Courtney's Great Adventure

It is another peaceful day in Guam. The sun is shining and the wind is gently blowing. Courtney is pushing Olivia on the swing as Katelee rests and Mark piddles inside. Then, as Courtney examines some Gecko eggs in the palm tree, something brushes her shoulder as it falls to the earth. Screeching, she runs to the house as quickly as possible. Oh yeah, she needs to get Olivia. She calmly grabs Olivia while the unwelcomed visitor heads toward the swing set. She makes it inside to stutter, "snake . . . fell . . . on me."

By the time we made it back outside, the brown tree snake had found a nice hiding place in the kids' fort. Mark managed to coax it out with a broom handle, and then decapitate it with a shovel. The body will continue to move for quite a while after the head is removed, so Olivia kept thinking it was still alive. She did finally touch it though.

Trying to keep Olivia from having a snake phobia
(Ophidiophobia)

Easter Dress Contest

Courtney visited the store today to find Easter dresses for the girls. Courtney's mantra of shopping is "it can be returned." For guys, to return a product is to say, "I made a mistake when I bought this. I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking." Thus, if purchased, you gotta live with it. Nonetheless, Courtney found two dresses for each of the girls, and being unable to decide which she liked the best, bought all of them. After all, they can be returned.

So, help us decide the best dress for Easter. Dress A versus Dress B? Vote to the right.

DRESS A

DRESS B

Kites

What do you do when everyone is sick in the house? Go see some kites! We packed up and tried to get a little sunshine on us today. Katelee woke up barking like a seal this morning. She has a pathetic cry today, sounding like a sick kitten. We are pretty sure the congestion bug got her. Olivia caught it also (and may have originated it all), and she saw the doctor yesterday for some comfort medicine. Mark continues to cough up his lungs and is living on Vick's 44 cough syrup. Grandma Donner believes we have poor immune systems and threatens to send Ozark dirt our way to build them up. For whatever reason, Guam seems to breed cold and flu. Many people get sick here who don't deal with illness elsewhere. Warm climate? Lots of contact with others in outside activities? Who knows?


We did enjoy a kite festival today though. The Make A Wish Foundation sponsored it: http://www.guamwish.org/. We saw lots of cool kites -- Finding Nemo, Dragon, Octopus, Eagles, Rainbows, Gecko, etc. We lasted about an hour before the Olivia crashed. It was good to get out for a bit though. More pics can be seen by clicking the Taylor Photos link on the right.

Guam Ready

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Olivia is quite proud of her new hat!

Little Women

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Again?

Thomas Fuller said “Health is not valued till sickness comes.” Well, by now, I think we are valuing health! Courtney went to the doctor earlier this week because she has strep throat. Olivia is doing well except a runny nose. And Mark is battling something (probably Courtney's strep). Katelee is doing well though! In fact, here are the latest pictures of her. Enjoy!

All 12 pounds of Katelee

My Elvis Smile

Life in Guam

Mark is back in Guam, adjusting to the jetlag once again. The conference in San Antonio was good, and he was able to hook up with some old friends while there.

Meanwhile, back in Guam . . .

Olivia spends most of her afternoons flirting with her friend, Nolan.

And Katelee gets passed around to all who want to hold her.

Polling Results

The Polls Have Closed, and most can recognize the difference between Olivia when she was younger (top picture) and Katelee (the bottom picture). Pretty similar though, eh?

Well, Mark is in Texas, enjoying full days of classes for the next week. Courtney is enjoying the girls all to herself!

We were all able to enjoy a fun "Movie Night" before Mark left. We enjoyed "101 Dalmatians." Other Movie Nights have included "The Little Mermaid," "Brother Bear," and "Bambi." Where did all the Rocky and Rambo movies go???

Olivia engrossed in a movie

3 Day Weekend

We enjoyed a 3 day weekend this week. It was nice, amidst the sickness. Courtney has picked up a throat cold, complete with hacking cough. Katelee continues to have a low-grade fever, which decided to spike a bit this weekend. Our thermometer read 104, but when we tested that against the hospital's thermometer later that day, it was consistently high. Then, we tested it against another one we own, and it was high compared to that one too. So, we are using a different thermometer now! Nonetheless, Katelee still has a fever, which seems to be going around right now. Mark and Olivia are doing well though. We all enjoyed a day at the movies (Veggie Tales) on Saturday.

Dinner at the Taylors

We enjoyed a day with friends yesterday at a Shrimp Boil . . . Southern Style! It was great. All of it (shrimp, potatoes, onions, sausage, etc.) was all cooked and thrown onto a table for the gettin'. And, of course, there was plenty of dessert! It's hard to beat shrimp on the beach!

Bird's Eye Mobile View

The Birds and the Bees and the Lizards

On the way to the truck last week, two frogs were "together."

Olivia's comment: "Ah look, that frog is giving a piggy-back ride."

Dad replied, "Yep."

Must be Spring in Guam!

The Picture on Top is?

Who is the baby on top? Think you know? Vote on the right side of the page!

Blue Eyes

See more at Taylor Photos.

Two Down

Well, Mark came home Tuesday around 3:00. Remember the post about Olivia being sick? Same song, different verse . . . this time with Mark. He went to bed at 3:00 p.m., and he got up the next day at 10:00 a.m. By Wednesday evening, he was able to eat a bit though. And since he lost 6 pounds in 24 hours, he needed it!!!

We are doing our best to make sure Mom and Katelee do not get it!!!

February

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Originally uploaded by counsel14

What do you think? Has she reached "Chunky Monkey" status yet?

January

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Originally uploaded by counsel14

Check out those cheeks!

December

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Originally uploaded by counsel14

One month and counting...

November

In the beginning...
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Originally uploaded by counsel14

Sleepless in the Southern Pacific

So, Katelee seems to be getting a little better, right? Mostly, yes. She still has a low grade fever here and there. This means we will get a bit more sleep now, right? Well, Katelee did sleep through the night a couple of days ago. But . . .

It was a dark and stormy night (Thursday) when another young girl (Olivia) woke up her parents crying that her stomach hurt, she was ready to get up, and she wanted breakfast. Recognizing this as a common toddler ploy for more awake time, she was put back in her bed at 11:30 p.m.

Olivia decided to up the ante. She cried out again around 2:30 a.m. Her mother was the first on the scene to find vomit all over her bed. Courtney called for reinforcements (Dad) to clean the bed as she helped Olivia find the toilet. Thus, beds were stripped, and a pallet was made in the bathroom for Olivia. After a few songs, she went back to sleep; so did Dad around 4:00.

Evidently, Olivia didn't quite get the concept of "easy access to toilet right beside you." She came back into our room a little later, crawled onto the bed, and puked again. Again, mom took "comfort duty" while Dad changed the sheets. Same song. Different verse.

Dad finally got up at 5:30 for exercise. When he returned, Olivia's stomach had not settled. This continued throughout all of Friday. The girl was a trooper though. She would puke, wash her mouth out with water, and then ask to go play outside. Or, she would say she was hungry or thirsty. Mom was a bit upset after saying no to a drink of water, but Olivia drank like a camel. This directly preceded the "vomiting all over the living room chair" incident.

But, it's Saturday, and all seems to be settled this morning. She has had cereal and milk, and she has kept it all down. So, 24 hour bug? Hopefully.

***I decided against posting any pictures to accompany this post. You are welcome.***

But, not to leave you with nothing. Here is a new one of Katelee . . . all 10 lbs, 11 oz of her 3 month old body!

Princess Olivia

Olivia's New Dress

The Twirl Test

Happy Birthday Olivia!

Well, it happened. Olivia turned 3 without her mother killing her. Terrible Twos? Oh yeah! Olivia just continues to assert her independence with great phrases, like "I don't want to," "Wait a minute," and the classic 'I'll just ignore you and pretend you didn't tell me to do something.'

So, she springs out of all that in the third year, right? She did have quite the enjoyable birthday party. The yard has become "Playground Central" with a plastic fort, a swing set, a play house, a kid-sized picnic table, a small pool, and a little sandbox. And, for the birthday party, we added -- a Slip-N-Slide!

We started around 10 in the morning, and the little ones began trickling in. The slide into the pool was a big hit. The Slip-N-Slide was actually a gift from us, so she opened it and had a blast playing on it (especially once we coated it with baby oil). We BBQ'd hotdogs and hamburgers, and we had cake and cupcakes. Although it was a "No Gifts" party, our friends are all deaf and didn't hear that part. Thus, Olivia got a lot of cute gifts. You can see lots of great pics of the party by clicking here: PARTY!

Strawberry Shortcake Birthday Cake

Do I look rotten to you?

Slip-N-Slide

First Day of School

Olivia went to her first day of school today! It is an enrichment program held from 8:30 - 11:30, Monday - Friday. She was quite excited. This was evident when asked what she learned today ... "I don't know." What did you do today? "I don't know." Did you play outside? "No." Did you do any arts or crafts? "No." Finally, we got out of her, "I had a snack." She really enjoyed that snack though. And mom realy enjoyed the 3 hours with only 1 kid!

Tomorrow will be another big day for Olivia -- her 3rd Birthday!!! Of course, we'll take lots of pictures.

Meanwhile, Katelee has seemed to taken a turn for the better. She is only pooping 29 times per day now! Actually, she has less diarrhea and her fever has dropped. Some of the labs have returned, and they are negative. So, who knows.

Pokes and Prods

Just a quick update regarding Katelee's medical adventure. We have spent the last week in many appointments seeing many doctors. We calculated that Katelee has been poked 18 times in the last week after blood draws, immunizations, and urine sample via catheter. She has had appointments starting last Friday (pediatrics), Saturday (ER), Sunday (ER), Monday (pediatrics), Wednesday (family practice), and today (family practice AND ER). After two blood samples came back as postive for a bacteria, they wanted another one today, as well as a urine sample. They believe the positive results are just contaminated samples, and today's sample should help clarify that. Hopefully, it will all be settled soon for Katelee's sake!

Medical Mania

Well, it was a busy weekend that just flew right by! Friday, Katelee had a doctor's appointment at Navy. They drew blood for labs.

On Saturday, Olivia and Mom went to the beauty salon for a pedicure. Olivia chose purple for her toenails, while Mom got red. When we returned, we had a message on the machine saying Katelee's blood work had returned positive for a bacteria, and they wanted to do it again to make sure. This meant a trip to the Navy ER. Fortunately, we had a pediatric nurse who poked her this time, and he did a good job (even if he was wearing Texas Longhorn scrubs). They also started her on antibiotics, which meant two shots -- one in each leg.

On Sunday, we had to return to the Navy ER for the second set of shots. Fortunately, they did not have to draw blood again. But, we were at the ER for about 4 hours.

And, that brings us today -- Monday. We had a follow-up appointment at Navy hospital to see the pediatrician. The second lab work came back, and the results were negative for any bacteria infections. So, no more shots; no more pokes.

Ironically, tomorrow is Katelee's 2 month Well-Baby check-up. Hopefully, they won't want to poke her! Poor girl. Yes, she still has diarrhea, but the fever has come down a bit. We'll keep you updated.

The Downside of Bunkbeds or Lofts

So, one of the things I've noticed is -- Olivia's new bed was not made with parents in mind. About every other night Olivia is in some weird position (as below), and I have to get her back to where she is supposed to be (head near the slide on left of picture). If she is just a little scooted down, no biggie. I can reach her. But, when she is way down, like tonight, I have to crawl into the bed, pick her up, and move her back up. So, one may question: Why not just leave her as she is. One, the blankets are tucked in on the right. Second, I fear she will not sleep as well, wake up earlier, and end up waking me at 5 in the morning. I could test that, but I'd rather just crawl into the bed at this point.

Katelee continues to grow. I think she is up to 50 some odd pounds or so . . . at least that is what she feels like in her car seat. Why are my biceps not just huge? She did have another doctor's appointment today regarding the diarrhea and fever. They took some blood, which meant pokes in the arms before finding a good spot in the hand. We'll wait for results now. Maybe it is all the sand she is eating!

Mid January

Well, we are over halfway through January, and all is beginning to settle into a routine. Unfortunately, part of that routine has been dealing with a sick baby. Katelee continues to have diarrhea and a low-grade fever. She has had it about two weeks now. She has seen the doctor, and they even tried to get some blood for labs (unsuccessfully). She is a bit fussier than normal, but she is eating well. In fact, she is up to 9 lbs 2 oz. Her latest trick includes grinning, and we may have even gotten a giggle out of her.

We are mostly settled into our new home. Most of the boxes are gone, but we are still finding places to put things. Courtney has had some friends step up and take the "So you want to organize a house" challenge. They have been quite helpful, even if it makes Mark quite uncomfortable to know women are organizing his underwear drawers!

We have also seen some much generosity in people preparing meals for us. We have had lasagna and pork loin and salads and cheesecake and lemon cake and mac & cheese and rice and the list goes on. It has helped tremendously as we have been unpacking on much less sleep than normal. We also had a fun get-together on Friday with friends to BBQ and hang out. Even with the two rain storms that created a bit of mud for the kids to find, it was fun.

Olivia continues to be a loving big sister . . . maybe too loving at times. She loves to be in her face and hug her. She doesn't act too jealous, but her behavior has taken on a "I'll test all your boundaries" quality. Is that "New Sibling" behavior or "I'm 3 and live with me" behavior? Not sure.

Well, speaking of less sleep, it is time to squeeze some in between feedings. Enjoy the latest pics!

2:00 a.m. feeding

Beach Babies

Wanting the Waves

Surrounded by Girls

How to spend the start of a New Year

Happy New Year

from the Taylors

A Room with a View

From our back deck.

Courtney's parents are set to come in April. Get the scuba gear ready! Maybe this view will be incentive enough for Mark's mom to overcome her Aviophobia. She can take a test here to assess the severity of her phobia, then she can grab a hypnosis tape here. Hey, it worked for smoking!

Welcome Home

This was taken 01 Jan 08. It was a late night on the 31st. The girls all arrived around 7:00 p.m., and the flight went well. We loaded up the luggage -- all 34 bags -- and headed home. We were all pretty tired, so we prepared for bed. Courtney looked in her luggage for some bathroom items, and that is when she realized . . . she grabbed the wrong bag.

So, Olivia and Dad made a trip back to the airport around 10 at night. We got up there about 11, where we were told the next shift comes on at midnight. This was said after watching people coming and going from the counter. I guess they weren't impressed with my "I'll just have to find a place to drop this off then" response. A very nice lady helped us at that point recover Courtney's bag, clear customs (again), and drop off the other bag.

We made it back home around midnight, rang in the New Year, and hit the sack! I think Olivia woke up at 4:00 a.m. the next day. Ugh. So, in order to fight the jet lag, we headed to the beach. I'll post some good beach pictures soon.

The Bed

Ok, there has been a slight delay in providing updates because a necessary cable for the camera was left in MO. But, it has been mailed, and it arrived today. So, we'll start posting pictures soon.

Courtney, Olivia, & Katelee arrived on island on the 31st of December. As a nice surprise, I (Mark) was able to get moved into our new house. I had several people help, so it only took about half a day to move boxes across the street. After moving all morning though, I managed to get Olivia's surprise gift -- the ultimate Toddler bed!

Little did I know, this would be the bed even Santa would pass on delivering! Yes, it does get cool points for the slide and the bright colors. However, the parts and instructions were developed by someone with a sick sense of humor.

First, the instructions had no words -- just pictures. Of course, these are highly paid artists drawing these illustrations, so they look exactly like the pieces on the floor before me.

Second, the tools included were 15 sizes of screws, 3 sizes of washers, and two allen wrenches the size of my pinkie finger (allen wrenches are the L-shaped tools just small enough to provide no leverage in turning the screws). Of course, I had those great illustrations to tell me which size screw went in each hole.

Third, as I started in on the project, I worked for about an hour before standing up with a sense of accomplishment -- Step 1 of 13 done! Ugh!

Fourth, and finally, just when I had managed to develop a successful strategy of using the allen wrenches, they decided a screwdriver and regular wrench would be a nice switch of tools.

All in all, 7 hours later, with blistered fingers and scratched knuckles, the bed was finished.

Fortunately, Olivia likes it. She must sleep in it until she is 22!

2008

Happy New Year 2008!

*We will update Courtney, Olivia, & Katelee's return to Guam soon . . . complete with new pictures. Currently, we are getting settled into our new house with our new baby in the new year while the girls battle jet lag!

Check back soon!

Mizzou Merry Christmas

Well, it is Christmas in Guam! Mark was able to sleep until 9 before waking for church on the beach. Before leaving for church, Christmas gifts were opened, and Mark (evidently) was a good boy this year. In celebration of Mizzou's excellent football season, he received all the necessary garb for sporting his MU spirit -- jersey, t-shirt, crocs, hat, and gum (where do you even find MU gum)! Now, he can sit in style as he watches his new Planet Earth DVDs!

I have talked to Courtney, and the stage is set for their Christmas tomorrow. Hopefully, she will get some good pictures. After Christmas morning at the Mitchells, Courtney and Olivia will head down to Grandma Donner's. So, lots of festivities planned!

Merry Christmas!

Blurb

Now that the gifts have been given, I can announce a great new site we found for creating memory books. We did a "first year" book at Shutterfly for Olivia, but the Blurb book is cool too. We did one for Katelee that can be checked out here: Katelee.

Rota Walk 2007

It is 9:00 p.m., and we just completed the 2007 Rota Walk. The Rota Walk consists of all the people on Rota Drive decorating their houses full tilt. Think National Lampoon Christmas:

This year, it was a little tougher for me. I didn't have Courtney saying "that's not enough lights." Also, with plans to move soon, it was hard to be motivated to decorate the house we'll be leaving. But alas, I was able to string some lights across the top of the house, run some lights down the sidewalk, and create a snoopy stand (Lucy's Psychiatrist Stand).

This year, I made the stand out of wood paneling with some reinforced 1x4 pine boards. Then, I secured it to my Craftsman tool chest. Unfortunately, weather was not in our favor tonight.

Tonight: Mostly cloudy and windy with showers developing after midnight. Low 77F. Winds ENE at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 60%.

Translation: Mark will have to hold his Lucy Stand all night to keep the 30 mph winds from whipping it away.

But, most people seemed to like it, and many took the opportunity to get some good pictures with their kids in the window of the stand. That is, until about 7:50, when the last part of that forcast kicked in -- rain. Quick downpour, but enough to call it quits for the night as all the people ran for cover.

All in all, it was a good night though. And since the Walk was cut a bit short, that leaves me with 10 bags of Kit Kats and 4 bags of Hershey Kisses.

For a full history of Rota Walk, you can click here: Rota Walk History.

Elfin

For a good laugh, visit:

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1407337748

Not sure how long it will last, but it's funny.

Major Dad

Congratulations! Congratulations! Congratulations!!! Major Mark Taylor has a pretty nice ring to it, don't you think? And it is official! Mark was notified yesterday that he is indeed a major select! Depending on his line number, his promotion pin-on should come sometime within the year!

Seriously, I have the best husband and our girls have the best daddy ever. I am blessed.

Up, Up, Up

After 33 posts in November, we've slowed back down in December. Mark is back in Guam, and the girls are still in Missouri. So, it is up to Courtney to get new pictures for posts!


Katelee has continued to gain weight. She has gone from 4 lbs 6 oz. at discharge to 4.10 about one week later. A week later, she was up to 5.6, and she weighed 5.10 yesterday. She is gaining weight quickly, which is good!


They were able to get Katelee's passport photo taken yesterday, and it should only take about 2 weeks to get her passport back.


We did receive good news from our NICU neighbors who had triplets. They sent pictures, which can be seen here: http://web.mac.com/kevinennis/iWeb/Triplets/Triplets.html. We certainly wish them the best!