.

The boys have enjoyed having their grandparents and a couple of aunts come out to watch them too. Soccer pictures coming soon!

Baby Number 3 - ultrasound and doctor's appointment

Earlier in the week we had another ultrasound for the baby. It was to check the baby's growth since I am taking blood thinners. The baby looked great. It's measurements were right where they were supposed to be for 33 weeks. The baby does have long arms, which I didn't need a ultrasound to tell me that. I feel them all the time. The heart rate was 136 beats per minute.

We are quickly approaching uncharted territories. I delivered the boys at almost 34 weeks, which is right where I am now. The c-section is scheduled for Nov. 19th. We will see if the baby has a plan of its own!

The joys of being on blood thinners!

Yesterday, I was making refrigerator pickles when I cut my thumb on my super cool slicer, otherwise known as a mandolin. I didn't think it was too bad of a cut. So I put on a bandaid to stop the bleeding. Well since I am giving myself blood thinner injections daily I couldn't get the bleeding to stop. I decided I probably should get it looked at. I was hopeful that I could find a urgent care open, so I didn't have to go to the ER. Had I decided when I cut myself to get it checked out, I would have been able to find somewhere that is open. I quickly came to realize that the only place open was the ER as urgent cares generally close at 5 on Sunday. It was right at 5, that I decided to get it looked at. I was only in the ER for about 3 house and was unable to get stitches because I basically sliced off my skin, nothing to stitch back together. The doctor put something on it to help it begin to heal and wrapped it up. I get to take the bandage off tonight and check it out and keep re-bandaging until I get a good scab. Maybe I should have been thankful for the quiet evening I got to spend, but it was not how I wanted to spend the last evening before going back to school.

There is a reason while I rarely use my slicer. It will be a long while before I pull it out again and I will be sure to use the hand guard next time. I just hope this is not an indication of the coming school year!

Baby Number 3 - 23 weeks

We had another sonogram this week. For those of you dying to know, we don't know if it is a boy or a girl. I will tell you that the heart rate was 142 beats per minute. You can start your guessing now!

All went well at the sonogram. We decided to take the boys this time. They were very excited to see a picture of the baby. They both got their own picture to take home. The pictures are hanging up in their bedroom. The baby measured right where it is supposed to measure for 23 weeks. The weight was 1.5 pounds, which was about the 35 percentile. The legs measured at about 24 weeks and arms at 25 weeks, so if this continues the baby will have long arms and legs. We didn't see the doctor, but will go back to see him in a couple of weeks.

In addition to not knowing the sex we are also going to keep the names a secret too. We just like to keep life a little interesting. If this one is anything like the boys, we will still be deciding on names the night before the c-section. The boys have added many names to the list of possibilities. Thomas says the other day while talking about baby names "Juan Pablo, yeah that's a great name" They both went on to continue listing race car driver names that would be good for the baby. The conversation ended with Michael saying "Danika if it is a girl"

Baby Number 3 - 19 weeks

I had an appointment with my perinatologist last week. I know some of you are asking, why a visit with a perinatologist? It is a precautionary measure due to the blot clot that I had when I was pregnant with the boys. My doctor wanted me to see one, to get me on the blood thinner and make sure all is progressing well. The doctor did an ultrasound and everything looks great! Yes, there is still only one baby! The baby weighs about 12 ounces and all other measurements are right on target for 19 weeks. The best news of all is that I don't have to go back to the perinatologist!!! I get to continue giving myself daily injections of blood thinner and get a couple extra ultrasounds just to make sure the baby is growing. Otherwise all is on target!

The boys are getting more and more excited about the baby. We have been asking for their input on baby names and it has been interesting. Thomas thinks we should name the baby Rockity (sp?), while Michael prefers the name Blastoff-er (again not sure about the spelling).

David felt the baby move the other morning. The boys have tried to feel it, but are not patient enough to wait long enough, plus I don't know if the kicks are strong enough for them to feel.

Super Jayhawks

What do you get when you cross superman and a Jayhawk? A Super Jayhawk!

And The Winner Is.....

Back when the boys were first getting mobile David and I were taking bets as to which one we would be taking to the hospital for a play related injury first. Our pick was Michael, as he was always a little more outgoing, willing to take the risk and more aggressive. Well last night he proved us correct.

While we were getting ready to head outside and ride our bikes, David and I were in the back of the house and we hear crying. I head out to the living room to see why Michael is crying. I come in and see blood running down his forehead. I yell to David "We've got blood". As we are cleaning him up the best I can determine what happened is that he hit his head on the corner of the coffee table. After a phone call with David's mom, a nurse and some going back and forth we decide we should take him in to get it looked as, especially since it was on his face.

I find an after hours pediatric clinic that we decide to try as I'm really not too excited about $150 ER copay (Thanks Jackie for finding this place!). It is a bit of a drive from our house but we decide to go. We get up there and after a quick look at his forehead they decide that they don't need to do stitches, but can use skin glue instead. They were able to use skin glue because the cut was going up and down and not touching hair. Apparently they don't get to use skin glue on the face very often because they were pretty excited!

The worse part of the whole adventure was getting the cut cleaned out. Michael is no worse for the wear. In fact he was ready to ride his bike only a few minutes after getting the cut. This morning I mentioned running to the store and Michael said he couldn't go because of his bad forehead! (Sounds a little like his dad!) He is doing a great job of leaving the glued area alone and not bothering it.

For those of you who can't tell them apart, at least for awhile, depending on how this heals up, Michael will have a distinguishing mark on his forehead.

4 Years Old

Yesterday Thomas and Michael turned 4 years old. We celebrated with a party with friends and family over the weekend. To make July 1 a special day, I took the boys to see Toy Story 3 and we had a special lunch at McDonald's. We had mini brownies and opened more presents. They boys are very excited about the new bikes they got. We are working on riding them.

At four years old some of their favorite things to do are anything sports related, counting, talking about letters and the sounds they make. They love any kind of racing. They are each other's best friends and they love playing together. They are very excited to become big brother's in a few months.

It is truly amazing to see how far they have come since they entered this world.

Listening

I was sitting at the computer this morning getting caught up on emails and such. The boys were playing in the living room. As I'm working at the computer, I hear Thomas say, "the poop has two colors, it is brown and green" That does not sound like something I want to hear. I get up and go into the living room to investigate. Luckily I don't see poop smeared all over the living room carpet. I ask Thomas "Did you poop your pants" his response "Yes". We go back to get cleaned up. As I'm getting out new clothes, Michael comes to inform me that the poop is two different colors. This whole experience wouldn't be complete without examining the poop in the toilet before it is flushed.

There is never a dull moment at the Dillner household!