Peter Cottontail

Here comes Peter Cottontail...


Hopping down the bunny trail....


Hippity Hoppity Easter's on it's way!

Getting Better

Finally, we are feeling better.

We are able to snuggle once more.


And we can watch movies together for fun...rather than because we need to rest.


I am so glad we are finally feeing better!

The Neverending Story

Will it ever end?

Just when Jackson wakes up feeling better (by feeling better I mean only throwing up once, eating three bananas and some animal crackers, not taking any extra naps, and having a solid poop...never thought I'd be so excited about a solid poop)...


...Samuel wakes up sick. A couple bouts of diarrhea, a fever ranging from 100.5 - 101.4, not wanting to nurse...



This was my breaking point. I broke down in tears. I felt defeated. I felt worried and scared for my babies. I wondered how I was going to take care of TWO sick little ones at the same time. AND I had to go to church (I have a church job). I had to leave my two sick babies at home with my mother and sister. When I got to church, my alto section forgot to show up. I wasn't expecting that. I had no back up plan. Luckily, we were able to recruit someone to sing a solo instead. Again, I felt like a complete failure. And I was in tears. When I got home, Jackson threw up on me. And I was in tears. Then it was naptime. I wanted to sleep, but Samuel didn't want me to sleep. So I watched the basketball games. VCU defeated Kansas. I felt a little better. Then Kentucky took out North Carolina. I felt a lot better (unless UConn wins the entire thing, I am the winner of our pool). Then Jackson woke up and he felt better. And I felt better. Samuel never did feel better, but at the appearance of the aforementioned solid poop I felt like I had a grasp back on my life and could handle this.

I am so grateful to my mom, sister and Noel for their help over the past five days. I absolutely could not have done it without them. My mom got covered in vomit on more than one occasion. Holly comforted and entertained one child while I fed/cleaned up/changed/nurtured the other (thank goodness Samuel likes Army Wives and Jackson is content with Thomas on the iPhone Netflix).



I have done more laundry, cleaned up more puke and poop, and changed more sheets than I care to ever do again. I have learned to know when vomit is coming a good 5 seconds before it arrives, and can catch it in a towel with 95% accuracy. If you ask me, this is the rotavirus rearing it's ugly head. And it's ugly.

Now let's get Samuel well and get on with our lives!

So Sick

Poor little guy. He's still sick. He's eating a little. And his fever is gone. But he still throws up if he drinks his Pedialyte too quickly, has diarrhea, and is not his happy playing self. We have watched Cars no less than 8 times. Rest is his friend.

I love the snuggles, but I can't wait until he is better!

Spiderman

Spider-Sam, Spider-Sam,
Does whatever a Spider-Sam can
Spins a web, any size,
Always happy, rarely cries.
Look out!
Here comes the Spider-Sam.

Sick Again

I am beginning to think that I may never have two boys who are healthy at the same time! If it's not (or snot) one, it's the other. And this time it's Jackson.

Miss Brandy called me yesterday about 3:30 to tell me that Jackson had thrown up. And so I went to get him *hoping* it was just a one off. It wasn't. He threw up in the driveway, in the car, at home, upstairs, downstairs, on me, on Nana... poor little guy. And then he started running a fever. He was so thirsty, but we couldn't give him a juice cup because he couldn't keep anything down. So we started giving him 1 Tablespoon of Pedialyte every 10 minutes. Eventually he went to sleep. He woke up twice for juice and a diaper change, and kept saying "owie" in his sleep so I knew he wasn't feeling well. He threw up once more this morning, but hasn't thrown up since. Just fever and lethargic and sleepy. We have had a very snugly 24 hours.






Jackson has enjoyed his first experience with Lollipops or "pops" as he calls them during this illness. Lollipops makes everything better.



Through it all, Samuel has been very easy going, patient and happy. He slept from 9 to 5:30 last night and then went down again until 9:30. He took three naps during the day, and hardly complained. I think he might be the best baby ever!



I am very thankful for my mom who helped out this morning while I went to take my Praxis I Exam. After only 4 hours of dodgy sleep, I wasn't sure how I'd do. But I finished 2 hours early (I don't check answers - my gut instinct usually works for me - and I didn't take my break), and I passed both the reading and math sections. I hear about the writing section in two weeks. The afternoon was lazy...I think we must have watched Cars 4 times today.

Both boys have been in bed since 8:30 and, even though I should be in bed myself, I am enjoying the Butler game before evoking the sandman. Go Dawgs!

I just hate it when my babies are sick. I do enjoy the snuggles though. Here's hoping that tomorrow shows continued improvement.

The Boy Who Giggled So Sweet

And the countdown begins. In one month from today, my first born will be TWO!

I dropped him off to the nursery at church today and he is now the oldest one in there. I watched him play with the other little one year olds and he just looked so...big! Old! Mature!

Jackson has a kind soul. He is so sweet and makes me smile, laugh and melt on a daily basis. He is also stubborn and is enjoying finding his new independence.

I went into his room one morning and he was standing there in his diaper with his Lightning McQueen PJs on the floor. He was so proud of his accomplishment!



Jackson loves his little brother so much. He is learning to be less rough with him, and in turn, Samuel enjoys watching Jackson play and smiles at him constantly. And Jackson enjoys testing out Samuel's things...



Jackson's vocabulary grows daily. My recent favorite is that he says "please" really sweetly whenever he wants something. Charms me into it every time! He likes telling me to whom things belong. Mommy's juice, Jackson's pants, Samuel's bumbo... He is also getting very vocal about when he has dirtied his diaper. Hello potty training! At this point, I am planning on starting the three day method the first week of May.

Jackson still loves everything Thomas. I recently introduced him to playdoh. He runs; he jumps; he climbs; he slides. He loves to color, loves to dance and LOVES his ABCs.

He is very good about helping to clean up. He even has a song he sings while he does it. Clean up, clean up, everybody do some...

And he follows instructions well (most of the time...can't be perfect all the time...especially at almost 2).

He will eat almost anything you give him. His favorite food is cheese, but a close second is bananas, oranges, applesauce, sausage, and yogurt.


Most of all, he is a lover. I love his big hugs and kisses. There is nothing in the world like little arms around your neck. I am blessed beyond belief to have such a wonderful almost two year old.

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling

Here's how we celebrated our Irish friends today:

We all slept until about 8:00 (a well-deserved sleep in after all the sickness we've had here). Upon waking, we dressed in our St Patrick's Day attire and took some happy snaps.





After my McCutie had breakfast, we headed to Kids Kingdom.


Jackson had fun playing in the big wooden castles. I was amazed at his climbing skills.






Samuel chose the park as a good place to take his morning snooze.



After lunch and a nap, Emily and Christian came over to look after Samuel while Jackson and I had a special "you and me" date. We went to the Build A Bear. Jackson took FOREVER to pick out which stuffed toy he wanted to build. We had to touch and look at them all. He finally became attached to a blue bear with peace signs on it. We recorded a special message to put inside the bear's paw. Then Jackson helped to stuff the bear. He chose several red hearts to put inside his bear (it was more like 6...he really enjoyed putting the hearts inside), and then it was stitched up. Next we gave the bear a bath and brushed his hair.


After the bear was sufficiently groomed, we looked through all the different outfits. Jackson wasn't really into the outfits. He was into the accessories. He picked out some sunglasses and a guitar (this was, might I add, all his doing...no prompts from me). Then we sat down at the computer to name our bear and print out his birth certificate.


I pointed to the bear and asked Jackson "Who is this". Jackson very matter-of-factly told me "Bear". So Bear it is. Meet...Bear.

And tonight when I tucked Jackson into bed and said goodnight, I had to say goodnight to Bear, too.

We ended our date with a stop by Auntie Anne's for Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel Nuggets.

The smile on this boy's face says it all.

We headed home to get Samuel so we could go to Myles's baseball tryouts. Myles had some good catches and throws! It was very windy, but the sunshine felt so good.



And Samuel chose this time to take his evening nap.



We came home, had dinner and topped our St. Patty's Day off with a green bath.



Both boys were worn out and in bed asleep by 9:00 giving me the opportunity to write this blog post and watch a couple episodes of Lost. It was a great green day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Feeling Good

Now this is the smile of a 13 week old who is feeling better!

Sick Of Being Sick

Happy 3 Month Birthday to my beautiful boy, Samuel Wrye!

I love these month stickers. I know they are the "in thing" right now and I can definitely see why!

Well, the fourth trimester is officially over. And right on cue, Samuel knows he has hands and likes to stare at them, put them in his mouth, and swat at toys.

Unfortunately, the 3 month celebrations were a bit overshadowed by Samuel's recent illness. On Sunday he developed a fever and lost his appetite. We headed over to the Urgent Care where he had a chest x-ray. It came back clear. It appears Samuel just has a good ol' case of the flu. Poor little thing...watery eyes, goopy eyes, runny nose, sneezes and coughs, and he just isn't himself. After a LONG Sunday night of refusing to nurse (it was long because I was in PAIN and was pumping up a storm...he slept), he began to nurse again on Monday morning. He still isn't back to his norm - only eating on one side every two hours or so (through the night as well so our long stretches have temporarily ceased) - and it takes a good ten minutes of crying before he decides he is actually ready to get down to business. Our super efficient feedings have become marathon battles, and our 8 hour stretches of sleep have reverted back to the newborn days. His fever is gone and he looks better today than yesterday. I hope this rate of improvement continues.

So, Samuel, we'll celebrate later, Roo. I love you so much and am glad that you are here! I love your smiles and your little voice. You already make me laugh daily, and I enjoy watching your personality develop. You are our little blessing!

Now This Is Fun

Why is it wonderful living near famiy? Because having sleepovers at Aunt Holly's house is fun! This was Jackson's first overnight trip away from home and me. I missed him. He, obviously, did not miss me...









(Cool Hairstyle by Uncle Noel)

Thanks, Holly, Noel and Myles for showing Jackson a good time (and for giving me the night/morning/afternoon off)!