What a Week!!!!!

So, this week was going to be so productive and yet not too busy, but I should know better than to make those kind of plans!  E was sick on Saturday last week, so we went to see the doctor to rule out strep, lucky us it was a virus, but she continued to improve after that. Sunday was uneventful as far as sickness go, all the family seemed to be on the mend from various ailments. All we had to do was wait until Monday . . .

T woke up Monday morning with a cough, nothing serious, but enough I could tell he didn't feel well. He continued to get worse through the day, but wasn't having any trouble breathing or eating, so I just chalked it up to a cold. After dinner, and before bedtime stories, though, things started moving fast. We all read books in the bathroom with the shower going and the door closed to try and help him through a coughing fit, and he seemed to be good to go. He went to bed at about 7:30pm, with the humidifier in the room and fell asleep in record time. Whew, a good night's rest is just what he needed!


Then, at about 9:25pm, he was awake, crying, and struggling, really struggling, to breathe. I called the doctor and drove to Orem to get T checked (thank goodness they are open  until 10pm!). When we arrived, T was in trouble, he couldn't get enough air and was grasping at his throat trying to say, "Mommy, mommy." The doctor called the ambulance and we started the breathing treatments and gave T a steroid shot while we waited. He was no better after the first treatment, and was still struggling, so he got another one. Just as that finished the ambulance arrived and T started to improve, but he wasn't well enough to go home . . .

Here he is, on the stretcher, waiting to go to the ambulance. T was not excited about this, other than the fact he might get to hear the sirens. He was asking, "Where's my ambulance mom?" The two paramedics who were there for him were just wonderful, thank you Brian and Jeff!

Did you know that you can strap a car seat to the stretcher in the ambulance? I didn't, and T chose to use J's car seat (it is a lot nicer than his, I have to admit), so we strapped him into the car seat that was strapped on to the stretcher. Amazing!

And we finally get to go home Tuesday morning just before lunch. T was an angel. The nurses couldn't believe that he wasn't screaming when they came to check his vitals and that he could be trusted to sit in his bed with the sides not all the way up. He was such a brave little man, and so excited to get the Woody doll from the nurse. He watched Toy Story 1 and 2 in the hospital, then went home and Daddy had rented Toy Story 3 for him to watch, so the complete trilogy in one day! Lucky boy. He is doing well now, still improving, still exhausted, but he can breathe, which is huge! Now if only I could catch up on the sleep I lost that night . . .

Missing in Action

Hello all! I feel like there just isn't enough time in the day, or any of the days, to get to everything that I'd like to do. I guess that is the plight of all people everywhere, especially mothers! I have a few photos of what we've been up to recently that I'm going to share, just because they give me somewhere to start updating!

First, the kiddos and I went to Logan for an appointment for L and then on to Idaho to visit my family. E went with her grandparents to see her cousin be baptized, and L, T and J stayed with me to spend time with "Aunt T." We had a wonderful time, just chilling with my sister and the kids (I missed E terribly though). We went to see Tangled - such a fun  movie! J was super funny though, and I kept finding him eating the dog food! He somehow was able to get the container open and spill it all over and start eating before I could stop him! I guess this is just a rite of passage for kids when there are dogs around, but it still isn't very appetizing! He was so proud of himself though, always finding where I put the container and being able to open it. He doesn't appear to be any worse for wear, so I'm not terribly worried, though I did get really tired of picking up dog food!

Here is J once again, E has taken to calling him "Snuggle Fat" because he is just so round. I mean look at those cheeks! We went on a walk (a regular ritual after dinner) to E's school and the playground. I'm always amazed at how many kick balls, basketballs, footballs, jump ropes, you name it, are left outside the school. Anyway, J found this one and was so excited to chase it, if only he didn't have to touch the grass to do it! This was just too cute not to share, he's such a sweet boy, a very happy content baby (as long as his belly is full). Just a couple weeks ago he went to see the doctor, and he already weighs 21 pounds. He won't be a year old for a couple more weeks. Just last week for lunch one day he ate 2 hot dogs, about 15 grapes, 6 ounces of formula, 1/2 of a banana, 4 crackers and some noodles! We are in big trouble when he becomes a teenager. . .

I painted our pantry this weekend. It just needed an update, and while we waited for the shelves to be completely dry, we left it empty with the door open. T and L found it to be a perfect 'house' for them, and they found a Winnie the Pooh lantern to take in there so it wasn't dark. It was not long after that they discovered that it makes a good 'bunk bed.' Hey, who needs all the hassle of beds and sheets and bedrooms when you can just stack the kids in the pantry! This provided literally hours of fun and entertainment and imaginative fodder for these three yahoos. It is really fun to see them grow and play together everyday.

This is a really fun picture. If you look closely, L has a black cord that is attached to her cochlear implant. She saw E listening to books on her dad's ipod shuffle (the really old white one) and begged and begged to listen to something too, so lucky for us, her implant came with a cord we can attach directly to her processor and an ipod or other listening device. We attached her 'ear' to the ipod and turned on the music. This is her reaction . . . PrIcElEsS!  There are so many cool things about her processor/implant, that she can listen to music, but still hear us talk to her. It senses when she is trying to talk on a cell phone, and she has actually been able to respond to questions from her Grandma's on the cell phone. We are truly blessed with so much, and it is exciting to see all the doors that are opening for our family - though it isn't without a lot of work on our part too!

I have one last photo. This is a favorite we have taken recently. I love my kids. They are my greatest joy (and sometimes my greatest frustration), but seeing them altogether having fun and loving one another is truly worth cherishing. So, here I bid you adieu, with this last snapshot of my life, until next time . . .