A Sick New Year

It's baaaaaaaaaaack!! The Nebulizer...............

Happy New Year everyone! Unfortunately, we've had nothing but sickness here since the new year began. Tyler, Evan, me. Mitch even spent a few days flirting with a cough and cold. I spent New Year's Eve on the couch. Woo-hoo!! Not that we would have gone anywhere anyway, but still. Asleep by 10:00 p.m. Pretty pathetic. Oh, and let's top it all off with me throwing my back out on Sunday morning.

Both boys are currently having to use the Nebulizer - or have it used on them, I should say. Poor little Tyler has been really sick. Started out with an ear infection, and ended up as respiratory distress. I took him back to the pediatrician yesterday morning because he wasn't kicking the high fever even after four days on antibiotics. Turned out his "oxygen saturation" was only in the 80th percentile. They weren't able to get it up and maintain it in the doctor's office, so we ended up in the emergency room at Fairfax Hospital.

What a good little patient he was!! He was checked by so many different people and he was the picture of calm the whole time. He even laid still for chest x-rays!! Everyone commented on what a good boy he was. I'm happy to report that they were able to get his oxygen up and maintained at a level that made them comfortable sending us home rather than admitting him. And because of that positive result, I don't feel guily sharing these ridiculously adorable pictures:

Who would have guessed that they made hospital gowns that small???

We went this afternoon for a follow-up with the pediatrician, and Tyler's oxygen saturation is back up to 98% and the doctor told us that he is home free. His fever has also stayed at bay today, and he was back to his old self - running around, throwing things, beating up his brother, sitting on the cat, etc.! He's still coughing of course, but he's definitely on the mend. We'll finish out the antibiotic and use the nebulizer and he should be all set in a week's time.

I took Evan back to the pediatrician this morning because he had developed a bad cough also. The good news is that his ears are clear. The bad news is there was a little chest noise. So, back on the nebulizer for him too. He still hates it.

So since December 18th (when Evan had his 1 year well-check), I've been to the pediatrician I think about 7 times (I've honestly lost track!). Let's hope that's it for a while!!

Besides the sickness, we had a wonderful time over the holidays. I had a great, much needed, two weeks off from work. My mom was here the whole time and we had a great visit. The boys had so much fun with her, and I know she was thrilled to spend so much time with them. And Tyler had mastered her moniker and was saying "Mimi! Mimi!" all the time. No need to say how much she loved that!! I was also so grateful for her help when I was sick - and even when I wasn't! It's nice to have an extra pair of arms to pass off to once in a while.

And just for fun, here are a couple of cute Evan pictures.

Enjoying his chair!

And wearing the cutest little red leather shoes that my dear friend, and fellow blogger, Julie sent from France. Speaking of Julie, many congrats to her on her second pregnancy!! She'll soon have two sweet little girls to match up to my two sweet little boys! :)

So Happy New Year to all - may it indeed be a happy - and HEALTHY - one for us all!!

Merry Christmas!

Last night, on Christmas Eve, we headed over to Grammy and Grandad's. Here is Grammy finishing up setting the lovely table:

And here is the tree - look at all that loot!

This is of course little Charlotte's first Christmas - here she is sitting next to the tree with big brother Nathan.
And here she is chillin' with Uncle Mitch. Isn't she sweet? You wouldn't know it to look at her, but she had just been released from the hospital the day before after a 10 day stay for a mysterious illness. She is all better now - a Christmas miracle! A true blessing.

After a wonderful dinner, and a lot of present opening, we put the boys in their jammies and headed home. We had to get our own tree in order!


This morning, the first order of business was getting the kiddies fed. Luckily, their still young enough that they don't really understand what's going on and we don't have to fight with them to get them to sit down and eat breakfast. I suspect in a couple years time, that will no longer be the case!
Ah! Banana and Cheerios - breakfast of champions!!

Tyler prefers to casually snack on a pancake.

After breakfast, it was time to start opening presents. Again, since the boys don't really understand, it was a nice leisurely process - no mayhem!

I was impressed by how skillfully Tyler unwrapped his gifts - I didn't think he knew how! He must have been really paying attention to Nathan last night.

Evan is paying close attention now - he'll want to be prepared next year!

One of Evan's favorite presents is this funny little robot toy from some special Aunties:

The Aunties also scored with this Thomas the Tank Engine starter set for Tyler - he loved it!!

The boys even seemed to enjoy unwrapping clothes! That will change!

Another hit of the day were the Elmo Live dolls that Mimi got EACH of them! Now I have two talking little red monsters in my house.

Evan also thought it was pretty funny to wear this box top on his head.

Tyler is obsessed with the vacuum cleaner. Not if it's running mind you, then he's petrified. But if it is in the room, he can't keep his hands off of it. Santa got wind of this, and brought him his own "Dusty the Talking Vacuum". He immediately wanted to give it a whirl....



Did you get a look at his feet? Possibly one of the cutest things I've ever seen. Allow me to zoom in for you:
These slippers were a gift from Grammy (from Janie & Jack no less!!). They fit him perfectly, and he keeps them on! Practical AND adorable. Perfect indoor winter footwear.

Later in the afternoon, it was time to get the boys (and ourselves!) bathed and dressed to go to Daphne's for Christmas dinner.

Evan's hair gets a little fluffy after bath time!

Tyler was looking pretty darned cute too in his Ralph Lauren sweater, but he wasn't too keen on sitting still for a picture, so you can't really get the full effect.

For those of you that don't remember, Daphne is Ashley's mother-in-law. We were supposed to have dinner at Ashley and Richard's, but with all that was going on with Charlotte, Daphne thought it best to take the pressure off of them and host. We have had several Christmases past at Daphne's, and this one was as lovely as usual.

Charlotte slept through most of the festivities.

Evan took advantage of Ashley's arms being free and snuggled up for a bottle. He loves his Aunt Ashley!
He also had fun "walking" around with Grammy!

Tyler and Nathan had a lot of fun playing with toys and watching Christmas DVDs. They are both currently obsessed with Frosty the Snowman for some reason.

Here is a shot for Grammy - both of her children, with all of their children!

It was a wonderful day filled with joy and good cheer. I am very grateful for my family - immediate and extended.

Happy Christmas to all - and to all a good night!!

Party!!!

On Saturday, we had Evan's birthday party. Many relatives, friends and neighbors attended and it was great fun. I did about the same amount of decorating as I did for Tyler's birthday back in March, but I didn't take pictures of everything before the festivities started, so of course I feel guilty about that! I try to make everything even you know! In any case, you might be able see some of the decorations in the background of some of the photos. The most important thing though, is that Evan had a fun time, and there were lots of people here that love him to help him celebrate the completion of his first year here on earth!

Here is the birthday boy eating his lunch at the beginning of the party.

I was a little disappointed that the balloon people at the party store couldn't get Evan's name centered on his special personlized balloon....

Our little guy was so tired from the morning, that he didn't make it through lunch...

So we let him sleep there while everyone else made their way through the catered lunch! When he woke up,we decided that it was a good idea to do presents before cake, since we've already seen what happens when he eats cake!! We didn't think our guests would want to wait around while we gave him a bath!

So many fun toys!!!

"Hmmm... how can I play with two at once??"

"Yay!!! Mimi got me my own chair! Now I don't have to sit in Tyler's anymore!" I'm sure Tyler is happy about that too...

"Thanks for my party, Mommy!"

Now it's cake time!

Baby safari animals was the party theme. You can't tell from the picture, but the little blobs on the cake are little safari animal heads. Hmmm... now that I think about it, that's kinda creepy!! But the cake was delicious!

Here's Evan enjoying his cake - with ice cream this time.

It never made it into his hair, much to the disappointment of some of our guests!

Tyler enjoyed his cake too, but neatly, with a fork.

After cake, it was time for more hanging around and socializing,

And then the party was over. Phew!! What a day.

After all that partying and cake eating, it was time to clean up.

It was a great day. Thank you to all who were able to join us for the celebration!