Arwood Adventures

Goodbye Arwood Adventures. . . Hello My Crazy J's!!!

2009-11-15T23:12:00.002-05:00

I wanted to let my loyal followers know that after 7 mos of NOOOO posts, that Arwood Adventures is being laid to rest. sniff sniff. . .

BUT, I am happy to announce the beginning of My Crazy J's!!!! www.mycrazyjs.com is my new blog! I decided to start a blog that had plenty of space to upload an unlimited amount of pics and video, since that is what I do and a huge part of who I am. My Crazy J's will be a mommy blog that I will "attempt" to post on daily, you know, in between scrubbing poop off the walls and wading through the knee deep laundry! This will also be a place that I can post my photos and "advertise" as I explore the possibility of becoming a "professional" photographer. I am using the term "professional" very loosely!! :)

So, please make any necessary adjustments to link your blog to mine, and I will do the same. I am also on Twitter now, forced by my website mentor, aka - little bro. So if you tweet, (or twit as I often accidentally say) follow me there to!

Whew, on to new beginnings. . . . Join me please!

Jonathan's Art Contest

2009-04-22T21:03:00.003-04:00

As you may know, Jonathan LOVES to draw. He has since he was about 2 yrs old. This year he decided to enter the Paulding County School District art contest. He worked really hard on his drawing. He is somewhat of a perfectionist, so he had a lot of crumpled up papers that he "messed up" before he finally had a drawing he was satisfied with. Then he colored it using the oil pastels we bought for him. He was really proud of his work! When we went to the art show we found out that he won 1st place in the K-2 division! I was so proud of him. He got a medal and a certificate. Then we found out he would be invited to attend the April PCSD board meeting to be recognized and receive a $25 dollar check as his prize. So, all the family packed into the county office for the board meeting. Only Nate and I made it into the actual room where the meeting was held. Nana, Papa, Granna, and Micah and the other Arwood kids had to stand in the lobby because it was so crowded. Jonathan had a great time and was very proud to get his money and shake the board members hands. His artwork was framed and will be on display in the county office for the next year. Way to go Jonathan!!

Now we have to go shopping so he can spend his money before it burns a hole in his pocket!

The Winter Crud

2009-04-22T20:34:00.003-04:00

Well I guess its time to update the blog! I mean its only been 2 1/2 months. Well, we have had the winter crud for about, oh, 3 months now. Seriously, with 4 kids all going to different places during the day and then sharing the germs they picked up, it has made for a pretty lousy winter. We started on Christmas eve when Jase got sick. His progressed and by 3 days after Christmas Justin was also sick. With several doctor visits (at $25 each) we discovered that we had the dreaded RSV in the house. Breathing treatments, steroids, cough meds, antibiotics for the ear infections, it was fun. Luckily Justin did fine. We had one moment when the doctor was going back and forth on whether or not to send him to the hospital, but I told her I was comfortable taking care of him at home, and that he was already on the monitor so I could keep close check on things. He never had any apnea alarms during the RSV, which was huge, since RSV alone can cause apnea and add that to an apnea prone baby and you can have big trouble.

So, we get over RSV in time for Jessi to get sick. Poor baby girl was the sickest that any of my kids have ever been. Fever for 12 straight days, the first 8 days her fever was up to 104 every day! She could not get off the couch. I was having to help her to the bathroom the first several days. We visited the doctor 3 times and then had 1 ER visit during the illness. She was tested for the flu twice, negative both times. They still don't know exactly what was going on, but feel like it was most likely some type of viral illness. She is pretty much back to normal now, except for a stomach ache that she complains of daily. We have also had a lab work up for that, and everything came back normal.

About the time Jessi was recovering, Jase got sick again. I aggressively started giving him his breathing treatments as soon as I noticed a cough. He also had ear infections that he was being treated for. When I thought he should be getting better he suddenly took a turn for the worse. His fever was spiking to 104+ and he was coughing non stop. After a trip to the urgent care we found out he had pneumonia. We followed up with the pediatrician the next day, and Jase was much worse. They did blood work, gave him a shot of antibiotics and changed his oral antibiotic. As we sat in the office that day, the doctor again was going back and forth on whether or not to admit him to the hospital. Again, I asked (ok, begged) not to go. He did not need oxygen at the time, and I told her I knew what to watch for and would take him to the ER asap if needed. We came home and within 2 days he was greatly improved. Whew, another close call! (I have a thing about going to the hospital now, if you can't tell!)

Well, when Justin started a couple days later with the exact same symptoms as Jase I took him straight to the doctor. He was coughing, wheezing, and also had an ear infection. The doctor went ahead and started him on the same antibiotics that Jase had been on, just in case this was heading in the same direction. Justin got well quickly, although he has had 2 more ear infections since then. Doctor said one or two more and we will be heading to ENT for tubes.

Jonathan has been sick several times during this winter. He is just older and I don't take him to the doctor as often as the little ones. He is currently wheezing and coughing and his allergies are driving him crazy. I am trying to get him an appt at the Asthma/Allergy clinic, but it is spring in GA and apparently everyone is trying to get an appt with them!

So, if I haven't been spending hundreds of dollars at the pediatrician office or giving my life savings to CVS for prescriptions I have been locked up in the house with a sick child. I have never been so glad to see summer coming!!

Saying Goodbye to Elfis

2009-01-29T23:25:00.005-05:00

If you are not familiar with Elfis you will have to read the elf attack post. As time went on the kids got a little more comfortable with him and he never attacked any of the children after that first day. I still can't think of that without starting to laugh!! I could never put the situation into words well enough to make people understand how funny that was. Anyway, as the story goes, Elfis left with Santa on Christmas Eve. The kids were very sad to see him go, and before bed that night they wanted to get their picture made with him and had to tell him a looooong goodbye. Elfis did leave them a note that they found on Christmas morning.

The famous Elfis hiding in the Christmas tree.

Jonathan telling Elfis goodbye.

Jessi still wasn't sure about Elfis, she didn't want to get too close!

Christmas Eve Pajama Party

2009-01-29T23:09:00.004-05:00

On Christmas Eve we had our annual pajama party at Mom and Dad's. By Christmas eve the kids are so hyped up for Santa that it is pretty much just chaos! We just eat pizza for dinner, have plenty of cookies and pretty much let the kids have as much fun as they can possibly stand. Jonathan had so much fun that once we were home he was up at 5 am and started throwing up. He continued for the next 3 hrs, it was awful! I was sooooo tired (didn't get to bed until 3 am) and then was up with Jonathan, Jase coughed all night (he had RSV) and then I had to get up with Justin. By 8 am the rest of the kids were ready to be up for the day. Anyway, I got sidetracked! Here are pics of the pajama party!

Jase, Micah with Malachi, Jonathan, Jessi and Laura trying their best to be patient while we make them pose for yet another picture.

Papa Claus passing out one of the many presents.

Jessi with one of her horse presents. She loves horses!

Jase with his bakugan. Ga-gone as he calls it.

Justin playing with Papa and Nana and enjoying his first Christmas.

Couch Family Christmas Party

2009-01-29T22:52:00.004-05:00

The Saturday night before Christmas we had the Couch Family Christmas. This includes Grandmother and Bip, their two daughters Susan and Dana and their families. I don't even know how many of us there are all together, but we fill up mom's table that seats 18, and that doesn't include the kids. This has become one of the few times a year that all of us are able to get together at the same time, and it is always fun! Here are some pics of the evening.

Eating chocolate cake and waiting to open presents, it doesn't get much better than this!

Jonathan and Micah snooping through the presents.

One of the favorite gifts, 2 little girls!! Jessi and Laura, and they didn't come with a gift receipt.

Cousin Angela and Justin just enjoying the fun.

Hanging out on the screened porch. It was quite warm that night!

Christmas Programs, part 2

2009-01-29T12:59:00.003-05:00

This is from Jessi's Christmas program, that was scheduled at the same time as Jonathan's party. Later I got to feel really guilty as Jonathan told me that EVERYONE else had a mom or dad there, and that he had to eat his snack ALL by himself because we didn't come to the party. Somehow I don't think it was quite as bad as he made it sound. Anyway, he is recovered now. I'll just add that to my resume for Mother of the Year award.

Jessi and her class.

Looking so sweet singing.

Running to bring me the present she made for me. It was a lovely Christmas tree that was COVERED in glitter. I am still finding that glitter in the van.

Eating her healthy Christmas snack!

At least I made it to two of three parties. We will see what next year brings!

Christmas Programs

2009-01-29T12:37:00.003-05:00

It has already started! Having more that one child I have already had to deal with the conflicting Christmas party schedule. I can only imagine what is will be like in a few more years when they are all in school.

First I had Jase's program. It was cute and the kids sang jingle bells and we wish you a merry Christmas. Of course Jase came skipping out, but once he saw all the people he never opened his mouth! After the program we ate pizza and cookies. I was just happy to make it through the program without Justin's monitor going off. I kept tickling his foot every few seconds so he wouldn't get into a deep sleep! What a mean mom!

Jase coming out with his class.

Not sure what all those people are doing out there?!?

Once he saw me you could see the expression change!

Eating my pizza, my favorite meal.

Posing by the tree.

Wynn Family Christmas

2009-01-29T12:16:00.003-05:00

I am going waaaay back to try to catch up. Sorry I have been such a blog slacker, but I have gotten hooked on Facebook and don't have time for the blog!!

So, Dec 19 2008 we had the Wynn Family Christmas party at our house. We had a great time and the kids had a blast playing. This was the second yr we hosted the Christmas party, so I think this may be our new tradition! Here are some pics from the night.

The table . . .

Connor and Justin getting to know each other. They are 3 weeks apart and both of them are troublemakers!! They have each had their own set of issues and were even at Scottish Rite at the same time back in November. They are both doing better now and Connor is getting ready for what will hopefully be his final surgery at the end of Feb. I'm sure by next Christmas they will be running through the house, probably dismantling the Christmas tree.

Candace, Matt and Trent. Aidan was too busy with the toys to sit for a picture!

The gang. Rodney, Cody with Connor, Bobby and Stephanie is in the floor. That is Aidan with the curls.

Jessi with her beloved Alexa doll. I think this one of the highlights of her Christmas!

Elf Attack

2008-12-15T23:17:00.003-05:00

A six year old Paulding County boy is recovering from an apparent attack by one of Santa's elves. Jonathan Arwood, who resides in Dallas with his parents and three siblings, received "The Elf on the Shelf" book and elf on Friday of last week. The elf is said to stay with a family for the Christmas season. During this time he "watches" the kids during the day and will then fly to the North Pole every night to report to Santa. Jonathan was very excited although apprehensive about the presence of this elf.

As part of the tradition the elf was to be named, and the Arwood family decided on the name Elfis. One of the important rules to be followed while hosting Elfis is that he must not be touched, or he will lose his magic and not be able to return to Santa. Heather Arwood, the victims mother, describes the events as they unfolded. "Jonathan was already very nervous about having the elf in our home. He was innocently playing in front of the entertainment center where Elfis was perched on the top. All of a sudden Elfis appeared to leap off the top of the shelf and land on Jonathan's head. Jonathan, knowing that the elf could not be touched, was terrified. He screamed and jumped onto the couch. I was trying to figure out how to get the elf back on the shelf while Jonathan continued to scream and the poor elf was laying lifeless on the floor. I finally checked on the website and was able to convince Jonathan that it would be ok for me to pick up Elfis with a blanket and place him back in his spot on the shelf. It was horrible, imagine seeing your child attacked by something that was supposed to bring him joy." The mother states that Jonathan is now scared to be in the room alone with Elfis and has become obsessed with the elf.

The victim sustained no physical injury, although the full extent of his emotional trauma will not be known until a psychiatric evaluation is completed. The parents have set up an account for anyone who wishes to donate to Jonathan's future therapy bills. Phone calls to Santa for comment have not been returned.

Breakfast with Santa

2008-12-10T21:56:00.003-05:00

Every year Jonathan's school has a breakfast with Santa where you can get your pic made with Santa, make some crafts, oh yeah, and have breakfast. Well this year we made quite a scene! We had just gotten there and had the two youngest in the double stroller. I had taken the big kids across the cafeteria to the cookie decorating station. Now keep in mind the cafeteria was very crowded and LOUD! While I was getting the kids seated I heard Justin's monitor go off. I looked across the cafeteria and saw Nate get up and start to mess with Justin. I expected the alarm to stop any second. Well, it just kept going and going and going. . . After about 10 to 12 sec I started walking toward them. Another lady got to Nate before I did, and it turns out she was a respiratory therapist and "recognized" the sound. By the time I got to him the alarm stopped. Seriously, it was his longest alarm ever!! Remember, the alarm won't stop until you fix the problem with the baby. Normally some mild stimulation usually gets him going, but not this time! Nate said that Justin was very pale and moving his head from side to side. Nate rubbed Justin's face and chest, and was in the process of unbuckling him when the alarm stopped. Once the alarm stopped and I looked around I could tell everyone around was looking at us. Oh well, I made no apologies!!! Justin seemed fine afterward. Once he got woken up enough he was looking at us like "what, did I do that?"

So here are a few pic of the day. Jase just LOVED Santa, not!

Jase with his Santa hat, right before the big alarm.

Poor Jase, why do we do this to our kids!

Jase was begging to be rescued!

The kids asked for all kinds of things from Santa. You know, things they hadn't put on the original list, things that santa can't get now. We are going back over the original list and reminding them how much they wanted those things!

Justin at 11 wks

2008-12-10T21:21:00.003-05:00

I took a few (about 75) pics of Justin. I was trying out my new photo backdrops and wanted to get a pic of Justin in the blue outfit. The little blue outfit is the same one that Jonathan and Jase wore for their first pictures at about this same age. Justin is getting big! At his last appt he weighed 10 lb 2 oz. I sing a little song to him. "Chunky man, chunky man, what are they feeding you." And yes, it is to the tune of "Smelly cat"!!

Little man in his "hand me down" outfit!

His hair looks so red in this picture! Its so cute! Jase's hair also looked red at this age, then changed to brown. I wonder what Justin's will do?!?

Sweet baby face! I could just eat him up!

Cutest feet ever, and I don't like feet!

Holding Mommy's thumb.

We are so blessed to have Justin in our lives! Alarms and all!

I'm soooo behind . . .

2008-12-10T20:58:00.003-05:00

I'm so ashamed. I have been so slack in updating the blog. I will try to catch up quick!

So, Thanksgiving. We had a great week. The kids were out of school that week and we managed to get a lot of decorating for Christmas done. Justin was sick that week, but it did not result in any increased alarms or a hospital visit, thank goodness! We had Thanksgiving breakfast on Saturday before with Nate's family, it was good! Then on Thanksgiving day we went to Cumming for Thanksgiving with the extended family. The food was great and it was good to see everyone. Then after a fun day of Black Friday shopping with Mom and Krista we went to the Wynn family Thanksgiving. Here are a few pics from Thanksgiving Day.

Jase doing his stunts with Marc.

Jonathan and his baby brother Justin.

How many pictures does it take. . ., in this case about 15!

Angela and Malachi, cute!

It's always like pulling teeth to get a picture of everyone!

Here is our update . . .

2008-11-15T21:43:00.004-05:00

I know, I know, I am way behind on my posts. After Justin got home last Sunday we have spent the past week trying to recover. I will give a quick update on the whole family!

Justin: doing good! Of course we are watching him very close and analyzing every little symptom. He has had some congestion with mild cough, not sure if this is left over from the first virus, or something new. He has to stay home most of the time. No crowds, and no sick people are allowed to visit. We are trying to keep the other kids out of his face as much as possible, especially since they can't seem to stay healthy! He has not had any alarms this week, except for one apnea alarm today. Nana was keeping him when it happened. He was asleep, but we are hoping maybe it was a false alarm. I plan to get a monitor download this week, so we will find out then. Justin has his 2 month check up on Wednesday!

This picture was of him getting a bath while in the hospital. He had an IV in his head so we put this little hat on him to help it stay in place. This was on Friday night before he went home on Sunday. You can see that he was feeling sooo much better!

Jase: getting into more and more trouble every day! My sweet, quiet little boy has turned into an active, almost 2 yr old tantrum throwing boy. His favorite thing to do is climb on top of the kitchen table while I am feeding Justin. He also has learned how to climb the baby gates I have all over the house. I'll be feeding Justin and all of a sudden I will hear little feet running around upstairs! Of course, he is usually just going to his room to get his paci and "ki-ki" (his silkie). And he has started the fall in the floor, screaming thing. It's really hard not to laugh! I want to get his "mean" look in a picture. He gives that look when he is getting in trouble, or when he just doesn't know what else to do. It is too funny!

Jase and Mommy!! He was making his "cheeeeeeessssseee" face. I can't even get the camera out of the bag without him making this face!

Jessi: had a great birthday! She had a lot of fun at her party with all her friends. Most of her presents were either princess/barbie or horses, which she loves!!!! She is getting sick again. She seems to keep a yucky nose the whole winter. She will be going for her 5 yr check up on Wed (same day as Justin) so we will see what the doctor says she needs. She is doing great in school. She loves to learn. The other day she wrote her numbers from 1 to 100 all by herself. She knows all her sight words from school and loves to write her letters. She is a sweet little girl and loves her family!

Jessi and Nana. We're still not sure who Jessi looks like. Any ideas?

Jonathan: is sick right now. He had a fever of 102 today and is complaining of a sore throat. He said he thinks he has "strap throat". I figure we will be going to the doctor on Monday. He just finished his soccer season and had his party today. The party was at a park and it was freezing!! We only stayed for about 45 minutes. Jonathan is doing great in school. He is reading more and more every day. He loves that he can sit down and read a book by himself. He got straight A's on his report card and made the honor roll. I had a hard time explaining to him what that was. He didn't understand how he was "on" the honor roll. When he found out it was just a list of names out in the hallway he was not impressed. He is a great big brother and loves his family!

Jonathan and Alex at Jessi's party.

Nate and I just do our best to keep up! I wish we had as much energy as the kids! We are so blessed! Now, we just have to keep the youngest Arwood out of the hospital.

Great day for Justin

2008-11-08T23:19:00.003-05:00

I am back at the hospital after being gone last night and today for Jessi's party. Justin is doing great! He has been off the oxygen since 8:30 this morning! He had 2 low heart rate alarms early on but nothing since then. He stayed with Nana and slept good and ate really good. Then Granna came to stay for a while and he did the same for her. I am hoping he will sleep good tonight for mommy, and behave so we can get out of here! His IV did come out today so instead of trying to restart it the doctor ordered Rocephin shots for today and tomorrow. If all goes well we should be headed home tomorrow around 5 pm!! I am very excited, and I know if Justin could talk he would agree!

Now we just have to see how the next few months go. The doctor recommended that we not take Justin to any public places for at least a month. This includes shopping places and church. I also have to turn into a paranoid, germaphobic mom and say that no one who is sick is allowed to visit the house. I will also be standing guard over Justin with a bottle of hand sanitizer for anyone who wants to touch him. I know, it may sound excessive, but watch your baby stop breathing and struggle to take a breath and then we'll talk. I have never been one to sit at home, I like to get out of the house, but I guess I will have to adjust. The cold/flu/RSV season isn't really that long, right? Oh, who am I kidding? It's going to be a long boring winter. But I will gladly do it for my little Justin, it's a small price to pay.

Thanks to everyone that has been praying for Justin, again. Nate and I joked that he is such a dramatic little guy! I hope he's not one of those that whenever he doesn't get his way he holds his breath. We figure he is already competing with his big brother Jase. I can just hear him saying "Oh yeah, so you had 2 surgeries, well I stopped breathing. I can cause more problems than you can." Hopefully my two youngest will find something else to compete over as they get older. I'm thinking soccer or baseball is sounding good. Anyway, I know Justin has been on so many prayer lists all over the country since he has been born. I wish I could thank everyone personally, it just means so much to know that people care enough to offer up a prayer. I have no doubt that we have experienced the grace of God over the last 8 weeks, and pray that He continues to give us and Justin His covering and grace to get through the rest of the winter with no more illness. Thanks again! We love you all!

Not much change

2008-11-07T18:42:00.003-05:00

I don't have any real new info to post on Justin today. He is still on oxygen. We tried a trial last night of taking him off the O2, and he didn't cooperate. He started threatening to have some true apnea spells by taking 10 - 15 sec pauses in breathing. His O2 sats, which stayed at 100% while on oxygen, began dipping in the 80's. So, back on the oxygen. Doctor said his body is just not ready yet to go without the oxygen, and we can't force him. Little Justin gets to call the shots, and right now he is saying he wants oxygen! So, oxygen he gets and mommy gets to stay at the hospital longer!

Tonight I am going home for some much needed sleep. Nana Sue is coming to stay with Justin through the night and Granna will come tomorrow to stay while I have Jessi's birthday party at Jump for Joey. I'll be back to my little man tomorrow night and hopefully he will be without the extra oxygen and behaving himself. Right now he wants to eat, so I will update tomorrow!

Keep Justin in your prayers!

Trying to wean off of oxygen . . .

2008-11-07T01:00:00.002-05:00

Justin had a pretty good day. Right now it is 1 am and we are trying a trial of him being off the oxygen. So far he is not cooperating. Within about 20 min of turning it off he started having long pauses in his breathing and his oxygen sats were dropping to around 84 - 85 %. So, we are giving him another 30 min or so to see if he will level out, but the doctor orders say that he has to maintain his oxygen sats above 92% so I think he will be going back on the oxygen soon. Maybe we will try again tomorrow when I'm not trying to sleep and the alarm is going off every few minutes. We also had trouble with his IV again tonight, but were finally able to get the midnight dose of antibiotics to work. If this IV goes out they are thinking about doing a PICC line, but I am really praying that we can either hold on to this IV or maybe find another vein that will work for just a few more days. I just feel like a PICC line is a little to invasive for just a few more days of antibiotics. I'll update again tomorrow, or today since it is technically already tomorrow. Sigh . . . I have got to get some sleep, I'm not making any sense!

Happy Birthday Jessi Sue!!!

2008-11-07T00:40:00.004-05:00

My baby girl turned 5!!! I can't believe she is 5 yrs old now. I remember when she was born, and the first thing I noticed was that cute little dimple in her cheek. She is the sweetest girl and loves to be mommy's helper and daddy's princess. She has no problem being the princess in a family full of boys and she also has no problem keeping them in line. I think Jonathan is actually scared of her! I posted a few pics of my favorite little girl in the world. She gets more beautiful every day! I dread her teen years. We have already told her she can't leave the house until she is 30, so I figure I have a good 25 yrs of her being my sweet baby girl!

Happy Birthday Princess, We love you!!!!

Justin's Daily Update

2008-11-05T19:34:00.003-05:00

Time for another update! Today Justin was moved to a room in the acute care unit. Basically that is a unit in between the ICU and the regular floor. He is still on oxygen with the high flow and is maintaining his oxygen well. He is on antibiotics and will be until Sunday night. The doctor said that the original lab work was suspicious for a bacterial infection and he responded so well to the antibiotics that she "doesn't have the guts" to take him off the antibiotics until at least a 7 day course is completed. He seems more alert today and doesn't seem to be as uncomfortable as he was before. We will soon start weaning off the oxygen and he will have to be off oxygen for 48 hrs with no apnea or drop in heart rate before he can go home. So little man, you have a lot of work to do!! He is eating well, and hopefully we can get back to breastfeeding in the next day or so. He was just too tired out earlier on to be able to breastfeed.

So, all in all, he is doing well. Now it is just a time thing to see how things progress. At the earliest we are looking at Monday for discharge, and that is if he behaves himself!! Come on Justin, I know you can do it!!

Here are a couple of pics. Even with the tubes/IV he is still sooo cute!

That is his IV in his head. Hopefully that one will hold up for a while, he doesn't have any good veins left!

Still in ICU

2008-11-04T12:24:00.002-05:00

Justin is still in ICU. He had a decent night, only a couple of short apneas/ low heart rates with a decrease in oxygen saturation. They had to increase the oxygen flow late yesterday afternoon because his oxygen level kept dropping. Once he stops having these spells while on the oxygen then he will be moved to a regular room to start the process of trying to wean him off the high flow oxygen. This process could take around 5 days, sometimes as much as a week. At least a regular room will be a little more private and comfortable for me.

I will update more later!

Here we are again

2008-11-03T11:12:00.002-05:00

I should be posting pics of Halloween, but no, I am posting about Justin being in the hospital. I think he just likes having his own nurse taking care of his every need 24 hrs a day! I tried to explain to him that he has that at home, but I guess he likes it better here. I'll try to make a long story short. It started Friday night when he wouldn't take but 1 oz of his normal 4 oz bottle. Didn't think too much of it. Around 2:45 Sat morn he had the first of 4 apnea alarms over the next 4 hrs. We got a monitor download that confirmed they were real events and headed out the door to the doctor. He was diagnosed with a cold and we were instructed to "wait and see" if he got worse. From 11:40 on Saturday afternoon until 8:30 am on Sunday he got worse. After a night of no sleep and watching his every breath, or lack of breath, I called in to get another monitor download. This showed 27 true events, most of them apnea that lead to low heart rate. The longest spell was no breathing for 27 seconds. Yes, 27 seconds, try to hold your breath for 27 secs to get a clear picture of exactly how long that is! (Thank God he is on this monitor) This time we packed up, made a few calls for childcare and headed out the door to the ER at Scottish Rite. We were taken straight back to a room (they don't let babies who stop breathing sit in the waiting room) and saw a doctor in about 10 minutes. We were told he would be admitted and he was in a room by 3:45. He had 5 alarms while were were in the ER and he wasn't in his room long before he started to act up. About 10 minutes after being in his room his nurse witnessed one of the apnea spells where his heart rate dropped and he struggled to come out of it. He had really started struggling and having this strange cough sound when trying to take a breath. So the nurse called the Rapid Response Team, which includes respiratory tech and an ICU nurse along with the doctor. The decision was made that he needed to be in the ICU so he had more individual care and the set up for an emergency. We were in the ICU room by 6:30 and he got all hooked up and on oxygen. We were warned that if the oxygen didn't decrease the number of apneas, that he would have to be placed on a ventilator. Not what any parent wants to hear, even if it is the best option at the time. So, thanks to a lot of prayers, the oxygen did the trick, at least for now. He had a decent night but seems to not be responding quite as well this morning. They have had to up the oxygen flow in the last hour because he isn't maintaining his oxygen level. Doctor said to plan on being here at least 4-5 days, and more likely until next weekend. He is being test for all kinds of respiratory viruses and for pertussis. I won't get started on that, most of you know I am very pro-vaccination. I've seen babies with pertussis, one in particular that I will never be able to get out of my mind. I don't know how quickly the cough progresses with pertussis, I will have to do some research. They are actually recommending that parents get a pertussis booster. I may look into that for Nate and I. Hopefully pertussis is not what Justin has but just the thought has renewed my pro-vaccine campaign!

So for now we are here at Scottish Rite and plan to be here all week. I will be staying with him most of the time, although I may have to switch out with someone for at least one night. I need to get at least a little sleep! I know moms require little to no sleep, but I think I may even be pushing the limit of that! I will definitely be going home for a little while on Thursday because it is Jessi's birthday!! My baby girl is going to be 5 yrs old. I will also be going home some on Saturday because she has a birthday party with 20 of her closest friends planned. So this week may be crazy but we have lots of family helping and we'll just take it a day at a time. Keep Justin in your prayers. We are praying for a quick recovery and that he doesn't get any worse before he gets better.

Why they don't let 6 yr olds vote . . .

2008-10-20T21:52:00.002-04:00

When Jonathan got home from school today I noticed that he had an "I voted" sticker on his shirt. I figured that his school must have had a mock election so I decided to ask him about it. This is how the conversation went:

"Jonathan, did you vote today at school?"

"Yes"

"Who did you vote for?"

"I can't tell you."

"Well, can you tell me what the vote was for. Tell me what you were picking something for?"

"We were picking the two new princes."

"Oh, (trying to hide my smile). Who were your choices for who was going to be the new prince?"

"The first one is John..., John McWilliams."

"John McWilliams? And who was the other one?"

"I can't remember his name, its something like. . . Obama. Yea, it was Obama."

"So which one did you vote for?"

"Obama"

"Why did you pick him?"

"I just liked his name better than John McWilliams."

And that is why I am very thankful they don't let 6 yr olds vote!! We really don't need Obama being our new Prince.

Justin's Bathtime and 1 month check up

2008-10-16T21:45:00.005-04:00

Can you believe that Justin is 1 month old?!? This past Saturday (the 11th) was my due date, so he is officially supposed to be here now. We went for his one month check up today. He weighed 6 lb 12 oz and is 20 inches. Dr. Gaines said he looked like a normal newborn, which is what he should be now. We got a second monitor download report on Tuesday. It was basically the same as the first one. He had 47 recorded events, 9 of which were significant events. The ones that are of most concern to the doctor are the events where he had apnea and bradycardia. The lowest his heart rate got was 52 bpm and he had several apnea's of 23 - 24 seconds. He was started on Zantac on Monday for reflux. Sometimes reflux in infants can cause apnea. We are going to give it until Monday to see if he has a decrease in the number of alarms and if not we will get another download report and change to a different reflux med. We are hoping that now that he is considered a full term baby that the apnea/bradycardia will resolve on its own. Dr. Gaines did say that because he is having true apnea episodes that he will have to go at least 2 full months with NO events before he will be able to come off the monitor. I'm ok with that, as I am in no hurry to get rid of the monitor!

Here are a few pics of Justin getting his bath. He is finally starting to really enjoy his bathtime, especially his warm towels (a trick we learned in the NICU). These were taken yesterday.

Getting ready for my bath!

I'm splashing in the water!

Wrapped in my warm towel and getting my hair washed.

This isn't so bad!

A pic of Jase with his black eye! This week he got three boo-boo's, all on the same side of his face. Poor thing looked like he had been in a fight, and lost!

Update on Justin

2008-10-10T23:10:00.002-04:00

I know, I know. I have turned into a blog slacker now! I wanted to give an update on Justin since we got some new info today. First of all, as of Wednesday our big boy weighed 6 lb 4 oz!! My wimpy boys always like to take their time gaining weight and it drives the doctors crazy! So after several visits to the Dr. for weight checks and a trip to lactation on Tuesday we are finally above birth weight and have satisfied the doctors for now.

After a day on the phone with the home health agency, and the apnea center at Egleston (a whole other story) we finally got some results from Justin's first monitor download. I have to say they were not what I was hoping for. The results covered the first 12 days that Justin was home. During that time he had 53 "episodes". These episodes are either apnea (not breathing) bradycardia (heart rate below 80) or a both. Of the 53 episodes he had 10 of what they call "significant episodes". The significant episodes involved either not breathing for more than 20 secs, or a heart rate down in the 50's or both. I think what they considered one of the worst was when he didn't breathe for 24 secs and his heart rate dropped into the mid 50's. All of the significant episodes trigger the alarm on the monitor to go off and we have to stimulate him (gently shake or rub his chest) and this makes him take a breath or his heart rate go above 80 and the alarm will stop. By the way, the only way to make the alarm stop is to correct the problem. So even though your instinct at 3 am when there is a loud shrill noise is to stop the noise, we have learned to focus our attention on Justin and get his heart rate up and breathing and the alarm will stop on its own. When he has an alarm the only change that is noticeable in Justin is that his face is pale. Once we stimulate him the color quickly returns.

So now we wait for the final report from the doctor at the apnea center along with their recommendations. Then Justin's pediatrician will decide how to proceed. We are expecting that he will be put on a medication for reflux to make sure that this is not contributing to the problem. There has also been some talk (even when he was in the NICU) of putting him on caffeine to keep his heart rate up. I think they will probably want to check the download on his monitor from this past week before they make that decision. Either way, we expect that the apnea monitor will be a part of our lives for a while. I have to say that I am very thankful that he is on the monitor. If I can just keep myself from dwelling on what could have happened if he wasn't on the monitor. I guess right now they are still thinking that this is just from being early, but I will be asking the doctor again when he goes for his one month check up on Thursday. Right now Justin is sleeping next to me on the couch while I am typing, not a care in the world. He has no idea the stress he has caused his parents since he has been born! This Sunday he will be 4 wks old!!

Keep Justin in your prayers. I will post some recent pics soon.

Jase's First Day of School!!

2008-10-10T22:49:00.004-04:00

Jase started preschool yesterday! He had been on the waiting list at the preschool where his Aunt Krista works and last week they had a spot come open. He will be going on Tues and Thurs from 9 - 1. I was worried how he would do since he has never been away from me and the couple of times we have tried to take him to the nursery at church it has not turned out well! So on Thursday he did cry off and on but over all they said he did good. When I got there to pick him up he just said "Hey Mommy!" and continued to play. Guess he wasn't too traumatized. I think it will be good for him to get out of the house and have some time away from mommy and that new baby that is STILL at his house! What started as excitement over the new baby has now turned into this "look" of "why is that baby still here?" Here are a couple of pictures of him on his first day of school. His expression is the same in ALL the pictures we take of him! He starts saying "cheeeeeeeese" as soon as he sees the camera. Its going to be a nightmare trying to get Christmas pictures this year if he doesn't stop doing this!

A Visit with Grandmother and Bip

2008-10-02T21:28:00.004-04:00

On Wednesday Grandmother and Bip came to see Justin for the first time. They seemed to think that their 7th great grandchild was as "cool" as the first. We had a good time talking and catching up on all the happenings in life. Jase enjoyed showing off for them and even sat still long enough to get a picture with Grandmother. Bip got one of his famous pictures with the baby up next to his face posing. It was a good visit. Too bad they don't live closer and we could visit more often! (Thanks for the casserole Grandmother! It was great!)

Grandmother and Jase!

Bip and Justin.

Grandmother and Justin.

On Thursday Justin was visited by his "Aunt" Kim. Kim and I have been friends for over 10 yrs and between us we now have 7 children! Let's just say that if we ever try to meet for lunch with the kids it has to be at McDonald's, and we cause a scene! We have always been there when each other gave birth, but this time Kim and her family had just left for Disney World on the day I went into labor. I somehow just knew I was going to have Justin while she was out of town, but I didn't think it would be fair to ask her to stay home! So normally I have pics of Kim holding my kids when they were just born, but not this time. And believe it or not, I didn't get a pic of her and Justin today! Oh well, I guess you will just have to come back in a few days so I can get a pic of you holding Justin!

Happy 2 week Birthday Justin!!

2008-09-28T21:27:00.004-04:00

Justin is two weeks old today. Wow, it seems like the longest two weeks of my life! It is almost just a blur of events. We are now adjusting to life at home with 4 children. So far, adding Justin to the mix has not been too much of an adjustment. The kids are doing great with Justin, even Sadie loves being around Justin.

The first two nights we had Justin home he had alarms. The first night was a low heart rate alarm, which is probably not too big a deal. The second night he had an apnea alarm, which means he did not breathe for 20 secs. As soon as the alarm went off we gently stimulated him and he quickly took a breath. His face was pale, but the color came back quickly. He has not had an alarm since then. We expect to have this monitor for 6 wks - 2 months at least. I am thankful we have it, and try not to dwell on what "could be."

Justin had his first dr. appt on Wed. He weighed 5 lb 11 oz and the doctor said he looked good. We went in Friday for a weight check and he was 5 lb 13 oz, so he gained about an ounce a day which is what they want to see. He will be going in 2 weeks for his one month check up.

Justin is eating well and getting stronger (and more vocal!) everyday. Please continue to pray that Justin will not have anymore apnea spells and that he will continue to gain weight. Thanks for all the prayers, we have definitely felt them at work!

Getting his first bath at home. Big Brother Jonathan watching as Nana bathed him. Justin was not to happy about the bath!

Justin and Papa's first picture together. This was also Papa's first time holding Justin! He didn't get to hold him before he was sent to the NICU.

Proud Big Brother Jase! He loves Justin and always wants to hold him.

Justin and cousin Malachi. They are almost 5 months apart. I am sure they will be best friends one day!

Justin is Home!!

2008-09-23T21:52:00.006-04:00

I've waited nine long days to be able to post this news! Justin came home with Nate and I today. We left the hospital this afternoon around 1:30 and have just been relaxing at home since then. The kids were thrilled to come home from school and find Justin here. Jase loves his new baby and wants to hold him all the time. I will have to keep a close eye on him when he is around Justin! Justin is doing great, he has been sleeping all day and eating well. He has a doctor appt tomorrow with Dr. Gaines. Once I see that he is still gaining weight (he weighed 5 lb 10.5 oz last night) then I will be able to relax a little more. I am hoping that I will finally be able to sleep tonight since he is here with me.

This picture is from Sunday night when he was still under the bili lights. He loved sleeping under those lights!

Today, dressed in his going home outfit.

Our first family picture with Justin! This was at our welcome home party for Justin. A family of six, finally together.

Thank you to everyone who has been praying. Now that I have him home I probably won't be updating the blog as often! I will make sure I at least post an update every few days. Please continue to keep us in your prayers.

Maybe Tomorrow . . .

2008-09-22T21:31:00.003-04:00

I feel like this is what I hear every time I go to see Justin. Hopefully tomorrow, if everything goes well tonight, he can go home tomorrow. I guess eventually they will be right. I am really hoping that tomorrow really will be the day that I get to bring him home. Tomorrow will be day 9 in the NICU.

He seemed well today. His jaundice level was down to 8 this morning so they took him off the lights. He is eating well, and he nursed twice while I was visiting today. He has not had anymore apnea episodes that caused a drop in heart rate. This is the main thing they are watching for now and said as long as he has no episodes between now and tomorrow that he can come home. I am praying that he has a quiet night, and that tonight is the last night he is away from home. Nate and I had our training on the monitor and CPR. I was a little emotional when having the training. It was very overwhelming thinking about having to do CPR on your own baby.

I will update tomorrow. Hopefully I will be posting pics of Justin coming home!

A quick update

2008-09-22T00:06:00.002-04:00

I am going to make this short, I am so tired! We visited Justin twice today, as usual. He is doing very well with his eating. His weight was down to 5 lb 9 oz tonight, but with the way he is eating I think it will be back up by tomorrow. He has been under the lights for his jaundice since last night. I expect those to be discontinued by tomorrow morning. Nate and I should be getting our CPR and monitor training sometime tomorrow. He has continued to have episodes of his O2 sats dropping while sleeping, but did not have any episodes of his heart rate dropping today. Every day is different and sometimes he may have days of his heart rate dropping several times and other days it may not happen at all. That is why he will be on the monitor and it will help decrease our anxiety somewhat, knowing that if his heart rate drops we will be alerted.

I am really hoping that we may get to bring him home tomorrow night, but we will have to wait until he is evaluated in the morning by the doctor. Please keep our whole family in your prayers. Jonathan and Jessi seem stressed and emotional right now. I think they are ready for things to get back to normal. Jase is a little confused but over all he is doing fine. The last 7 days have been very stressful, and we are all ready to have our family at home together! I'll let you know how things are looking tomorrow.

It's a Minor Problem. . .

2008-09-20T18:40:00.003-04:00

They promise it's just the way things go in the NICU. Justin was doing great. Feeding tube gone, IV tube gone, latched on and nursing. Up to 30 cc's at a feeding (1 ounce). Oxygen, respirations, and heart rate all looking good. We had almost forgotten that one brief incident of apnea he had a couple of days ago.

When I arrived at the NICU today his nurse relayed how he had not been as eager to eat, was very sleepy, and his jaundice reading had increased to 12. Well, I thought, jaundice does tend to make babies more lethargic--should begin to improve by tomorrow. As Justin fell asleep in my lap the the nurse begins watching the screen more intently as the beeping and screen activity increases--especially Justin's heart rate dropping into the 70's and once into the 50's while sleeping. The heart rate should be at least 100 at rest, and I would prefer closer to 120. While smiling and talking to me she snatched Justin from my lap and began a gentle rock and shake motion, and, of course, his heart rate returned to normal.

The nurse said Justin had tried that same trick with her a couple of time that morning, She began to paint the picture for me. . .a change from what we had thought. A septic workup will be done to check for any underlying infection that could be causing the problem. If he doesn't resume eating, the feeding tube will have to be reinserted. He will be put on an apnea/heart monitor which will come home with us. Nate and I will be trained on the monitor and in infant CPR. (It's been six years since my last CPR training.)

Needless to say, our Sunday discharge has been delayed. We are going back tonight and taking Jonathan and Jessi to see their baby brother. Jase is staying home with Papa.

Maybe by the middle of next week our whole family can be at home--apnea monitor and all.

My first pictures with no tubes!

Proud Nana!

I got moved to a big boy bed!!

Justin is Eating!!

2008-09-19T19:15:00.002-04:00

I got to breastfeed Justin for the first time today! He latched on and nursed for about 8 minutes the first time and then after a short nap he nursed for about 6-7 minutes. He stayed nice and calm the whole time, respiratory rate stayed in the 40's and O2 sats stayed above 95 %. His IV fluids are being decreased and should be off by tomorrow morning. Our plan right now is for me to go for the regular 2 visits tomorrow and then go up Sunday morning and stay until he leaves. If I go on Sunday and he feeds well all day then he should be discharged about 4 or 5 that afternoon. I am very excited but trying not to get my hopes up too much. Any little setback could another day or two to his stay. Right now we are just being hopeful for Sunday. Thanks for the prayers! I'll keep you updated.

Looking Good!!

2008-09-18T20:26:00.003-04:00

Sorry this took so long to post! So, last Justin was having some issues with digesting his feedings. When I was there at 9 pm he had 9 cc of residual in his stomach from his 6 pm feeding, which was 8 cc. He also had a lot of air in his stomach. During the night his feeding were decreased to only 5 cc and he had an x-ray ordered for this morning of his stomach. I talked with the nurse this morning and his x-ray was normal and he tolerated his decreased feedings during the night. This was all good news. Sometimes the digestive system is just a little slow in getting started.

When I visited today they were going to up his feedings to 10 cc and increase by 2 cc every other feeding. At the same time they will decrease his IV rate by 2 cc every other feeding. If everything goes well he should be off IV fluids by tomorrow afternoon. When I last spoke with the nurse he had not had any residual from his last two feedings. Currently all of his feedings are being done through the tube, but hopefully we will be able to start with oral feedings tomorrow. He also had the cannula taken off, so we can finally see that cute face!! They took the feeding tube out of his mouth and put it in his nose since the cannula is now gone. He also had the IV taken out of his head and put into his arm. He looked so good when we saw him this morning. I put in some pics of him with his eyes open. If everything continues to improve he may get to come home this weekend. He is a touch jaundice, so pray that that will resolve quickly and not worsen. We are all very hopeful that by Sunday our little Justin will be home with his family. We appreciate all the prayers, keep them coming!!

Listening to my Daddy talk.

I look like my big brother Jonathan!

I look good without all those tubes!!

Justin is Chillin'

2008-09-17T18:49:00.004-04:00

We think Justin is a little more relaxed--what do you think?

We visited him this afternoon and found out that the high-flow oxygen had been turned off since 10:00 a.m. this morning. His oxygen saturation's were 95-98%--the highest since birth (good). His respiration rate was consistently in the 40's--the lowest since birth (also good). The combination of these two stats leads everyone (all the nurses) to believe he has "turned the corner." Nate and I are even beginning to allow ourselves to believe the same. There is an obvious difference in his appearance, behavior, and his emotional state from 24 hours ago. He just seems to feel so much better.

After the trauma of being wheeled out of the hospital and spending a lonely night in my own emotional distress it was a happy relief, indeed, to see him doing so much better today. Because of his progress we were able to attempt his first oral feeding which he promptly refused. Since normal techniques to encourage feeding can't be used on him (unwrapping, sitting him up) he just had another tube feeding and was quite satisfied. If he continues on this path we may be looking at a weekend discharge.

My mom and I are going back tonight to be present for the 9:00 p.m. ordeal (diaper change, repositioning, and feeding). Check on us tomorrow!

Thanks for reading (and praying)!

Update on Justin

2008-09-17T11:00:00.002-04:00

Nate and I were able to spend about an hour or so with Justin before we left last night. He seemed to be doing well. He is down on room air, so no supplemental oxygen, but he is still on the high flow. So the cannula in his nose is still delivering air at a positive force they are just not having to add additional oxygen to that flow. As far as I know there have been no more spells of apnea so that is really good news. He got a couple of feedings in his tube yesterday and seemed to do really well after the feeds. I think he likes having some food in his tummy! Nate and I both got to hold him during his feeding last night and we had him sucking on his paci at the same time. Hopefully he will start to make the connection of being close to mommy, sucking, and getting a full tummy. If he does that should make breastfeeding somewhat easier to accomplish.

He has to be off the high flow cannula completely before he can attempt any oral feedings. If needed he can still be on a small amount of oxygen, just not the high flow. I know it sounds confusing, its a little easier if you can see him and the equipment to understand how it works. I am really hoping that he can make it home by this weekend. To do that he would need to be off the high flow oxygen by tomorrow. He then will have to show that he can eat by mouth with no respiratory distress for a full 24 hrs. The little guy has a lot of work to do in the next couple days so he can come home with us!

I made it through last night ok. It was probably one of the most difficult nights of my life. I'm just thankful that I do have a baby who will be coming home soon. I really feel for the women who had to do what I did, being wheeled out to the car with empty arms, come home and face the crib, and empty carseat, and put away the baby clothes that you had packed for the hospital but didn't get to use. And especially those women who lost the baby and don't get to count down the days until the baby is released from the hospital. I just keeping reminding myself that this is not the worst thing that could happen. We have been blessed, and will continue to be blessed. God has a plan for Justin, and I can't wait to raise him to help his discover and fulfill whatever that plan may be. Thank you all for your prayers!

Not Much Change

2008-09-16T13:52:00.002-04:00

Justin is doing about the same today. He is still on the high flow oxygen and respiratory rate is still in the 70's to 90's range. He is still working hard to breathe and had one short episode of apnea this morning. The chest x-ray looks about the same as yesterday. His 24 hr blood culture was negative and we are waiting to get the final reading at 48 hrs. They are going to begin doing tube feedings today, so maybe he will get to see how it feels to have some food it that tummy! We are no where near being able to start bottle/breast feedings, so I guess that will just come with time.

I will be going home tonight. I will be discharged around 8 and then go spend some time with Justin before I go home. This will be difficult night for me, hopefully I will be able to sleep and not think about the fact that I had to leave him at the hospital. I am praying he will be home by this weekend. I'll update later.

A small setback . . . .

2008-09-15T19:04:00.004-04:00

Justin had a small setback this afternoon. After seeming to do well on room air this morning when we went back to see him around 4pm he was back up to 30% oxygen and his respiratory rate was back in the 70's to 80's, sometimes as high as 100's. I could see that he was working much harder to breath and he was very easily "stressed". Even Nate and I just talking while standing beside him would send his respiratory rate higher. We were only able to touch his hands, not rubbing his tummy or head like we had been able to do earlier. We decided to bring the kids in to meet their new baby brother. They were only able to see him for about 3 minutes each, but I got some pics of them with Justin. Because of the setbacks I will not get to hold him tonight as I had hoped. The nurse also told me that I should be planning on him not getting to come home when I do.

A few hours later . . .

I just got back from the NICU, and I got to hold Justin!! The nurse was getting ready to weigh him (he weighed 5 lb 14 oz) and then let me hold him for about an hour. I was so excited and he really seemed to enjoy it as well. During the time I was holding him the nurse was able to get him back down to almost room air again. His respiratory rate was still high, up to the 90's at times, but he just seemed more relaxed and happy to be with Mommy. I think it really helped him to calm down. I think I will be able to sleep better tonight since I got to spend some time with him. They still don't think he will be coming home until later this week, but at least I got something positive out of the day!!

I will update in the morning with how he does through the night. Thanks for the prayers, they are working!

Look at my new baby brother!!

Jessi loves her new baby!

Justin is here!! He needs some extra prayers. . .

2008-09-15T11:32:00.005-04:00

Justin Timothy arrived at 11:46 pm on Sept. 14, 2008. He weighed 6 lb 2 oz and is 18 inches long. The delivery was quick and easy, only about 4 pushes and he came out screaming! He did well for about the first 1 1/2 hrs. When I got to hold him for about 5 minutes I could tell he was grunting a lot when breathing. He was also very gaggy and he had no interest in trying to eat. After his bath the nurse was concerned with his breathing and color, he had become very pale and dusky and was also very lethargic. They checked his pulse ox (measures the oxygen saturation in his blood) and it was only 46%. It should be about 90%. The atmosphere of the room changed very quickly as they got him on oxygen and loaded him up to go to the NICU. Nate followed and said they were very good and fast. One of the NICU nurses met them in the hallway on the way to start getting history and report on him on the rest of the walk to the NICU. Once there he had about 3 people working on him and was stabilized quickly. He is being treated for pneumonia based on his chest X-ray, although they can't confirm for sure that it is pneumonia. He has been weaned down to room air today but is still on positive flow to help him out a little. I was able to see him this morning around 9 for the first time since he was born. We are not able to hold him yet because his respiratory rate and O2 sats are still to unstable. He has a feeding tube in that he will have to be feed through before we can attempt breastfeeding. It was good to see him this morning, but very frustrating to not be able to pick him up and hold him. Hope this makes sense, I am going on no sleep! I will continue to update the blog so check here for the latest news. I am praying that I will get to hold him tonight. Pray that he gets well enough to be able to go home with me. I don't think I can handle leaving him here alone . . . .

So sweet!!

Pics from this morning . . .

It's Time!!!!!

2008-09-14T22:17:00.003-04:00

Well, after a few days of some kind of weird "stomach pain" I woke this morning to definite contractions. A little embarrassing that it's my fourth baby and I still wasn't sure if it was labor or not! We got to the hospital around 1 and in a triage room by 2pm. I was contracting about every 2-3 minutes and it didn't take long before I was really feeling them. Had my water broken around 5 and got the epidural around 8:30. Right now I am feeling pretty good (obviously) and just hanging out until Justin arrives. We are hoping for before midnight, but not sure, he only has an hour and a half left to make that deadline. I will update with pictures in the morning! Send some prayers our way that he won't have any breathing issues, I am 36 wks and 1 day.

Thank God for epidurals!!

First Soccer Game of the Season

2008-09-08T21:44:00.002-04:00

This past Saturday was the first soccer game of the season. Jonathan is still on the wildcat team with Coach Jeff. He is now on the U7 league and this is a lot more like "real" soccer. They have a goalie, some kind of circle on the center of the field that has some rules, and if the ball goes out the kids have to throw it back in. As you can tell I really have no idea how the game of soccer works, I just like to watch Jonathan and Micah play. Anyway, we had no idea they were going into big time soccer now and we were not prepared, therefore did not prepare the boys. Because of rain, Labor Day and the coach being sick they only got in one practice before the first game. But, the kids did great! Jonathan needs to build up his confidence again but he overall had a good first game. Here are a few pics of the game.

I didn't post any pics of Micah. I figured Krista would want to do that so she couldn't say I stole one of the things she could blog about. She is such a blog slacker.

The Baby has dropped and I'm Nesting!! Let the countdown begin. . .

2008-09-04T12:29:00.003-04:00

I will be officially 35 wks on Saturday!! I am happy to say that I am "tube" free and most likely will stay that way for the remainder of the pregnancy. I had an appt with urologist yesterday and he said that the hydronephrosis has not worsened. The kidney, although still backed up, does not appear to be under too much stress and is showing no signs of any damage. He said keep doing what I am doing, which is basically using pain meds to control pain and staying on my left side as much as possible to help keep pressure off the kidney. I sleep all night on my left side and try to have at least 2 hrs in the middle of the day to lay on my left side. I can definitely tell that I have an increase in nausea if I don't spend enough time off my feet and on my side, the nausea is a symptom of the kidney getting to backed up.

I have an appt with the midwife (the one who delivered all 3 of my other kids) on Friday. We may go ahead and schedule an amnio for late next week or Monday the 15th just so we have it if we need it. If things are staying like they are I may cancel the amnio and just wait to at least 37 wks to deliver, since 37 wks is considered full term. Either way, the end is in sight!!

I can tell that Justin has dropped, less heartburn but more trips to the bathroom with that big head on my bladder. I have been nesting for the last couple of weeks and finally have everything ready. The crib, pack and play, bassinet are all set up. Clothes are washed and put away, and the hospital bag is mostly packed. We bought a new car seat and stroller this past weekend and as soon as that is put together we will have everything we need. Now we just wait for Justin to make his appearance!!

Lunch with Nana

2008-09-03T21:58:00.003-04:00

Today Jase got to have lunch at Nana's school for the first time! I had a doctors appt this morning and decided to stop by mom's school on the way home so that we could show Jase off since I think he has only been there once before. Well he did pretty good, even though he gave everyone his "look" that he has when someone he doesn't know talks to him. We went into the cafeteria to see someone and he could not stop looking at all the children eating. We decided to let him get a tray and eat a big boy lunch. He thought he was somebody big!! He didn't actually eat much, but he sure did have a good time!

I'm sitting at a big kid table!!

Look at me! I'm so big!

Jase's 18 month check up and Good News for Justin

2008-08-28T21:22:00.002-04:00

On Wednesday Jase had his 18 month check up. Everyone in the office knows him by name because of all the trouble he caused when he was born! He saw Dr. Gaines, the doctor who has followed him since birth. He was 26 lbs and in the 50% for his weight, height, and head circ. Developmentally he is right on track and Dr. Gaines said he looked great. I just remember how worried I was over the last 18mos because he was delayed. He was almost 11 wks old before he smiled, 9 mos old before he sat up unassisted, and 14 1/2 mos before he walked. And of course, there was the "rocking" back and forth that he used to do. But, to see him today you would never know that he had such a rough start, or that he just took his time doing things so that he could drive his poor mommy crazy. Well you know, I hadn't been through enough and I did need something else to worry about! But our baby boy (for a few more weeks, anyway) is perfectly healthy and has been more than worth every second of trouble or worry that he has caused! We love you Jasey Doodle!!

While at the appt I got a few minutes to talk with Dr. Gaines about Justin. Since it appears that I am headed for another early deliver I wanted to discuss with her a few concerns that I had. My first concern was whether or not Jase's early delivery had anything to do with the bilateral inguinal hernias that had to be repaired when he was 5 wks old. She said that while it is more common in premature infants, it is in babies born around 32-34 wks that would be more likely to experience this problem. She said that Jase would have still had the hernias even if he had been born at full term, it was just "bad luck". She said that once I reach 36 wks whether or not Justin would have a hernia would already be determined and an extra week or two on the "inside" would not change the outcome. The next topic was the pyloric stenosis. She said that pyloric stenosis is more common in boys and it does run in families. Pyloric stenosis has nothing to do with when you are born, in fact it is something that progresses after birth and can not be diagnosed until between 3 wks and 3 mos of age. She said of course we will watch Justin close for any symptoms and test him early if there is any reason for concern, but there is nothing to do to prevent it from happening. Basically, no point in stressing until we see reason to be concerned. She did finish the conversation by saying its always important to remember that to have a healthy baby you have to have a healthy mama. (She is not the first doctor to say this to me). She said that once we are to 36 wks we must consider if it is actually more stressful for the baby to stay on the inside rather than be born. She said when dealing with something like a kidney issue you have to remember that the mom can get very sick, very fast and that could be very stressful for the baby. So we have to remember that if Justin is developed and his lungs are mature it may be better to deliver him sooner in good conditions rather that wait till later when things could go bad fast. It was a good conversation with Dr. Gaines, and I trust her as a doctor. I tend to spend a lot of time stressing about the "what ifs" when it comes to when I should deliver. Dr. Gaines helped me step back and look at the big picture and see what the real risks were and what risks I had blown up in my mind. I am thankful to have a great OB who cares for me and the baby and then a great pediatrician who I completely trust to care for my children. I am not going to spend the next 2, 3 or 4 wks stressing out about what "could" happen. We have great medical care and both Justin and I are going to be just fine!! I will keep you informed about how things unfold over the next few weeks. I am excited!!

Home Depot Picnic

2008-08-26T12:27:00.005-04:00

OK, so I knew what I needed to do. Nate had a company picnic, you know, one of those "career" things that you can't miss. I knew what my role was as the wife of one of the managers. I have to look "together" and "supportive". I make sure that all the children are dressed nice and behave. I must "glow" with the joy of being part of creating a new life, even though it is 100 degrees in the middle of August. We would look like the picture perfect family. I knew what my job was, what I didn't take into account was the fact that my kidney would be backed up and I would be in the process of passing a 5mm kidney stone. I was up until 6am that Saturday morning (after taking 3 10mg lortab and an ambien) because the pain was so bad I could not sleep. We still managed to get the kids dressed, lecture them on the importance of good behavior, instruct them on how to respond when an adult introduced themselves, and get to the picnic on time. Of course the bathroom was across the parking lot from the pavilion. Being pregnant alone requires the need for a close bathroom, but when you have a kidney stone you feel like you have to go the the bathroom ALL the time. I think it was on my second trip across the hot parking lot and in pain to go to the bathroom that I thought I was going to faint. I had to stay in the bathroom with wet paper towels on my forehead and back of my neck for a few minutes, while trying to ignore the contractions that I had started having. But, we all made through the day and I was glad we went. Here are a few pics from the day.

Jessi, with her 5th snow cone of the day. I love this pic, its like there is nothing else in the world but Jessi and that snow cone!

Jonathan in the watermelon eating contest. He tried hard, but only made it through one piece in the 5 minute contest.

I always say you can tell how much fun you had by how dirty you got! She really did look cute when we got there, but within 10 minutes she had her hairbow out and was covered in sand. It just went downhill from there!

Nate in the watermelon eating contest being cheered on by Jonathan. Nate didn't win the contest, but he should have. He ate all his watermelon down to the rine, and the guy who won left a lot of "red" on his. As far as Jonathan was concerned his Daddy won!!

Me and Jase hanging out watching the kids jump in the "bouncy thang" (as Jessi calls it). Jase was so good, as usual. He just sat in his stroller most of the time and watched everything that was happening.

Lets hope that if there is another picnic next year that Nate wins the watermelon contest, oh and that I don't have a kidney stone!!

The First Day of School

2008-08-19T21:23:00.004-04:00

Monday was the first day of school for Jonathan and Jessi. Jonathan started first grade at Roberts Elementary, and Jessi started pre-K at Just Kids Learning Center. Everything went fine and the kids seemed to enjoy their first day back at school. We are looking forward to an exciting year filled with fun and learning!!

Jase is adjusting to being home alone with Mommy. The first day the kids were gone he followed me around and whined all day! I think he was wondering what I had done with the other kids. Today I took him to the pool to swim for a couple of hours and that seemed to keep him distracted so he wasn't as fussy and clingy. I personally am not having any problem adjusting to the kids being back in school! I am trying to use the next few weeks to make the final preparations for Justin.

Waiting for the bus!

On the bus with Mrs. Stephanie, the same bus driver from last year.

Getting in the van to go to the first day of pre-K!

Big girl Jessi in her new classroom!

Jase enjoying some pizza last Friday night!

Hydronephrosis, Kidney Stones, Blah Blah Blah . . .

2008-08-17T21:17:00.004-04:00

So here we go again. At least this time I was 30 wks when the problems started and not 24 wks like I was with Jase. In the last 2 wks I have had one trip to the Women's Center at Kennestone with back pain and pelvic pain, two renal ultrasounds, both showing moderate hydronephrosis of the right kidney, several appts with OB and urology to monitor current state and discuss options, passed 2 lovely kidney stones, one 3mm and one 5mm, and made it to one very important company picnic! As far as the kidney stones go glad those are out and hope there are not anymore. Won't know for sure until after Justin is here and I can have a test with some radiation, either a CT or IVP.

Here is where we stand as of today. Urologist doesn't think the hydronephrosis was due the kidney stones. He thinks it is from a 4 pound baby sitting on the ureter and blocking the drainage of the kidney. Just like last time. He is open to managing this on a day to day basis for now. He said his concern will be the kidney, and when it has to be drained, then it has to be drained. We have agreed that the method of drainage will be the nephrostomy tube like I had last time. He does not even want to attempt the stent (the internal form of drainage) due to the last time that was attempted the ureter was perforated and this time the baby is already to big to expect that they would be able to get the stent placed. As for now I am using pain meds as needed and staying on my left side as much as possible to allow gravity to pull the baby off that ureter. This is getting more difficult because even on my left side I can feel little Justin pushing his foot up under my ribs on the right side, so he is just getting so big that I'm not sure how much staying on left side is helping. Right now I can make it to about 2 or 3 in the afternoon before taking any pain meds, so I think that is pretty good.

If things stay as they are I am pushing to make it to 37 wks before delivery. If the kidney starts acting up more I want to make it to at least 36 wks and have an amnio to test for lung maturity before we induce. I am 32 weeks now and things are not as bad as last time and we are just praying to get through the next few weeks. We will make it!!!!!

Mmmmmm.... Watermelon!!

2008-08-12T14:11:00.003-04:00

Friday nights have become our traditional family hang out night. We (Dewberry's, Arwood's, Kronenberger's) either go out to eat or go to someones house for dinner. This past Friday everyone came over here since I wasn't feeling well enough to make the trip to another house and the weather was nice so the kids could play out in the backyard. Dad bought a nice big watermelon for after dinner, and it was good!!! I will attach some pics of the other kids eating the watermelon, but Jase loved it soooo much that I had to give him his own post of pics! He was so cute eating it, and I think he had 3 slices! Look at those beautiful blue eyes!! He is growing so fast, and I can't believe he is about to be a big brother. I bet he won't be able to believe it either!!

While I was typing this post about how cute and sweet Baby Jase is, he pulled off his diaper and "relieved" himself on the carpet beside my chair!! The joys of motherhood!

Jessi got her hair cut!!

2008-08-07T22:33:00.003-04:00

I finally agreed to do it. I let my princess get her beautiful long blond hair cut! She was very excited to have it done and I had to hold back the tears. I don't know why I didn't want her to have it cut. Maybe because it seems like it is just one more step toward her growing up. Nate's mom (Granna) came to visit on Wed. and she brought her scissors in case I decided to let Jessi get her hair cut. I agreed and Jessi hopped right up in the chair after letting me take some before pics. I will admit that her new "do" is cute, but she does look more grown up. I posted some before and after pics. The after pic is not as good because we hadn't washed her hair yet. I will post another one in a couple days after it is washed and dried. My little girl, I can't believe she will be 5 yrs old soon!

Just thought I would add a cute comment Jessi made the other day: Mommy, you better tell God if he decides to put any more babies in your tummy that it better be a girl!! I guess that is her way of saying enough brothers!!

Fever of 105.8!!!

2008-07-31T20:26:00.003-04:00

Poor Baby Jase! I am not one to get nervous about a fever, but I have to say that pushing 106 is a little scary! A fever of 105.8 is the highest that any of my kids have had, both Jessi and Jonathan have hit the 105 mark. The scary part was that he had had motrin less than 4 hrs before, so who knows what his temp could have gone up to. I had taken him to the doctor that morning where they did a CBC and his white cell count was normal so I knew there was no point in taking him to the ER. So we just got him in the tub, and gave him some cold fluids and some Tylenol. After about 30 min I went ahead and gave him Motrin even though it was a little early for it. With all of that and about 30 min in the tub I got the fever down to 105, which I felt a little more comfortable with. I never got the fever below 104.4 for the rest of the night. Talk about being exhausted!! All night long every little moan or cry he made I was up and in his room checking his temp and pushing fluids. He was sooooo miserable! But, just like clock work we hit the 7 day mark and the fever just disappeared, typical virus. I've been waiting for a rash to show up now that the fever is gone but so far nothing. I added a pic of him in the tub when he had the fever. Poor baby!

"What is wrong with ya'll?"

2008-07-24T22:03:00.002-04:00

Yes, this is an actual comment that someone made this week in regards to my family!! Maybe its the pregnant hormones combined with the intense July heat, but I almost took her head off! I had taken Jonathan and Jessi to the dentist for a cleaning. When we were checking out the lady at the check out desk was talking to the kids. She then leaned around so she could see Jase and she asked how old he was. I said "17 months". That is when she looked at my belly and made a face and said "What is wrong with ya'll?!?" I just stood there with my mouth open staring at her! I was just shocked that someone would actually make a comment like that. It took me a few minutes to recover from the comment and gather my things and leave. I wish I had thought quick enough to say, "Nothing is wrong with us, obviously all our "parts" are working just fine!"

Some people. It amazes me that people think just because they have an opinion that others want to hear it. Anyway, I haven't been able to get this comment from this less than intelligent women out of my head. The truth is we don't see our family size as anything "wrong" with us. We see it as a great responsibility and a blessing to be allowed to be a part of the lives of these four children, and we take it very seriously!

Ok, I am done with my little rant for now!

Home from the Beach!!

2008-07-14T21:49:00.008-04:00

We are home from an awesome week at the beach. The weather was perfect. The house we stayed in was perfect. The pool was perfect. The kids were per . . . , ok I won't get carried away!! Actually the kids were very good and they had a great time as well. We all enjoyed our time together playing in the fountains, going to the beach, swimming in the pool, going to Capt. Andersons (awesome as usual), playing games into the night and just hanging out. The kids said one of their favorite things was staying with Ms. Lisa, the nanny who came while we went out to Capt. Andersons. They want to go back to Florida so I can call Ms. Lisa and have her babysit again!! Go figure! As I was unpacking I was thinking you know you had a good trip when the big bag of meds that you packed for the kids never had to be opened! The only thing we had to use were some bandaids because of all the raw toes from playing for hours on end in the pool. We had several bleeding toes! I think by Friday Jonathan had bandaids on about 6 of his 10 toes!

Well, now we are back home and mostly settled in. I did have to take Jessi to the doctor today for a case of swimmers ear. I think with 5 kids on vacation and the amount of time they spent in the pool it is amazing that only one of them came home with an earache! Nate goes back to work tomorrow and I may take the kids to the pool. Only 5 wks until school starts and it won't be long after that when Justin arrives. I figure I have a good 10 wks to prepare for him. It will be here before I am ready (mentally that is) I'm sure! Feels like the summer is already starting to wind down, bummer.

Here are a few of my favorite pics from the week!

I have no idea why the first paragraph is underlined! I did't try to do it and now I can't undo it. Oh well.

Happy Birthday Nate!!

2008-06-26T21:10:00.003-04:00

Today is Nate's birthday! He is 36 yrs old. The kids and I made him some brownies with sprinkles today and gave him a GPS thing. We needed one before going to FL and his birthday was right in time! (Sorry Nate). Anyway, just wanted to say Happy Birthday to a wonderful husband and great Daddy! We love you!!!

Time with Friends

2008-06-26T20:55:00.004-04:00

On Tuesday I took the kids to go bowling with Kim and her kids, Alex and Emily. They had a great time! After bowling a game we let them run around (literally) the arcade area and "play" the games. It's great while they are young and still think they are playing the games even though they didn't put in any money! Then we had some pizza for lunch. It was a fun day! Here are some bowling pics and some pics of the kids on the games. The one of Jessi and Emily screaming is on one of those roller coaster rides.

The Lazy Days of Summer

2008-06-23T21:50:00.003-04:00

Lazy for the kids anyway! Having three children at home all day is anything but lazy for me. The kids are enjoying the summer so far. They have seen a couple of movies, picked strawberries, gone to storytime at the library, gone to the mall, had lunch with Alex and Emily, and of course gone swimming!! We go to the pool at least twice a week, sometimes more. We usually pack a lunch and make a day of it. I know Nate thinks I just go and lay out at the pool. He doesn't understand why I am so tired when we get home. By the time I pack up everything (sunscreen, towels, swim diapers, toys, lunch, change of clothes for Jase, cup for Jase and drink for me) and then get us to the pool and unload I am already tired. Then the fun starts! I get all three kids sunscreened and equipped with the proper floatation and then sit on the edge of my seat and constantly count 1, 2, 3 kids. It's hard trying to keep an eye on all three at the same time! They each want to do their own thing going back and forth between the big pool and the baby pool. Overall the kids have a blast and it is a good way to spend the day for me. I included a few pictures from the pool today. It only took about 7 attempts to get the picture of Jonathan and Micah jumping in together!

Happy Birthday Jonathan!!

2008-06-21T22:42:00.004-04:00

This morning at 1:33 am Jonathan turned 6 yrs old! I can't believe he is so old! Time goes so fast. Jonathan had a great birthday. He got to go swimming on Friday night and then have pizza and cake with his cousins. Saturday his Granna came by and brought him a new Xbox game and then went to eat Mexican with us. Later that day Daddy took him and Jessi to see Kung Fu Panda. Tomorrow Grandad will be coming to visit. Jonathan got a lot of "Hulk" presents, which of course is his favorite. Here's a few pics of his presents and cake. I had to include one of Jase eating a piece of cake, he just loved it so much!

Shell Island 2007

2008-06-11T22:34:00.004-04:00

Here is a video of our Shell Island trip last year in Florida. I know it's not recent but since we are leaving for vacation in 3 1/2 wks I thought I would refresh our memory. This is why we will NOT be going back to Shell Island this year!!

A Night in the ER

2008-06-10T22:53:00.004-04:00

Well, things never stay quiet for long around here. What started as a relaxing Friday night hanging out at the Plimpton's pool turned into a 4 1/2 hr visit to the Childrens ER at Kennestone. We went to Marc and Jess's for dinner (great ribs Jess!, thanks again) and then went to let the kids swim. Jonathan and Micah had been jumping off the diving board and swimming to the side. Somehow Jonathan "slipped" and started to fall off the diving board so he tried to grab onto the side of the pool and hit his chin. I didn't see it happen, but as soon as I looked at him I knew he had split his chin open. He just had "that look" on his face, he wasn't crying but he looked like he was shocked. Rachel swam to him and helped him get to the ladder and I helped get him out. Sure enough he had an L shaped (or a Y with one side being very short) laceration on his chin. It was about an inch long and obviously needed stitches! So, after the usual chaos and confusion surrounding most things that happen in our family, we were all dressed and back in the car heading home. Nate stayed with the kids at home and Dad and Krista went with me and Jonathan to the hospital. I asked the Dr that he be given some type of sedative for the lac repair. So we got to watch Jonathan lay on the hospital bed and talk and reach out to things that only he could see. We weren't laughing at him, we were laughing with him!! Anyway, the sedative worked great and Jonathan did a great job. He just chilled out listening to his ipod while the doctor put in 7 stitches. We got home around 3am and finally by about 4:30 am my anxiety decreased enough that I was able to go to sleep. I was just thinking: Jonathan is almost 6 and has had 2 sets of stitches, Jase is not 16 mos yet and Justin hasn't even been born yet. Jase likes to climb, Justin will want to keep up with Jase. Jonathan has started playing sports now. Using that information I was trying to figure out how many ER visits I should plan to make over the next 18 yrs!?!? Any ideas?! God, give me strength!!!

Here is a picture of Jonathan's chin after the stiches. We have one from before the stitches were put in but I thought I would spare everyone the bloody pics!!

It looks much better now than it does in the pic!

Jonathan's Soccer Video

2008-06-09T12:13:00.005-04:00

Finally! Here is Jonathan's soccer video. He has played two seasons with West Metro Soccer. Both seasons he has been on the wildcats team with Coach Jeff. Jonathan and Micah are on the same team. So far Jonathan seems to love soccer and he plans to play again in the fall. I just checked the video and the quality is not perfect. I may redo it later. Anyway, wanted to let you know that Jonathan is # 4 and Micah is # 7. You can't always see faces, so you need to know jersey #!

Jessi

2008-06-01T20:57:00.004-04:00

Here is a quick video of Jessi's end of the yr program. She just finished her 3rd yr at Hope Preschool. She was only 20 mos old when she first started! Next year she will be going to the same pre-K that Jonathan attended. I think she will enjoy going full days (7:45 - 2:30). With her late birthday she had to spend an extra yr at home before getting to go to "big" school, and she was bored! My baby girl is growing up so fast. Now that I know she is going to be my only girl I really feel the need to make the most of every day with her. Anyone know how to let your only daughter grow up? If you do let us know, we will need the help! She will always be our princess!

Pictures of Jase's First Birthday!

2008-05-12T12:42:00.003-04:00

Ok, so I know this is late and going to be out of order, but I wanted to post some pics of Jase's birthday party. He wasn't so sure about the cake! Thanks goodness Rachel was here and volunteered to give him a bath when he was done!!

Jase is WALKING!!!!

2008-04-28T11:34:00.002-04:00

Well, it finally happened! Jase is walking! At 14 1/2 months he decided it was time to go for it, and he just took off. I think it was Wednesday of last week he wasn't walking that morning and then after Nate got home that day he just started walking. We are all so proud! Way to go Jase!!!

Final Score Blue - 3, Pink - 1

2008-04-27T14:38:00.003-04:00

Well, after a scary day on Wed and Dr. visit on Thursday we found out that we are having another BOY!!! I never pictured myself raising 3 boys, but then again I never thought I would have 4 kids. Baby Boy Arwood #3 looks great and is measuring a few days ahead. After seeing more than one ultrasound of baby boys Nate and I were able to tell it was a boy before the ultrasound tech even said anything! She did confirm what we already knew and said it was another boy. We had to come home and break the news to Jessi, who was not too excited about it at first. She seems to be warming up to the idea. I have told her how special being the only girl in a family of boys will be. I made some promises about never having to share a room, shopping, pedicures, dance classes, lots of shoes, and horseback riding lessons that I hope she forgets about! All I know is that she is destined to spend many, many hours at ball fields! Jonathan was thrilled it was a boy and had several name suggestions. He is really into Star Wars right now and he knows the name has to start with a J so he thought "Jubacca" would be a great name. We had to explain it was actually pronounced "Chewbacca" so that would not work. He said "ok, let's name him Jedi then." Not sure how we are going to get out of that one yet!

We are just thankful for a healthy baby and a healthy pregnancy. I have been on bed rest since Thursday and as long as everything is good I can go back to a somewhat normal routine tomorrow. Jase is walking more and more everyday and I told him that his days of being carried are over! At least for the next week I will not be lifting him anymore than necessary.

Have a good week!

A New Addition!

2008-04-21T11:03:00.008-04:00

The Dewberry family has a new addition! Malachi Grayson Dewberry was born on April 17 at about 4:45am! He weighed 6 lb 6 oz and measured 18in. Mom (Jess) did a great job and Marc managed to stay standing and not make any, well not too many, stupid comments. There was the small incident at the elevator when Marc asked a complete stranger to ride up with Jess so he could take the stairs. But with a quick look from Jess and a "Get on the elevator now!" Marc overcame his fear of elevators, if only for that one moment.

Welcome Baby Malachi! You're a cutie!

2008-04-16T13:49:00.013-04:00

My first quick post! We are recovering from spring break and a fun trip to the mountains. The kids had a blast having a picnic in the "backcountry", playing in the river, swimming in the hot tub and playing putt putt. The picture with Jonathan, Micah and Jessi was before putt putt when they got to take a break and have a cherry icee. Jonathan said that was his favorite part of the trip!

Jase is recovering from a sinus infection and a hand, foot and mouth virus. Jase is practicing walking by taking a couple small steps, but hasn't gotten the nerve to just go for it! He turned 14 mos yesterday, so he is officially a "late" walker! He does not seem concerned by it. He is too busy learning to talk. His newest sayings are "oh wow", "dadie"(sadie, the dogs name) and counting! We say one and he says "dooo". Its cute, I think he learned it from having his picture taken so much and us saying "ok, one, two, three smile". And then of course his first sentence "Hey doodle!." He has been saying that for about 6 wks. I always say that when I go to get him up in the morning and one day when I went in his room he was sitting up and he said "Hey do-do!" I was shocked! He says it to everyone now, even people he sees on TV.

We have our big ultrasound scheduled for May 28 with the perinatologist. Guess we will find out if I will be raising 3 boys or if the score will be evened out with another girl. I have no idea either way! I just know that Jessi will be devastated if it is another boy! She said if it is a boy we can just dress him in girl clothes!

Enjoy the pics from the trip!