No show!

Good - Christmas was fun, the kids had a blast! We took the week off between Christmas and New Years so we have about 12 days in all with the cutie pies and are living it up doing something fun each day =)

Bad - After two healthy months (Oct & Nov) we have now been sick most of Dec. K had strep and C had a GI but (for 10 days!) and now a cold. I also got the GI bug and M got the cold. Ick. Therefore, no time to post...hoping to be back in Jan for a *gulp* 18 month update for the wee man.

I survived #2

We hosted 17 for Thanksgiving, whew! Everyone pitched in and brought side dishes, pies, etc. so it's not as exhausting as it sounds...but pretty exhausting if I'm being honest. K had a blast showing off and telling stories. C wasn't so sure about having that many people in "his" house and was a little clingy. Can hardly blame him.  Here's the crew =)

The rest of the holiday weekend was very productive and I think we're mostly ready for Christmas. We put up the tree and decorations inside, the lights up outside and made and ordered photo gifts (New Years cards, calendars and 8x10's for grandparents and great grandparents, etc.). I posted lots of baby stuff on craigslist *sniff, sniff* and cleaned outgrown clothes/shoes from closets. Each morning we made it to a park or swimming pool to burn off some energy too. All in all a very busy, productive and fun weekend.  This morning our elf showed up and K is beyond thrilled =) Love this time of year!

PS I fixed the pictures in my last post, can you see them now?

I survived!

M was away on business for a full 7 days, 6 nights and got home last night *WOO-HOO* Luckily my Dad came over for an hour in the evening to help with bath/book/bed time and the kids stayed healthy. All I can say is I don't have any idea how single parents or parents who have a spouse that travels a lot do it. It's TOUGH!  A few quick shots from our week:

It was COLD here, like setting records at -14 cold. So we had to come up with a lot of indoor activities.

Here's my Dad watching a movie with them while I do dishes =)

We had a b-day party to go to. I love C playing with the pink balloon in his skull shirt!

Halloween!

Two years ago on Halloween day C was just a little embryo being thawed and put in my belly...now he's a rough and tumble toddler running anywhere and everyone. How life can change!  Here's the little guy as Sven from Frozen. He had a good time collecting candy and unlike his big sister he already knows what candy is at 15 months, apparently that's a "benefit" of having a big sister =)

K had a great time on Halloween, we got this Elsa costume, complete with wand, tiara and braid and she was over the moon about it. She is getting more and more energy to run from door to door and now starts the bargaining over how much candy she can have a day. We're trying to stick to one piece after dinner. At that rate it'll last until New Year's (without M and I helping of course, which will never happen!).

Here's the pumpkins M carved for them. It's a good thing one of us have enough skill and patience to do this. Ok, I could probably pull of the one on the right.

We just carved them last weekend and last night the Elsa pumpkin had this in it, YIKES! The true horrors of Halloween.

Hope everyone had a great Halloween!!!

Pumpkin Patch

This time of year is so fun! The holidays come one by one, the trees change and the air gets a bit brisk. Love it =) Sunday we made it to the pumpkin patch and the rain drops started falling as we left...but not before some photo ops!!!

Arriving - they aren't quite sure about it yet

Petting zoo

First pony ride

Sibling love...creepy pig

Finding the PERFECT pumpkin

Why is trying to get a picture of two kids looking the same direction and smiling so difficult?

Try #2. They look grumpy but they did have a good time.

I couldn't resist including this from outside her dance class this past weekend =)

Walking!

C has really taken off. He took his first steps right before his 14 month b-day (9/16) and is now walking pretty much everywhere and anywhere.  He walks about 80% of the time and still crawls some when walking seems like too much work. Here is some of the first video evidence we got =)

Wish I could say that the tubes cured all his ills but he is sick once again with a cold...and he's getting all his 1 year molars. He's having disrupted sleep and has been crabby. This was taken right after his tube surgery though. I can't help but think he's hearing better now and is starting to babble and talk more.

K is doing great. She's had four ballet classes now and is really enjoying it. We don't get to watch until the very last class so we aren't sure what she's learning but that she's having fun is the most important thing. Her pre-k class is going really well. She practicing writing all her letters and loves telling us what words start with by sounding out the letters.  She is the sweetest big sister on earth, she is patient, kind and care taking of C. It seriously makes my heart smile! 

Work has been crazy busy for me and it's seriously cut into my blogging time. I'll try to get here more often!

Post Op Report

Thank you for all the good wishes =) The short story is that yesterdays surgery went well and our little man is back to his happy little self!

The long story: I woke him up at 11:45 the night before to nurse since he had to go without food after midnight. We got him up at 6:30 am to get dressed and then loaded him up in the car. When we arrived at 7:15 the front desk lady acted slightly annoyed as they thought we'd be coming in at 6:45. I told her the ENT had said 7:15 was fine since he wasn't getting an IV.  Then it was a flurry of activity in getting him into a gown, leads placed, signing consents, etc. I asked the anesthesiologist if I could be with him when he went under.  She said she didn't have a problem with it, this was a big relief to me. I didn't want him entering the cold surgical room without a comforting face. I held him in a bear hug while they put him under.  He flailed his arms and legs and gasped a bit. Then he went limp. I had to lay him out on the surgical table and walk away. This was the hardest part of the day for sure. Then it was the longest 25 minute wait ever in the waiting room. The nurse came and got me and I could hear him crying as I approached his recovery room. They pretty much let me nurse right away and he calmed down some but as soon as he finished he went back to screaming.  It was a combination of an angry and pain cry. It took about 20 minutes for me to finish the paperwork, get discharge instructions, etc. At 8:35 we were headed home and he fell asleep on the way home. I let him sleep in the car until 9:45 and when he woke up he was a little groggy but pretty much back to normal. He wanted to go play, eat, etc. and hasn't had a cross moment since. He is on 2x a day antibiotic and steroid ear drops for a week and has his post-op appointment on 10/7. 

This was taken around 11 am yesterday.  Can't even begin to tell you how relieved I am to have this over and have our happy boy back.  Hope this brings much healthier times ahead!