October so far

14 years ago today I asked Jeff to go out with me. It was the best decision of my life!



I know I haven't written much lately. Mostly it has been because we have just been hanging out as a family lately and laying low. The kids have been doing pretty well working with their casts. Our little town is great about holidays and had the town square all decked out for Halloween so we decided to take some photos out there.

 





Last weekend Jeff suggested we go camping, so we packed our bags and headed down to Huntsville, TX. It was pretty chilly at night and we were disappointed when we discovered that our heater wasn't working because of a problem with the battery. We all bundled up and cuddled Elizabeth in the middle of the night. We were a little concerned we wouldn't be able to find a camp site because it is camping season and that also made us decide to veto hiking. We did get to explore the Texas Prison Museum and chase the kids around there. We all found the Sam Houston Museum more interesting and the kids had lots of fun walking around holding hands.

 



We have had some beautiful fall weather lately, but I know that isn't true for the east coast. We even claimed a refugee from that area. My dad was traveling and couldn't get back to Virginia so he decided to stop in and visit with the grandkids for a few days. Since he has been here we have been preparing for Halloween by carving pumpkins and the kids decided to rearrange the baby pumpkins I had outside the front door. They brought them down the walk to the mailbox planter and back up again. Over and over again.



 



Tomorrow is a pretty big day for us here. The kids get off their casts and we are all excited to see the final result. After we return from that we are getting decked out and going trick or treating. I hope to post photos from tomorrow soon and I can't wait to see all the cute little munchkins dressed up tomorrow at our door and on Facebook!

surgery update

It has been a week since the kids had surgery on their hands.  All in all it went pretty well.  We got up early to get to Dallas in plenty of time.  There was lots of waiting around for all the nurses and doctors to be ready and have everything assembled.  Elizabeth was up first and not happy about letting any one other than Jeff or I do anything to her.  So we gave her the "goofy juice" or I tried to at least.  It doesn't taste very good and neither of the children were very cooperative when we tried to dose them up.   Soon enough it was time for Elizabeth to go off to surgery.  When I scheduled the surgeries I was under the assumption that Jason would be in an almost concurrent surgery, but we found out that Jason wouldn't be taken back until after Elizabeth was done.  It was a nice distraction to entertain Jason instead of constantly worrying about how Elizabeth was doing. 

After about 2 hours it was time to go back up to the recovery area to wait for Elizabeth to come back.  As she slept we got Jason ready to go back.  Although neither of the children got the full dose of the "goofy juice" they didn't give us any trouble leaving with the doctors.  Elizabeth was still sleeping after Jason was left so the nurses said they would call us and we could run down and grab lunch.  While we were eating Elizabeth woke up and I rushed back to her.  We cuddled her a lot and gave her juice.  She was pretty fussy and very angry that she couldn't use her arm, but she didn't seem to be in much pain. 

Soon enough Jason was back with us and he woke up on the way back to recovery.  Jason has never been very happy when he wakes up, but in a new place with lots of strange things going on, he was not a happy camper.  I got him some juice and cuddled him and he was alright.  The nurses needed to be sure he was ok for a half an hour after surgery and he was so we loaded the kids into the car to head home.  Thankfully they both fell asleep on the way home.

That first afternoon we spent lots of time cuddling and we have laid low more this week than normal.  The kids are mostly weaned off of any medicine and sleeping well at night, or at least as well as they were before casts.  Jason is taking really well to the cast.  I think it helps that he understands what is going on because he has been through it before.  Elizabeth is often frustrated because she can't hold everything she wants to.  I have even banded "Dolly" to her cast before, but she didn't like that either.



When we were going in I thought they would need to have the casts on for 6 weeks, but I must have misremembered because they are getting the casts off in a little less than 4 weeks!  It happens to fall on Halloween and I don't think I have looked forward to a Halloween this much since I was little!  Hopefully we will find time to do the cast removal, get back from Dallas, get suited up and go trick or treating because Jason is already talking about it and insisted on practicing using our bedroom doors the other day.

 

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers for the kiddos as we go through this.  The other day in the store an older gentleman noticed Elizabeth's cast and after I explained that she had surgery and that she was born with her hands that way, he asked if it was serious.  I am so thankful that in the grand scheme of things this really isn't serious.  It isn't a problem with a major organ like the heart or brain.  I just read a blog about a classmate who has breast cancer and realized that these issues that we are dealing with are miniscule compared to what her family is battling!  I thank God every day that my family is generally healthy and I will take my two gimped babies any day of the week and twice on Sunday.  It doesn't hurt that they are so adorable either!

18 months!

Maybe I'm in a little bit of denial, but I kept stalling on writing this post.  As you probably guessed from the title, my baby girl is a year and a half old!  Jason's preschool recently asked for a family picture and with our trip and everything going on I didn't remember until yesterday so I had to search through my stash.  The only one I could find was from May 2011 and Elizabeth was so little!  I can't believe that our ittiy bitty baby has turned into this sweet little girl.  She has such a personality!  Elizabeth has her own opinion and will tell you to "go" while pushing you somewhere and she has a little temper that will let you know when you don't do something her way.

Elizabeth is such a sweet little cuddle bug, especially with her Daddy!  She is working very hard to have him wrapped around her finger.  She also gives the sweetest kisses, you just ask her for one and she will lay one on you!

I know I have said this before, but I am so thankful that Elizabeth isn't struggling with speech the way that Jason did.  She knows so many animal sounds and loves to name them when she sees them (like the cow on the milk jug.)  When we are done reading a book, we frequently hear "again, again" and hearing "please" is music to my ears.  She knows all her favorite foods and that she wants them on her "plate."  She loves to say over and over "Mommy" and "Daddy."  It seems like every day she is adding new words and I can't keep up!

On a little more nerve wracking note: the kids are both having surgery on Friday.  Jason is having his left hand done and Elizabeth is having her right.  I'm not as nervous this time about Jason because he handled it so well last time, but I really worry about Elizabeth.  She is just so little!  So please keep both of them in your thoughts and prayers on Friday!

Phone Photo Friday *Vegas Edition*

That's right ladies and gents, we just returned from Las Vegas!  And when I say we I am not including the kids!  Jeff had a big conference called the Mine Expo that is there every 4 years.  He still talks about all the shenanigans from the last one.  So this time I figured I needed to tag along, you know, to be sure he didn't get lost on his way back to the hotel one night.  So a week ago we drove the whole family down to San Antonio to Jeff's parents new house.

Along the way Jeff had to take a call so the kids and I expolored a back country road

So on Saturday morning we left the kids with the Grandparents and hopped on a plane with Jeff's sister, Michelle.  After a quick nap on the plane we were there and checking into the Monte Carlo resort.  After some dinner and a little gambling we were off to see Garth Brooks at the Wynn!  We are all huge Garth fans, but when I saw this video I was a little concerned

http://www.wynnlasvegas.com/Shows/GarthBrooks/Videos

He says something to the effect of "We're going to go through all the music that I grew up on and how it influeced my own"  I was thinking OH NO!  I want to hear my favorite songs, I'm not going to hear Garth sing some ye-ha song that his daddy sang him to sleep.  It was exactly what he said, and I loved it!!!  We did hear some of Garth's songs and he sang some that influenced him, but most of all it felt like he was talking to you over a dinner as a buddy.  And MAN, was he funny!  So if you get the chance, go see Garth at the Wynn!

 



 

The next couple of days we spent wandering the strip, seeing the attractions and going to promotional parties at night.  While Jeff was at the Expo on Monday, Michelle and I went out to the best buffet in town and majorly filled up our bellies!  I had to take a picture of this cute little fry basket and I was in my HTM element with all the bitesized food so you could try everything!



We also went to get shellac manicures that are supposed to last 2 weeks or more.  I am pretty thrilled because we got them on Monday and as of today I haven't even seen a bit of a chip!  We will have to see how everything goes over the next two weeks!

On Tuesday we went to the CSI exhibit.  We were about to pay at the cash register near the exhibit ($66 for the two of us) when they told us we couldn't use the discount down there.  So we went back upstairs and found that the discount was pretty substantial ($28 for the two of us!!!)  The exhibit was only okay so I would have been pissed if we paid more than $30 a piece.

So our days were mostly spent wandering around and taking in the sights, but at night we got to go out clubbing and invited to some nice parties!  We went clubbing at XS on Sunday night and Jeff and I have decided we can't figure out what distinguishes one of these techno DJs from another.  Before that we had attended a CAT promotional dinner where Jeff got pretty steamed that they changed the words of "he has the whole world in his hands" to make it an environmentally conscious song.  We were invited (sort of) to the Bridgestone Tire party at Pure nightclub another night.  It was pretty nice that most of these parties had free food and drinks (and cigars) to help out with our budget.  The last night we had to show Michelle the Bellagio fountains!

 

 

 

 

 

On the very last day we were there I was compelled to go out and take some pictures around the resorts we were staying in.  Most of these are from the Bellagio

 

When we returned home Jason was so excited to see us he almost hopped right off of his perch on Grandma's shoulders!  Elizabeth took a few minutes to really realize it was us, but when she did she was back to reciting "Daddy, Daddy, Mommy, Mommy, Brother."  We all drove home on Thursday and although Jeff and I are a little sleep deprived we are so thankful for a wonderful trip!

 

 

unsolicited advice

Both times I was pregnant I was on internet boards and occasionally moms would come on after having their baby and offer their advice.  This was even more laughable when I already had a toddler, but I still ended up checking it out.  This exercise always reminded me the cardinal rule that every baby is different.  For example baby swings: for Jason we got a used one at a consignment shop and Jason hated it.  I blamed it on the swing so for Elizabeth we got a nice new swing and she liked it okay, but not nearly as much as some of the other babies I heard about.  All the same here is a list from some of the moms in my online group and some from me.

• Don't worry about getting a bedding set.  You can't use the bumper for SIDS concern and you will get more than enough blankets that you don't need the comforter.  Go with some sheets that coordinate and spend more money on the room decor
• Learn how to swaddle!  I wish I had made a video of the unique way my mother in law taught me when Jason was born because the hospital way didn't work for very long.  I almost forgot between Jason and Elizabeth, maybe I will still make a video, check back for that.
• If your baby gets fussy during dinnertime try sitting them up with you.  Most high chairs or booster seats recline
• Go on a fun trip for just you and hubby.  In the first trimester with Jason we went on an Alaskan cruise with my parents and before we got pregnant with Elizabeth we went on a Mediterranean cruise (I wanted to drink that time) and it was really great to have that to reminisce about when I was up all night with a fussy baby.
• If you can't get away for a big trip at least go out to dinner and a movie!  Seriously, that is the thing I miss most about being without kids.  We rarely ever get to spend time together alone and I miss just being us some times!
• Don't buy a ton of bottles, pacifiers, whatever before the baby is born.  I breastfed, but planned on pumping and using bottles sometimes, until of course neither child would take a bottle.
• On that note, we have all heard that the breast is best and I was able to nurse for a year for each child, but if you have to do formula for your baby don't beat yourself up!  If you are determined you can breastfeed and there is lots of help that you can use if you want it. If you need to formula feed you aren't poisening your child, you are doing what is best for your family.
• Your life as you know it is over, but don't worry, you'll have a better one!
• Ask your partner for help and don't correct them unless they are doing something dangerous
• I'm so happy we didn't get a travel system!  We got an infant seat, snap and go and after about 6 months got a jogging stroller (that was the envy of all my walking buddies) and an umbrella stroller for smaller trips.  Thank you cheapskate hubby!
• Cuddle and kiss that little bundle because they grow up too fast and want to wiggle away!

Most importantly trust your gut!  You know your baby best and you can do this!

Parents, please add your tips in the comments!

Phone photo Friday!

It's fall, ya'll!  Geese flying away today.

Elizabeth ready to go down the slide with her balloon

I love this photo of Jason swinging

Just hanging out

Playing on the sand pile at Jeff's company picnic

Just dive right in Jason

 

Sweet girl was worn out!

 

In other news, Jason has been doing great at preschool!  The main purpose of sending him was to improve his social skills and that has been improving, but he has been impressing me!  On the way to church on Sunday he told me he was going to keep his mouth shut and his ears open (mind you, he didn't actually do that, but at least he knew that was what he was supposed to do)  He has also taken more interest in the days of the week and has started reciting them.  Elizabeth seems to be adding a new word a day!  I can't believe how quickly these two are growing up!