Crazy Christmas

We thought we would tell yall Merry Christmas and let everybody know what has been happening with us.

So…

Merry Christmas!

And

We have been in the hospital and doctor’s offices a bit over the holiday. Cole has a history of intussusception ( www.kidshealth.org/parent/system/surgical/intussusception.html ) which basically causes a blockage in his intestines. He has had this fixed twice with enema and once with surgery—(surgery was about a year ago). On the night of December 23, Cole started grabbing his abdomen and screaming in pain about every 15 minutes. After watching him at home for a while and talking to the nurse on call, we took him into the hospital. We were there from about 9:15 pm to about 3:30 am (Christmas Eve) while they did a series of tests on him and gave him an IV. They didn’t find an intussusception with a barium enema so they told us to take him home and watch him and come back if he got a fever or started vomiting or the pain persisted. They also said that sometimes the intussusception can telescope in and out so he may have had it, but it corrected itself.

So we went home and he was pain free for almost 12 hours. The pain came back that night and he had a rough night, but didn’t want to go to the hospital if we didn’t need to and definitely didn’t want to spend Christmas in the hospital. However, Cole started vomiting and the pain seemed to because more intense. So, after talking to the after hours nurse once again we went back to the hospital at around 8:15 on Christmas morning. Again, we did the tests and they were negative so we don’t have a specific answer other than it could be intussusception or it may not be.

We were able to leave around 2:30. He has not had any pain since the second enema, so that has been a blessing. We are going to visit and upper GI doctor soon to get Cole further tested to see if we can find out why this keeps happening.

So we had a good December 27th free of hospitals and doctors. We got to have family time and played whirlyball.

On December 28th Cole woke up with a fever of 102 (which was of concern because of his recent past history). We didn’t want to sit in an emergency room when the doctor’s office was open, so we made an appointment and went to our family doctor. We went in at 10. We took a flu test, a blood test, a strep throat test and went to get a chest x-ray. By 1:30 we had found that the flu and throat test were negative, but the blood test showed a bacteria infection and the x-ray showed pneumonia.

Cole got a big time shot in each leg and was sent home with another antibiotic. He is doing better right now. Especially when he is on Motrin. His fever was 103.6 this morning, but the Motrin brought it down to 101.1 and Cole is running around like he feels much better. He also went to the bathroom this morning, which means, for now, he does not have any blockage.

It has been a crazy Christmas and a challenge to be calm and remember what Christmas is about! For now, we are home and getting better. The scary part is not knowing if it will stay that way for long, but we are thankful for this. We will keep you updated!

Happy 1/2 Birthday, Logan!

December 12th was Logan's 1/2 birthday. Way to turn 6 months, Baby Logan!

He is soooo close to crawling. He even picks up the opposite leg and arm and then...SPLAT! He always lands on his stomach. In true Logan form, he continues to be happy and just keeps trying. (Until he has had quite enough and demands to be put down for a nap.)

Yesterday I put a toy in front of him to encourage him to crawl. He tried several times, then got wise and scooted along using just his arms and scooped it up and put it into his mouth.

So far, he does not seem to put as much in his mouth as Cole did, but I almost bet you can attribute that to us keeping a cleaner house and not having random plants and things on the floor like we did pre-moble-children.

Today I told the doctor that I have never met anybody as happy as Logan. He said, "just wait until your third one. Or eighth one; they just keep getting happier." Then he paused and said, "But if you have eight of them, you won't be that happy." I think I will take his advice on that one.

Here is Cole anxiously awaiting the cake. I got kick out of Zach as we were celebrating Logan's half birthday. When Cole was turning 6 months (and 1 and 1/2 years) he thought I was silly for making a half birthday cake and celebrating the half birthdays. This time, however, he enjoyed the party, went to get the camera for me out of the freezing car, happily gave Cole some cake--although he knew it was going to be messy, and sang "a very merry unbirthday to me." He is finally coming along according to my plan (insert evil laugh here).

Here is Cole enjoying the cake. From the time I took it out of the oven and began to ice it, his mantra was "doc-ate dake! doc-ate dake!"

And because I didn't do this fancy-schmancy blogging when Cole was an ity bity thing, I thought I would include pictures from his first 1/2 birthday as well.

And a very merry unbirthday to you as well!

Our Baby Nephew

Here is a picture of the wonderful Brady. Can you believe that hair?!

Bring on the Caprons, Bring on the Babies

About 9 months ago, our friends, the Caprons, came to visit us one weekend in Dallas. That Sunday their baby (suprising because they were only in their 34th week!) was born.

Well, this weekend they were back and we now have a sweet little nephew!

Bri and Nick went into labor on Sunday. Braden Ray was born at 12:07am on December 10, 2007. He weighed 7lbs. 8oz and was 20.5 in. He is a healthy baby boy and very pink (without the usual jaundice of most newborns). He is so beautiful!

A Strong Woman Versus A Woman of Strength

Today was a particularly trying day with my 2 and 1/2 year old (not to mention my 6 month old was sick). Now that he has been put to bed I can laugh about our day, but in the moment it was quite frustrating. I, thankfully, found something one of the Titus women in my MOPS group gave to me recently and thought it was fitting. I don't know who the author is, but I thought I would post it. May we all become strengthened!

A STRONG WOMAN VERSUS A WOMAN OF STRENGTH

A strong woman works out every day to keep her body in shape...
but a woman of strength kneels in prayer to keep her soul in shape...
A strong woman isn't afraid of anything...
but a woman of strength shows courage in the midst of her fear...
A strong woman won't let anyone get the best of her...
but a woman of strength gives the best of her to everyone...

A strong woman wears the look of confidence on her face...
but a woman of strength wears grace...
A strong woman has faith that she is strong enough for the journey...
but a woman of strenth has faith that it is in the journery that she will become strong...

Culinary Creativity

Traditionally the dog is supposed to take care of any bits of food that little boys may not want to eat. This is not the case in our home. Our 80lb. dog cannot slink by undetected and is therefore not allowed in the kitchen to satisfy his overzealous appetite. This is why our little boy has to become creative with the food he doesn't want to eat.

I Am Thankful For My Babies!

For Logan's first Thanksgiving we went to Arkansas to visit my (Lauren's) side of the family. We had a wonderful time with great food and a good time with family. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera so I have no pictures of the actual event--but I thought I would show you pictures of my two babies. I am sooo thankful for them.

Logan loves to chew on his giraffe!

Big Brother Cole is so helpful!

Logan is one of the happiest people I have ever met!

Ride 'em Cowboy

Cole really getting into his ice cream!

I love my little family and I am so blessed to get to stay home with my wonderful boys. It was a hard transition to leave the workplace and school, but it works so well for us now. Thank you, Lord, for my babies, my husband, the choice to stay home and the blessings you give to us daily!

Tiny Tots and Tunes

Today was the last day of our music class for this semester, so we had a special day and brought Daddies and food. We were so glad that Daddy got to join us!

Here is the family of four before music class.

This is Cole's favorite part! Bubbles!!!

We have really enjoyed the music class this semester. It is amazing to see how much Cole has learned and grown.

Happy Halloween!

What a Difference a Day (or 730 of them) Makes

It is getting cold outside! That is why I had to open up Logan's next bag of hand-me-downs from Cole. It is wonderful to get to reuse all of them! There is one problem. Logan happens to be much bigger than Cole was so the seasons for the clothes are off slightly. Here is a picture of both of them in the same outfit in the same place. Both the baby and the kitchen have changed!

Here is the kitchen before we remodeled.

Here is Daddy and a 7 and 1/2 month old Cole in the kitchen.

Here is a 4 month old Logan and Daddy in the same kitchen.

Here is a better view of the kitchen and the 4 month old Logan.

I can't believe how different two brothers are! They vary in size, coloring (skin and eyes and hair), personality, sleeping, eating, disposition...

But there is one thing that is the same. They are both loved very much!

Mmmmmm!

I often wonder why God made it so we needed to eat three (sometimes more) times a day. It seems like He could have let eat once a week or even once a day. Much of my time as a stay at home mom is spent getting/preparing/cleaning up food for my family.

My best theory on the subject is He did it for the sake of fellowship. So we can eat meals together and relax. On Friday night, that is what we did. We ate with our friends Brad and Kathleen and their son Jake. (And the soon to be born daughter Cara!)

Here is a picture of Cole enjoying the pie. Mmmmmm! Don't you want to go eat now...

This picture is slightly deceiving, however, because both of my boys are having food issues right now. Cole doesn't really like to eat. Unless it is cheese, he can take it or leave it. He likes sweets pretty well, but doesn't get to have them unless he eats some dinner first. Dinner time is a constant struggle.

Logan, on the other hand, loves to eat. This is a problem lately because I have not had enough milk for him. I had to start supplementing with formula. I am not La Leche league (or even close--although I have been invited to a meeting once when I was nursing at a restaurant), but I enjoy nursing and personally I really want to nurse my kids for a year. That did not happen with Cole. My milk went away at six months, and although I tried everything but medicine, it would not come back.

For Logan, my milk went away at three months. He woke up one morning and his diaper was not wet at all (and I had put it on thirteen hours earlier!). My normally happy baby became fussy and uncomfortable and couldn't sleep. So after supplements for him and all kinds of good things for me (including, but not limited to pumping after every feeding, increasing calories, drinking a crazy amount of water, fenugreek...) the lactation consultant, doctor and I decided that taking medicine was the only way to bring it back. So I am taking what they commonly take in Canada and Europe for nursing problems. It is called domeperidon. It has some controversy--in the past it may have been harmful to very sick patients that took it in very large doses in the form of an IV, but it is now considered to be safe for the baby and for the mom--and it has worked very well in amping up the milk production.

So we have been able to stop supplementing for now, Logan is sleeping better and my wonderful, happy baby is back and he has stopped losing weight. We have another week before we start trying to ween off the medicine and we see if I can keep the milk production up on my own. For now, I am less stressed since the medicine is working and enjoying the conscious increase in calories. In fact, I had better end this entry because I am currently feeling that I need to help Logan out by eating another bowl of ice cream!

Catching Up

Every Thursday we have a standing playdate with Kristi and Carson. The drive all the way down from Allen to play with us, and we love it! As you can see from the picture Cole absolutely loves Kristi. He always tries to get as close to her and Carson as possible. He loves to pull out Carson's pacifier and give it back to him, kiss Kristi's arms, and tries to help in any form or fashion while Kristi is feeding Carson (including going through the diaper bag and pulling out bottle lids and pacifiers just in case).

Just in case you want to see Kristi and Carson (and even some pictures of Cole), her blog is http://babycooley-coolio.blogspot.com/.


And we can't forget little Logan. Here he is sucking his thumb. This is his new thing, and it is so cute! For now, anyway.

Logan is Three Months Old!

Our little Logan is three months old today! He is getting so big! He is about 15 pounds and is growing all the time. He now sleeps on his side (sometimes sucking on his fingers) and is only waking up once a night.

He is still a content and easy baby--although Zach and I wonder if he really is so much easier or if Cole just trained us well!

Cole and Logan are getting along well. Cole seems to really love his brother. Logan always smiles when he sees his big brother.

Happy Birthday, Poppa!

Why are you smiling Logan?

"Because it is my great-grandfather's birthday! Happy birthday, Poppa!"

Blood, Sweat and Tears

In raising two boys there is a lot of blood, sweat and tears. Today the blood and tears were Cole's and the sweat was mine.

I was vacuuming the living room. Cole was playing in the room and Logan was sitting in his bouncy inspecting my work. Cole ran out of the room one second and the next second he ran back into the room crying and holding his head. It took me a while to calm him down and then I sat him down on the counter to clean off the blood that was beginning to appear. That is when I realized his entire brow bone was swelling and he was beginning to look like the huntch back of Notre Dame in the face.

I was so nervous. I was trying to decide whether or not to take him to the hospital to make sure he didn't have a concussion or eye damage. I called my neighbor for a second opinion (she has two boys, and I was sure she had some experience in this area), but alas, she was not home. I then called my doctor to see if I could bring him by and determine if he needed to go to the emergency room.

He didn't. He just had the beginnings of a black eye (it has turned darker throughout the day) and the nurse said eyes just tend to swell up. I asked her if she was sure he didn't some how break his face. She assured me that he did not.

Then I realized the scary truth. I have a boy. A boy that, with his activity and curiousity level, that will probably get hurt many, many more times. Then I realized the even scarier truth. I have two boys.

"Adrian!"

Crazy Cole (aka Lil' Fred)

Here is Cole trying to put on Daddy's helmet. You can almost hear the wheels turning.

There is one big problem (other than the fact that it is too big)--it is backwards. This is especially notable because this is one trick Grampa (Fred) is always trying to pull. There are lots of similarities between the two of them--the backward helmet wearing, the complete and total love of trains and putting the track together (and taking them apart again and putting them back together again), the working with tools, the constant attempts to be near the laptop...

We are wondering if we have another crazy physicist on our hands!

Two Months!

Logan turned two months on Sunday. He is now 23 and 3/4 inches and 13lbs. He is growing like crazy. I keep trying to tell him he can sleep longer than 4 hours at night, but he hasn't listened to me yet.

Oh, well.

Here are some pictures...

The Sleeping Logan

Yay! I am 2 months!

I still can't get over his hair color. According to family, Zach's mom (Gramma) and my grandmother (Peg) and my great grandmother (Trudy) had red hair. I love it!!!

Logan's First Playdate

Here is Logan's first playdate...

Check out the color of Logan's hair!


Logan just turned two months--so more to come soon!

Mr. Pee-Body

To help Nick prepare for the upcoming arrival of his son (Yes! It's a boy!) in December, Logan decided to break him in a bit.

Uncle Nick swore he felt something warm on his leg, and I assured him that sometimes it felt warm through the diaper and Gramma (Vicki) backed me up saying the diapers these days don't normally leak (if they are changed enough, and we had just recently changed Logan).

When his picked Logan up off his lap there indeed was a wet spot. Nick was forced to borrow shorts and underwear since Logan took the liberty of wetting Nick's.



This may have been Logan's retaliation for Nick "learning" to hold a baby. There might have been some whiplash involved while a very nervous mother looked on.

Help Around the House

I have found it a bit more difficult to get my household in order lately. It is not so much from lack of time, it is more from lack of, oh I don't know, being able to be in two places at once. Cole is getting better and better at playing by himself, and Logan (except in the evening) is pretty easy. The biggest problem is that I can't leave them in the room alone together and go to the laundry room or another room to dust. Also, when Cole gets a hint of me trying to be productive, he goes into super crazy get mode and gets slightly bosterious trying to climb or bounce his baby brother in the bouncy chair or find a pen and write on the wall (thus leaving me more to clean).

So, I try to get Cole to help. Here is an example of him "helping" me put away the laundry.
Notice he is going for the already folding clothes.
You can even see his broom in the background. We just got done "helping" Mommy sweep.

It is amazing with all of this help that I am not able to get more done!

One Month Old!

Our little Logan is one month old. He does not sleep quite as much as when we first brought him home, but he is overall an easy baby. He is pretty happy most of the time--especially in the morning. Like most kiddos, he does get a little fussy in the evening.

His eating is going well (as you can see from the pictures). He even likes to eat all through the night. The most he has ever gone without eating is four hours and that is usually followed by needing to eat in two hours. So, we are up at least two times (sometimes four) at night. That is okay though, it is special time with just the two of us and I get to watch some interesting things on TV.

Cole and Logan are getting along pretty well. On the rough days, Logan cries when he sees big brother coming at him (after Cole has not been "gentle"). On the good days, Cole can make his little brother smile.

And smile we do! We had our first smile at the doctors office during our one month well visit. We also found out Logan was 22 and 3/4 inches long and 10lbs 60z.
Overall, we are doing well and so far think the transition from one to two kiddos was easier than zero to one.

Here are some pictures of our growing boy...

Daddy and Logan doing some male bonding.
Telling grandma how grumpy we are.
Relaxing a bit before we have to defend ourself from big brother trying to run the Little People bus into our head.

Cole's 2nd Birthday!

A couple of weeks ago, we celebrated Cole's second birthday. We had a train cake (he is really digging the choo choo's right now) and some family and friends over.

This was my first attempt at the cake. It took me alllllll morning (during which I completely neglected the birthday boy and his brother--probably not the point of a birthday cake), and it promptly collasped and looked like, well, like this...


Zach came in from mowing and yard work to help me keep my sanity and this was the train cake that we came up with together. A decent attempt, but I think in future years we will be purchasing the cake from a nearby bakery. Here are some pictures of the family. Memaw and Aunt Angela, as well as brother Logan.
Here is Cole blowing out his candles. We took them out of the cake so he did not create a shower on the train tracks.
In case you missed the party, here is Cole offering you a piece of his birthday cake.