Valentines Day

Valentines Day kind of got skipped in our house when we all caught that awful flu. But on the weekend before the holiday, we did do a little celebrating, and I thought it was still worth posting up a few pictures.

Jake and I made sugar cookies--They were all supposed to be pink hearts, but Jake sifted through my basket of cookie cutters and found a car shaped one. In our house, every day is a Cars Day, so why should Vday be any different? We compromised by making pink cars. :)

I thought the kiddos were picture perfect in their Valentiney Sunday clothes!

Mia Milestones:

On February 27th: first little laugh

On March 6th: rolled from tummy to back!

More updates to come!

sick, sick, sick.

I've been meaning to sit down and write a post for a few days, but I've been lacking positive energy this week, and didn't want to share my thoughts til I felt a little bit healthier--both mentally and physically. Last monday, (Valentine's Day), I woke up feeling completely ordinary. I noticed that Jake had a runny nose, but that happens a lot in the winter time anyway, so I wasn't really concerned. But by the afternoon I had a tickle in my throat, and Jake's snot nose was becoming a waterfall. Wesley came home complaining of a headache. I realized we were all probably getting sick, so we headed to bed early. By the middle of the night we all woke up with raging fevers, coughing and sweating.

The only one who didn't wake up all night was Mia who decided to do 7 hours straight. The next day, as Jake, Wes and I laid around feeling completely wiped out, Mia slept alll day. Every 3 hours I had to wake her up, and struggled to keep her up long enough to eat--around 4 pm I started to feel worried because she was so lethargic, and I could tell she wasn't taking in full feeds anymore. Then she started coughing. At this point I finally called her doctor, who had us come in right away. It turns out she had a fever (100.4), which I hadn't even noticed because she didn't seem warm in comparison with Jake (who was between 102 and 103 all day).

After a brief examination the Doc decided that we needed to head over to the hospital to run some tests. We got there around 7 pm, and were told that if her labs came back clean we could go home in a couple hours. One of her blood tests came back with a slightly abnormal result, so they admitted my sweet girl into the pediatric wing, and started her on IV fluids and did a round of IV antibiotics. We were told that we would most likely be going home in the morning.

We ended up spending 2 nights in the hospital while they ran different labs and did another round of antibiotics. In the end it turned out to be just a regular flu and cold (thank goodness), and so once Mia was hydrated, eating, and making enough wet diapers, they let us go home.

Now that I've had a few days to get some distance from the experience, I'm able to appreciate how blessed we were. Mia didn't have RSV, and really was a little angel in the hospital--all she did was sleep, and since they were keeping her hydrated through her IV, I didn't feel so anxious as I tried to get her to wake up for feeds. It broke my heart that I couldn't be at home with Jake during that time--he had a fever for 5 days straight, and I've never seen him so miserable. But luckily Wesley's boss let him work from home for a couple days. Also, the hospital is literally 2 miles from our apartment, so I was able to drive back and forth a few times to help with Jake. Mia's room was right outside of the nurses station, so I felt okay leaving her alone for an hour here and there.

It was definitely sooo overwhelming being that sick while worrying about my kids. I can't remember the last time I got a flu like that. It makes me grateful that we are normally pretty healthy, and I'm just really happy to be home again. I'm thankful for our awesome pediatrician. I know that he makes rational and educated decisions when it comes to my children, and having a Doc like that is a real comfort. The day after we were released (Friday) , I took both kids back in for checkups. Mia had her 2 month well check that morning, and Jake's fever still hadn't subsided. (Wes took him in on Wednesday, but was sent back home without meds since the infection appeared to be viral). Turns out in those couple of days Jake had developed a severe ear infection, so we were given antibiotics for him as well. Within 12 hours the fever finally left!

It's funny how perspectives change when your kid is sick. The only things we could get Jake to eat for 6 days straight were oreos & milk, and salt & vinegar chips. Who cares?? food is food.

Our little family took the entire 3 day holiday weekend to recuperate. It's been a long time since I've really felt overwhelmed with a trial. When I realized that we would be spending more than a few hours at the hospital, I felt such a heavy weight on my shoulders. I didn't feel like myself at all. I haven't prayed so hard in a long time--for my children especially, but also to feel uplifted. Wesley and I had some great talks throughout the experience, and I feel like we were blessed with peace and added strength. There was a baby 2 doors down at the hospital who had the same symptoms as Mia--except we got to go home after 2 days, and that little baby was sent to ICU. I really feel like our little trial could have been a lot worse, and I'm grateful that we came out of it so quickly.

Today was the first day where I felt more normal, so I just wanted to write about our experience. Because now that it's over, I'm already starting to forget how it felt. But it was hard for me. It may have only been a few days, but it was scary and stressful, but also uplifting and wonderful to pull together as a family. I'm praying that we don't get that sick again this winter, especially while Mia is so small and fragile.

She slept or nursed about 95% of the time for 3 days straight--but when she was awake she still managed a few smiles for mama. :)

p.s. Since we did do her well-check on friday I should probably post her stats.

Weight: 9 pounds 3 ounces -- 10th percentile

Height: 21.25 inches --10th percentile

She was 3rd percentile at birth, so this is a pretty good improvement :)

Details

I. Love. My. Kids.

Both of them are asleep in their beds right now, the house is picked up, and I only have ONE load of laundry on the living room floor that needs folding. So basically, I'm feeling pretty relaxed at the moment. I love to take a few minutes in times like this to think about how thankful I am for my sweet kids. Because when Mia is screaming her head off, or I'm dealing with a blow out or projectile vomit situation, or Jake is saying the same phrase over and over with increasing volume to get my attention (sometimes these all happen at once--the perfect storm)...I forget just how special they are. I thought maybe I should write down a few of the things that make them super special to me these days.

***disclaimer*** This ended up being a very wordy and long winded post, and it won't hurt my feelings at all if you die of boredom reading it. But it's been soo long since I've done a really detailed update on Jake's progress. I felt the need to do one today. Feel free to skip around and look at the fun pictures instead. ;)

Luckily, Mia is still a surprisingly well behaved little chick. Her longest night time stretch can be anywhere from 4 to 6 hours, and we are working hard to get her on a predictable daytime schedule. She turned 8 weeks old yesterday, and seems to be rapidly overcoming her low birthweight, with a double chin and basset hound cheeks to show for it! We are finally out of newborn size clothes, and I love spending some time each week playing "dress up" to see which of her outfits fit! Jake and I love to have Mia entertain us with her ear to ear grin and sweet little noises. Her eyes are still grayish-blue, and we can't wait to see what color they will turn.

She LOVES being carried around in her Moby Wrap (thanks jess), and HATES her carseat. In fact, anytime we leave the house (which is not often, I have a low tolerance for stress), I push Jake in my umbrella stroller, and just wear Mia in the Wrap. Probably my biggest challenge with Mia has been her delicate skin. She has infant eczema, and last week she had a big flare up and her entire face, ears, neck, and a lot of her body was covered in an awful rash. Fortunately for her, I already dealt with this when Jake was a baby, so I knew how to treat it. Her skin is finally looking more normal, and I'm hoping we can keep her comfortable and happy most of the time!

Even before we knew that our second baby would be a girl, I always felt like Jake would do so well with a little sister. He is such a softy, and really really seems to love Mia. He loves to sit on the couch and hold her, and will bring toys to her every single day, trying to see if she's learned how to hold them in the last 24 hours. When we go out, he likes to check and make sure she has a coat or blanket. I have a small pink foot stool in Mia's room, and Jake loves to pull it over to the changing table to stand on so he can "check" to see if Mia needs a change, tells me she is stinky, and then runs the dirty diaper to the trash. Then he runs back and always wants to help button the snaps on her clothes. Also, every morning he gets a kick out of helping me pick out her clothes for the day..(usually he picks something that doesn't match at all, so I've started pre-choosing a couple options and letting him pick from there). His favorite part is picking which bow she gets to wear (9 times out of 10 he wants her to wear "the red one" which matches almost NOTHING).

When she gets fussy he will run to me and say "oh no, Mia's cranky!"..and will usually offer up some solutions..."need a passy Mia?" "Wanna drink da boobie Mia? " "need your dolly Mia?" His responses to crying when we are in the car crack me up. In general, he starts out very sweet, patiently trying to soothe her with nice words, or sing her a song..then he'll try letting her suck on his finger like a pacifier..(I know, the germs, makes me cringe a little every time)...that usually works for a few seconds. When that stops helping, he will start shouting at her to calm down "MIA, BE QUIET!!! CLOSE YOUR EYES!!!! TOO MUCH, MIA!!!!" Last week when we were out shopping, I made the mistake of leaving Mia in the carseat and just sticking it in the shopping cart instead of putting her in the wrap...she ended up crying the entire time in Target. As we were packing up the car, I buckled Jake into his seat first while Mia screamed in the shopping cart. When he was strapped in, I said "be right back, I need to put Mia in the car". He looked at me in agony and said "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" No more MIA!!!!!!!!!" He then tried to explain the pros of leaving her at Target.

So yeah. Normally he really loves her, but we all have our limits when it comes to crying.

I feel like I haven't written an update on Jake's individual progress for awhile. He has come a long way in the past few months. Obviously he isn't having a hard time communicating, so that's been wonderful. Sometimes I feel a little overstimulated at the end of the day from the endless talking--but I know one day he is going to turn into a semi-rotten teenager, and probably won't want to tell me all the minute details of his life. So I try to enjoy the energetic communication as much as possible!

He loves to sing songs, and is very good at memorizing the words. His current favorites are "Twinkle Twinkle, ABCS, and a couple of church songs that he dubbed "Jesus Song, Temple Song, and Child of God".

His favorite movie right now is the old school "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"..except that he calls it "Imagination". I guess he heard that word in the theme song and just held onto it. Who knows.

He calls "root beer" "fruit beer".

He has recently started doing jigsaw puzzles, and I continue to be impressed when I see him tackle one with intense concentration, not saying a word until he is finished. Grandma and Grandpa Hurst gave him a big set of toy animals for Christmas, and he loves playing with them, and knows a lot of the names. My mom let him play with all the water animals in the tub while she was here, and he knows all of their names, and will totally correct you if you don't know them too--"no mommy, thats a manatee". (added bonus--he will now take his baths without a fight, hallelujah). Funny little detail--Of all the dinosaurs, he will say triceratops, stegosaurus, brontosaurus..but when it comes to T-Rex? (the easiest name).."SCARY DINOSAUR!!!!!!"...he refuses to call it anything else.

Probably the biggest struggle I've had with Jake over the past couple years has been his eating habits. He is an incredibly picky eater, and I've been reduced to tears many times trying to get him to eat some food. Every time I found something he would eat, after about a week he would decide he didn't like it anymore. My only comfort was that he at least drank a lot of whole milk, and between that and vitamins at least he wasn't malnourished. When Mia was born we switched to a new pediatrician, and I set up an appointment to have Jake checked out as well. The doctor was awesome, and helped me worry less about his diet, and even helped me sort out some problems that Jake had that were suppressing his appetite. Within a week Jake was like a new person!!! He is still picky, but his food intake has tripled, and is much more consistent. He has also been more willing to try some new foods, and I am just sooo relieved and grateful for our awesome new doc. So YAY for a small victory in that part of my life!

For me, being a mom can be challenging and confusing, and sometimes frustrating. But I really love it so much. Each day is an adventure. It's been 8 weeks since "kid" became "kids". As hard as the newborn thing can be, I love having my sweet baby girl to snuggle with, I love that I get to nurse again, and watching Jake learn how to be a big brother is so much fun! I'm looking forward to seeing their relationship grow as Mia becomes more interactive. As always, when I pause like this and think about my family, I'm overwhelmed with gratitude. I feel so blessed to have a supportive husband who is a great dad and a hard worker. I have two sweet, healthy, and energetic kids. It really doesn't get better than that. At least for me. :)

Family Time

After this post I will finally be done writing about those first few weeks, and sharing all of our fun photos! When Mia turned 2 weeks old, my dad came out from Virginia to meet his first granddaughter, and then a few days later (New Years Day!) we got a surprise visit from my sister Jessica and her little boy Sawyer. They stayed over at Sydney's house (our family is getting too big to sleep under one small roof!), and it was so fun and unexpected to see them!

Dad holding his granddaughter for the first time

Nothing is greater than just hanging out at home with people you love :)

The trip wouldn't have been complete if Jake didn't get to visit the Kangaroo Zoo with Sawyer!

Jake has been on a poptart kick for about 6 weeks. He loved having a friend to share his special treats with!

While my parents were here, they helped us get a toy organization system for Jake from Ikea, and then my mom took all Jake's toys from the living room, and moved them to his bedroom. I was worried that he wouldn't take naps in his bed if all those toys were in there, but he has done really well! He has always been very good at taking care of his toys, and has such a big imagination when he is playing with them. It was fun rewarding him with such a cool room :)

My mom turned 50 on her last day in Utah..a couple nights before that we had a little surprise party for her.

Once Jessica has her sweet baby girl this April, Grandma and Grandpa are going to run out of arms for holding all their grandkids! the family sure is growing!

If only David and Nathan could have been here!

Thanks to my family for putting effort and money into visiting us during that special time. I wish we all lived closer, but I'm grateful for the closeness I always feel towards you guys, no matter where we are.