The Babb Family

Christmas 2009

2009-12-31T19:09:00.000-08:00

I know I haven't updated here in a while but things have been really busy around here lately, but I can always be found on facebook. I guess the biggest things we have dealt with in the last few months are all of the medical issues we have had. Let's start with the oldest first, this year Lane has had an impacted bowel twice. The cure was to have his colon cleansed which required an overnight hospital stay. Next would be Becca. She was coughing non stop for about two months and no medicine was working. Then the doctor took an x-ray and found that she had pnuemonia, so she was admitted to the hospital. While in the hospital they did more tests and discovered that not only did she have pnuemonia but she also had swine flu. Then after she was released from the hospital she was still coughing a lot for about another month. So then they discovered that on top of all of those other things she has asthma. So now she has to take singulair and a breathing treatment every night. Now we come to Bethany. Now I thought that I had just passed on the family curse of Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) so we took her to a neurologist. The doctor agreed the she did indeed have RLS but based on the other things that we told her about Bethany's sleeping habits she wanted to do a sleep study. Once the study was done it was found that Bethany had sleep apnea. The best way to take care of it for her was to remove her tonsils and adnoids. So that was done and she has since recovered from her surgery and we will be taking her back to the neurologist on the 6th to schedule another sleep study to see if it got rid of the apnea. Thankfully through all of this the oonly problem Lorelei has had is a few polyps in one of her ears. The kids had a great Christmas! They got everything they wanted and more. You can find pictures of the kids at this link http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y280/latb611/Christmas%202009/ Enjoy and Happy New Year!!!

Hello

2009-07-26T19:40:00.000-07:00

Back view of Becca. Two braids going up the back of her head to two braided buns.

Front view of Becca's do.

Becca with two hearts on her head.

Lorelei with two braided little buns on her head.

Lorelei with four braided loops.

Bethany with a twist on each side of her head to two pigtails.

Lorelei with pigtails.

Here is Bethany again with some flipped out pigtails.

This is Bethany. I know it is hard to see but she has three braids on top pulled back to a looped braid.

This is one of Becca's new looks.

Ok I know it has been awhile but things have been busy around here. So here is a little update Lane has just turned 8 and will be starting the 3rd grade next month. The girls are 4 and they will be going to pre-K next month and boy are they excited. Bethany my little pistol is growing be leaps and bounds. She will be 3 next month and is so disappointed that she can't go to school with her sisters. My father has recently opened up a liquor store here in Orange and I have been working with him. I have been experimenting with the girls hair lately so I am including some pics of this. Forgive me if some of them are side ways I took them with my cell phone.

2008-09-10T17:21:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been really in to taking pictures so I thought I would share some that I took of the kids. Becca is in the green and Lorelei is in the pink.

Hello

2008-08-06T08:12:00.000-07:00

I just thought that I would show you all what I have been up to. As most of you know I have love to crochet and be a little crafty. So I made these for the girls and I am actually trying to sell them. These are the poodles I made for the girls and I haven't finished the monkey that I am making for my friends little boy.

Severely Allergic

2008-06-17T19:48:00.000-07:00

Oh my God!!!!! I can't believe what happened. I was going outside to do some clean up work in our yard and I thought it would be fun if the kids came outside in their bathing suits and played in the water from the hose. So we're outside having fun and all of a sudden I realize that Becca has gone back around to the front of the house (we were on the side of the house). I called her back over and she started saying "OW!". Then I looked at her legs and she was being bitten by ants, of course I immediately started to hose her legs down to get them off of her. I got all the kids shoes off and made sure there were no more ants on them I then sent them inside to get showers in case there were any left in their clothes. By the time I got Becca to the shower she was already starting to turn red. I rinsed her off and started getting her dressed while I was calling the doctors office. They told me to bring her in ASAP. By the time I got her to the doctor's office she was covered from head to toe in whelps and she was red. The doctor said that she also heard her start to wheeze. They rushed her into a room and started giving her a breathing treatment then they gave her a shot of epinephrine and a steroid shot. She eventually started to return to her normal color. So now we know that she is extremely allergic to ants and she has to carry around an epipen. I was so completely stressed out that day. Oh and now because of all of this she has to spend two weeks staying out of the sun and heat. Which is going to be no picnic at all considering that we live in Texas.

Tubes!

2008-05-15T20:59:00.000-07:00

So yesterday all three girls got PE Tubes put in their ears, their adnoids taken out, and their turbinates shrunk. They came through it all just fine and hopefully this will make life better for them. Here is a pic of the girls leaving the hospital. Lane met with the Oral surgeon today and he will be having surgery to remove his extra tooth on June 27th.

Busy

2008-04-22T23:03:00.000-07:00

Ok so sorry its been so long but here we are. So first things first I have included pictures of the girls in their Easter dresses that I made for them. Now on to the bad stuff. Lane has recently been to the dentist and found out that one of his two front teeth is coming in completely side ways. We were also told that he has an extra tooth between his two front teeth. He has recently had 4 of his baby teeth pulled, by the dentist, to make room for his adult teeth. We have an appt scheduled for 5/15 to see the oral surgeon about removing the extra tooth.

The girls went to the doctor today and we found out that all three girls need tubes put in their ears. So on 5/14 all three girls will be getting tubes in their ears. Ok so now on a happier note as some of you may know my girls have always been very afraid of any kind of animal. They will only pet their own dog if I am holding him. So we were very surprised this weekend. On Saturday we spent pretty much all day at the local Crawfish Festival. We passed by an area that had a petting zoo and pony rides. Then Tony and I could not believe our ears when Lorelei and then Becca said "I want to ride the horsey!". They were so adamant about it that when we left to go home and get my camera, more money, and hopefully something to eat, they refused to get out of the truck saying "I don't want to eat! I want to ride the horsey!". So there are also pics of their very first pony ride.

Lorelei's & Rebecca's Birthday

2008-03-15T17:50:00.000-07:00

Well the girls have now turned three. I can't believe they are getting so big. They had a Disney Princess Party. They were so excited. Bethany has been getting so big that at this point she is only about 3 in shorter and 4 lbs lighter then the girls.

Halloween

2007-11-13T07:34:00.000-08:00

Hello all. I know it is a little late but here are the kids Halloween pictures. Lane dressed as a Vampire, Lorelei is Sleeping Beauty, Rebecca is Cinderella, and Bethany is a yellow M&M. I have also put in some pics of the Fall Festical they had at Lane's school. Lane baked a cake with my dad for an all male baking contest. Sadly they did not win but I have included a pic of the cake. We have had a little bit of craziness going on here. Bethany wasn't feeling well recently and the doctor found that she had a urinary tract infection. Well this is not something that is supposed to happen in a child her age so she has to have some tests done to see what is causing it. It is possible that she has the same problem I did which is treatable especially when it is caught early. On the plus side though she is getting chunkier by the day she now weighs 23 lbs 7 oz. I hope all of you are doing well.

Quick Update

2007-10-02T15:55:00.000-07:00

Just a few short things. Bethany as most of you know has now celebrated her first birthday, and has recently taken her first few steps. We have finally gotten settled into our new home. Lane has started the first grade here and seems to be doing well. The girls are becomming more and more talkative learning new words every day. I hope all is well.

It's here....

2007-06-19T13:34:00.001-07:00

The house is finally here! It was delivered on Friday. They are finishing up the trim out work today. The well and septic will be dug in about a week and we will be moving in by the end of the month. Woo Hoo!!

The order of the pics are: 1)Back of the house coming down the driveway. 2)Back of the house in place. 3) Front of the house coming down the driveway. 4) All put together. 5) Den/Play room 6) Living Room 7) Master Bath 8) Master Bedroom 9) Girl's room 10) Lane's room 11) Guest Bath 12) Kitchen

Swimming

2007-05-11T18:26:00.000-07:00

Well I took the kids swimming today and they had a lot of fun. Bethany took a little while to get used to the water but once she did she loved it. Recently Becca broke out in an allergic rash so the pediatrician is referring her to an allergist on 5/24 to be tested. Fun right! Bethany goes back to the doctor on 5/21 for her 9 month check up. I will check back after these appts. and let you all know. In the mean time here are some pics of the kids swimming.

Greek Easter

2007-04-18T13:05:00.000-07:00

Well thankfully we were able to make it to Greek Easter this year. The girls had a wonderful time visiting and hunting eggs. Here are a few pics!

Happy 2nd Birthday!!!!

2007-03-17T14:13:00.000-07:00

Becca
Lorelei

Lorelei

Becca
Lorelei
Becca

Well here we are the girls have turned 2. We took them to Chuck E. Cheese for their birthday party and they had a great time. They have been doing very well. Talking up a storm and learning new words every day. They are going to the doctor on Tuesday for their 2 year check up. We have had a lot of things going on here lately. For those of you who do not know my grandfather Joe Welch passed away just a few weeks ago. Shortly before that we were having our own problems here at home when a stomach virus went through our entire family. The big problems came when the fever this virus caused also caused Becca to have 3 seizures. The doctors believe that they are just febrile seizures and that we just need to make sure she does not get a fever.

The pictures I have included are from their birthday party and from a day we spent at the park recently.

Babb Christmas '06

2006-12-28T10:16:00.000-08:00

Hello all! I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas, I know we did. I did my best to take plenty of pictures so that I could share them with all of you. Lorelei and Becca are getting so big. We have recently had to make several trips to the doctor b/c Lorelei broke out in a rash due to an allergic reaction. Their regular pediatrician referred us to an allergist and we now know that she is allergic to Pecans, Brazil Nuts and Clams. We think it was the Pecans that caused the rash. While we were there the girls got weighed and now they weigh 25 pounds a piece. So far Becca has not shown that she is allergic but we are not taking any chances so she will not be eating any Pecans any time soon. Bethany recently had her 4 month check up and my little chunky monkey is weighing in at 14 lbs 3 oz. and is 25 inches long. She is wearing a 3-6 month size but can already fit into some 6-9 month clothes. As far as the pictures go Lorelei is the one in the pink pants and Becca is in the purple. I hope that everyone has a Happy New Year!

Boat Parade

2006-12-06T12:50:00.000-08:00

The day after Thanksgiving we went to a Boat Parade in Galveston. The kids really seemed to enjoy all the lights on the boats. Here some pics from that evening.

2006-11-12T19:16:00.000-08:00

Hello every one I just thought I would share these pics I managed to catch of Bethany smiling. Enjoy!

Bethany was in the hospital

2006-10-24T17:04:00.000-07:00

Hello all. Well recently we had a lot of excitement around here. The kids and I recently went to Florida for a visit on the way there Lane started to get sick. A couple of days later he passed it on to the girls and then a few days after that they passed it on to Bethany. We got back home Tuesday evening and on Wednesday morning I took the kids to the doctor. After checking the older the three the only major problem found was that Lorelei had an ear infection. Then she checked Bethany and when she listened to her lungs she said that they didn't sound good but they didn't sound great either. The doctor suggested that we take her across the street to the hospital to be tested for RSV. The test results were positive, my baby had gotten RSV. For those of you who don't know what RSV is: it is a Respiratory virus that is very dangerous for infants, people with heart and lung conditions, and the elderly. If not caught early and properly treated it can even cause death. Thankfully everything has worked ok for us. Bethany did have to go into the hospital but she was only in there for 5 days. We are home now and things are going just fine. I hope that all is well with all of you.

Update on the kids

2006-09-24T14:14:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone. Here are some new pics of the kids. The girls just had a doctors appt and they are doing very well. Rebecca weighed 22 lbs 4 oz and was 30 3/4 in tall. Lorelei weighed 22 lbs 12 oz and was 30 1/2 in tall. Bethany is doing godd she is now a month old and is starting to have more periods of awake time. Lane as you can see loves his new sister. The girls are just as loving. They always want to kiss her and snuggle with her, unfortunately they won't ever do it for the camera.

New Pics of Bethany

2006-08-30T16:04:00.000-07:00

Here are some new pics of Bethany that I thought you all would enjoy. She is doing very well and is gaining weight. She now weighs 7 lbs 12 oz and is 20 1/2 inches long. She has been a very good baby and doesn't fuss too much. The girls have done really well with her. They always try to bring her toys and give her kisses. If she does start crying the run right over and check on her. Lorelei seems to be the most affectionate, she would kiss her all day long if I let her.

Dr.'s Appointment

2006-07-24T14:16:00.000-07:00

Well I went to the doctor today and thought you all would like to see the ultrasound pics. Things have been going fine just a little bit of the usual back pain. They still say that she will probably be born in the middle August. The doctor has also started me on weekly visits so I will be seeing him again on Monday.
The first picture shows the back of Bethany's head where a little bit of hair can be seen. The next picture is proof yet again that she is a girl. The following pic is of her foot. The last two pictures are of Bethany's face if you look closely you can make out the dark cirles of the eyes and the chubby little cheeks. The Ultrasound tech said that she had long legs and was probably going to be a long baby. She also stated that right now she probably weighs anywhere between 5 1/2 and 6 1/2 pounds.

Land Pictures

2006-07-19T19:40:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of the cleared area on our land where the moble home will be. We haven't exactly decided on the orientation of the house just yet. The first picture is of our driveway. The second and last picture are the two places that we are considering putting the house.

Lane has turned 5!!!!

2006-07-19T13:37:00.000-07:00

Ok everyone Lane turned 5 this week and we had his party on Sunday. He had just come back from spending 3 weeks in Florida and thankfully Grandma and Pop Pop were able to be there. He had a really good time. Today we took him to the doctor for his annual check up. He weighs 41 lbs and is 40 1/4 in. tall and the doctor said that he is looking good. So here are some pictures from his party some of them are of the girls walking. I go back to the doctor on Monday for another ultrasound and a check up. Good luck to all.

We're Walking

2006-07-09T19:07:00.000-07:00

Well these are some pics of the girls walking. They have only really been walking for about a week and a half now. Lorelei has a better hang on it than Rebecca does, but they are both doing well. Everything is going good with my pregnancy I am about 5-6 weeks from delivering. I have another appt. tomorrow. I also added some other pictures. The girls had been eating cookies and started rubbing their hair hence the "bad hair day" photos. The other pic is of the girls taking a nap. I thought it was so cute that they were cuddled up together like that.

First Bath Together

2006-06-27T19:32:00.000-07:00

Well I finally got up the courage tonight to give them a bath together. Why might you ask? Well Tony has nothing to do with bath time, so I am all on my own. It worked out very well I was even able to snap a few pics. Lane is in Florida and seems to be having a good time. He will be home right before his birthday. I also have some new pics of our dog Socks.

15 month Check Up

2006-06-20T20:30:00.000-07:00

Ok so I tok the girls to the doctor today for their check up. For the very first time they both had exactly the same measurements. They now weigh 20 lbs 12 oz each and are 28 1/2 inches long. The doctor has finally switched them over to whole milk. They received two shots and the doctor says they are doing just fine.

Ultrasound pics

2006-06-06T18:47:00.000-07:00

Ok so here are the ultrasound pics from this trip to the doctor.
There is one of her foot and you can even see her little toes. The other one is of her face. If you look right above the word face you can see her eyes, the bones of her nose, and if you look closely you can see that she already has some chubby cheeks. I don't know if all of you are aware but we have a fairly new puppy and I have also included some pictures of Lane playing with Socks.

Doctor's Appointment

2006-06-05T15:32:00.000-07:00

Ok so I had another check up today. At this point I am about 7 months pregnant and I am going to start going to the doctor every 2 weeks now. They did another ultrasound today and everything looks good. They said that she weighs about 2 pounds 10 ounces right now and everything looks like it is on track. Oh and on another note my friend Vikki just told me that she is now pregnant.

Greek Easter 2006

2006-05-10T19:02:00.000-07:00

Well we were able to make it to Greek Easter this year. The kids had a great time. This year we came home from Alabama with a new puppy. Also I was the last one with an uncracked red egg. For those of you who do not know a tradition at Greek Easter is that we are all given hard boiled red dyed eggs. Then you crack them against one another trying to crack their egg without cracking yours. The last person with an uncracked egg (ME) is supposed to have prosperity for the following year. This year, as you can see in the picture, Grandma Mary was presented with the family bible from Greece. In the other pictures you can see Lane egg hunting, then finding his money egg, the family picture, Grandma Mary and her boys, and of course the girls. I hope all is well with everyone.

It's a..........

2006-04-12T15:25:00.000-07:00

Ok everyone here are the ultrasound pics of our baby girl! We have decided to name her Bethany Marie Babb.

Update

2006-04-04T14:06:00.000-07:00

Well we are all doing good right now. I am about 4 1/2 months pregnant now. The doctor says that everything is going fine. Next week we are going back for an ultrasoud and hopefully the baby will cooperate and we will be able to find out the sex of the baby. Tony is really hoping for a boy. At this point it doesn't matter to me what the baby is as long as it is healthy. I guess after everything that happened with the girls I just want to have a normal pregnancy and birth.
I have added a couple of pictures of the girls while they were sleeping. The ones of Lane I took at the park during one of his playdates.

Lorelei & Rebecca's Birthday Party

2006-03-19T19:00:00.000-08:00

Ok here are some pictures from the girls birthday party today. As you can see Becca was so partied out she crashed. We had some nice balloons and as you can see Lane did a good job stuffing his face. I posted some more pictures further down. The girl with the most icing on her face is Lorelei. Becca took a more conservative approach.

2006-03-19T18:46:00.000-08:00

Lorelei Crawled

2006-02-13T19:50:00.000-08:00

Lorelei started crawling this evening. I thought everyone would enjoy the pics. Tony if you have a chance to look at this I love you honey and I miss you.

Hospitalized

2006-02-09T18:24:00.000-08:00

As some of you may know Becca was recently hospitalized for pneumonia. All three of the kids got sick but I guess since Becca had it first she got it the worst. We spent almost a week in the hospital when they final said that we could go home. She is doing a lot better now. The doctor said that she had to stay at home for 10-14 days on her medication. We go back to the doctor on February 14th, and I will let you know how things go. On a positive note developementally the girls seem to be doing well. Becca has two bottom teeth and Lorelei has one, and they seem to be on the verge of crawling.

Good News

2006-01-23T16:25:00.000-08:00

The doctor did an ultrasound today and there is only one baby in there WOO HOOO!!!!! Here are the ultrasound Pics.

New Discovery

2006-01-19T09:57:00.000-08:00

This morning while I was searching for Becca's pacifier I put my finger in her mouth to keep her quiet. You won't believe what I found. Becca's very first tooth has finally broke the skin. Hopefully she won't be too cranky.
I just thought you guys would like to hear this great news. I have a doctor's appt. on Monday to check on the new addition I will let ya'll know how that goes.

Christmas 2005

2006-01-12T21:48:00.000-08:00

Well as many of you may know we went to Florida for Christmas. I thought I would share some of the pics with you. The kids had a great time. As you can see they got plenty of wonderful presents. The pics up top I just could not resist sharing. The first is of Lane on New Year's Eve when he took a nap in order to stay up late. The second one is of Rebecca a few weeks later when she was taking her own nap. I hope all is well with everyone. I love you guys.

It's Official

2006-01-04T18:54:00.000-08:00

Well I went to the health department today to have them confirm this pregnancy and they did. According to them I am now 6 weeks pregnant and due August 29, 2006. This has certainly come as a shock to us. We could certainly use all of your prayers.

New Pictures

2005-11-22T21:44:00.000-08:00

We recently took the kids to the Gumbo Festival and I took these pictures. I thought it was so cute that the girls were holding hands. Everyone is doing well. Tony is still working in Louisiana and the kids are still growing. I hope that you all enjoy these pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them. I find it so hard to believe that the girls are already 8 months old.

Happy Halloween

2005-11-04T09:22:00.000-08:00

I thought everyone would like to see what the kids were for Halloween. Lane is the big bad hunter on the right, next to him is my little bee Rebecca, and finally that beautiful little flower is Lorelei. The girls have had a recent checkup Lorelei now weighs 15 lbs 4 oz and is 24 1/2 inches long. Rebecca is 15 lbs and is 24 3/4 inches long. We are finally back at home and have already had our own little crisis. My friend Vikki, whose baby had the heart condition ended up having heart surgery on Wednesday. She is doing good now and they say that after she recovers she will have no more problems and be a normal baby. My other friend Kalee, the one with the triplets was able to bring two of hers home from the hospital on Tuesday and the other one is soon to follow. I hope that everyone is doing well.

New Arrivals

2005-09-17T18:03:00.000-07:00

Well I wanted to let you all know that my friend Kalee had her triplets. They were born on September 14, 2005. Their names are Danika, Annalise and Joseph. Joseph and Annalise weighed 2 lbs 11 oz and Danika weighed 2 lbs 15 oz (just like my girls). Annalise had to be sent to Texas Children's Hospital in Houston b/c her lung collapsed, she is doing better everyday though. Joseph and Danika are still here in Port Arthur and they are doing well. When they were first born they were put on a ventilator and as of today they were taken off the vent and put on a CPAP, which is what the girls were on for about a week after they were born. Please keep these little angels in your prayers.

News

2005-09-11T10:30:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I just thought that I would let you all know that Becca has started getting in her very first tooth. It has just barely broken the skin. They are doing so well.

Hello Everyone

2005-08-29T16:55:00.000-07:00

Hello all. Just wanted to let you know that the kids went to the doctor's office today. All three of them are sick. Not to worry it is nothing major just a cold. I just thought I would let everyone know that the girls got weighed today. Lorelei now weighs 13 pounds 8 ounces and Rebecca weighs 13 pounds 9 ounces. Other than being sick everyone is doing well. I hope that all of you are doing well also. Have a nice week.

New Pics

2005-08-20T16:22:00.000-07:00

I promised I would provide pics of Kaitlyn when I got them and here they are. Vikki and Jason went to see a specialist in Houston and they told them that she would definitely need surgery, but when she is older. For right now the doctor said that they have a healthy baby and to take her home and enjoy her, but to come back in a month.
As you can kind of get a glimpse of in the pic above Kaitlyn has some long fingers and big hands. My mother always said children with long fingers make good piano players so you never know. On the last ultrasound they did they measured her feet at three inches. Just to let you know newborn booties measure three inches. I think that this just proves that she will grow up just fine and grow into those feet and hands. In the mean time they are very cute to look at. Thanks everyone for all of your prayers and support of this little one. Vikki and Jason have already said that they appreciate it very much. Love you all!

New Arrival

2005-08-17T19:32:00.000-07:00

I am sure most of you have heard me talk about my very close friends Jason and Vikki (the people who introduced me to Tony). Well they have struggled to have a child for about two years now. On August 16, 2005 at 2:29 am their baby was finally born. She weighed 6 pounds 3 ounces and was 19.5 inches long. Her name is Kaitlyn Nichole Hall. Now that you all have gone Oohh and Ahh here is the bad news. I am sending out a prayer request. This precious life has joined us with some problems attached. Only hours after her entrance into this world it was found that this sweet child has two holes in her heart. According to Tony all children have these holes while in the womb but they are supposed to close before birth and apparently hers didn't. The doctors are now saying that one of the holes will not heal on its own and they will have to do surgery by the time she is 12 months old. The last we heard they were sending her home tomorrow on an apnea monitor. I ask that you pray for my friends and their family and for this little girl. I am sorry but right now I don't have a picture for you guys to see. I will put one up as soon as I get one. I hope that all is well with all of you.

Update on The Babb Family

2005-08-07T16:15:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone just wanted to let you guys know what is going on with us. Tony got a new job with a company called STAT Care EMS. He is still looking for another job but this one will do for now. The girls are growing like weeds. At their last doctor's appointment Lorelei weighed 11 lbs 8 oz and was 22 1/2 inches long, Rebecca weighed 11 lbs 14 oz and was 22 3/4 inches long. They have already gotten too big to sleep in their bassinet in our room so I am currently adjusting them to sleep in their crib.
Lane recently had his 4th birthday. We celebrated it at the fire museum as you can see above. He really had a great time. I am so glad too because I know that things have been a little crazy around here with the girls. I have taken some new pics of the girls which I hope you all have seen but I would like to show you what a big difference there is between now and when they were born. The first picture was taken after they had been in the NICU for a few weeks and they had put them in the same Isolette. You can see how tiny they were. They just looked so very helpless. I am so glad that we were able to have these beautiful little miracles. Everyday they are here is just a wonderful experience. These little girls have definitely added a special light to my life. The second picture was taken a couple of nights ago, if you really look at it you can see that Rebecca has her thumb in her mouth. This is something that she has recently figured out to do. Lorelei continues to stick her entire hand in her mouth. Sometimes it seems like Becca would rather suck on her thumb than her pacifier. Right now it is kind of cute but I am hoping that she will grow out of it. Well that is all for now I hope you all enjoy this site. Let me know if you have any suggestions.