December's Whirlwind

Super Aaron!

The month of December is always crazy for us.  With the holidays, our anniversary and Aarons' birthday it's a lot for us to try and get done!  Especially when one of you is sick. 

There was a point earlier this month when we had a doctor appointment every day for 3 days in a row.  Aaron, then Elizabeth, then Aaron again.  Aaron had another round of high fevers and was waking up every morning with 103 or 104 degree temp.  We took him to his pediatrician and had a chest x-ray done.  Turns out he had pneumonia!  We had to do another round of antibiotics and at first it didn't seem like it was helping, but around the 4th day, he finally woke up without a temperature and his appetite seemed to have come back a bit.  Not to mention his mood improvement!  He is done with the antibiotics for now and seems to be much improved and we all hope it stays that way!  We follow up with the doctor sometime next week.

Because Aaron had not been feeling well and his temp was so high, we didn't really do much for his birthday.  Josh and I decided to just have cake and ice cream at the house with family.  We didn't invite other families because we didn't want other kids getting sick. 

Aaron wanted his birthday theme to be "Minion" themed since he couldn't be a minion for Halloween.  We had a minion cake for him and minion toys and shirts from both us and Grandpa & Grandma Coblentz.  He loved his cake and his toys.  

Happy 4th Birthday Aaron!

Elizabeth Grace went in for her 2 month check up and is now up to 11 lbs!  Josh and I both cheered and let out a collective sigh of relief when we heard that!  Elizabeth is such a joy.  It's impossible to be anything but happy when you're with her.  And she just loves to smile at people.  It's the cutest thing ever!  The faces she makes are super expressive.   

She will be a heartbreaker for sure.

Elizabeth Grace - Heartbreaker

She is still sleeping in our room but I want to finish her room up and see if around month 3, we can get her sleeping in her crib.  She does sleep through the night already so I think the transition will go well.  With Aaron we only had a 1 bedroom condo for the first 1.5 years of his life, so he was in our room with us for that long!  I think I might have a harder time with the transition than anyone else!!  

The end of the year is approaching and last night I lay in bed thinking.....

Even though things aren't perfect, even though we're poor, I am just so happy with my little family.  I love them to pieces and want to squish all their stinkin' faces!  I hope this feeling continues to grow into next year and that things only get better.  Health and love.  That's what we need.  I hope you all get it too!

        

So Much To Say (Little Baby!)

This kid!  Stud.

Well, I had intended to write a new blog after Elizabeth's 1 month check up, but time slips away when you're holding a new baby.  First, let me update you on Aaron.   

Aaron has been sick for what it seems like 2+ months with one cold after the other.  He had 2 ear infections in a month and a few weeks ago he had a fever and was vomiting.  We first took him to Urgent Care (they sucked, btw) and then to UC Davis ER where he was admitted and observed overnight.  The only thing they could definitely diagnose him with was fluid in the ears and dehydration.  They took blood multiple times, put in an IV, took x-rays and did sonograms.  Words like appendicitis, intussusception (telescoping of the intestine) and virus were being thrown around.  They eventually moved him from the child's wing of the ER (thank GOD because that was not a pleasant place to be) to the pediatric ward.  

Basically he was monitored and given fluids and Tylenol and nothing was ever truly diagnosed.  They think he had a virus.  Nothing wrong with his appendix.  They said he had intussusception of the small intestine but it was too far up to correct and that likely it would correct itself.  They also said it was likely brought on by the virus he had.  Strange, right?  So he was sent home.

But he still has cold like symptoms -- a sore throat, occasional cough, stuffy/runny nose and mucus.  IT'S BEEN LIKE, 2 MONTHS!  I don't know what to do about it and it's really frustrating.  What's more frustrating is that I feel like I have to tell him to keep away from Elizabeth because he's sneezing and coughing and I don't want her to get sick.  She already caught it once and I had to deal with 2 sickies.  

Additionally, we had made an appointment with an ENT for him because he snores loudly and it sounded like he might have sleep apnea.  He also breaths loudly and has recently (like in the past 6 months) become a mouth breather.  Plus, recently he's been saying "What did you say?" a lot.  As if his hearing is getting worse.  I think the whole thing has to be related, but I'm not a doctor so what do I know?

The ENT said he still had fluid in his ears and that he couldn't test his hearing until it was cleared so he gave him another round of antibiotics and told us to come back.  He also said that he does have large glands and adenoids but that he doesn't want to rush into surgery.  OK great, neither do we but that still doesn't answer how we're supposed to solve the snoring/breathing problem!  UGH!

So as a result of all this, he's been missing school a ton.  If you have kids, you know that preschool is super expensive and regardless of your child missing school because of being sick or not, you still have to pay the full tuition.  Which, because of me not working currently, we just cannot afford.  Well, honestly we couldn't afford it with me working, but definitely we can't now so we've pulled Aaron out of school until we can figure out what is wrong with him and we can afford to send him again.  Hopefully in the Spring!!!  

This baby!  Princess.

Elizabeth is doing well.  She's gaining weight, sleeping through the night (mostly) and drinking her bottles.  Right now she's cuddled with Josh (which is how I have free time to write this!).  This girl gets a ton of kisses and cuddles, that's for sure!  She makes the cutest faces and sometimes she'll just lay there and coo.  When Aaron was in the hospital, I stayed overnight with him while Josh stayed home with Elizabeth.  I was gone for almost 24 hours and when Josh and I switched and I came home to Elizabeth.  When I first picked her up she smiled at me!  Twice!  It was so cute.  Baby girl recognized her momma!  I can also get her to smile at me when I kiss her on the lips.  It takes a few times but around the 3rd or 4th try, she smiles and even laughed once!

At almost 2 month old, she can hold her head up and almost turn over.  She grabs on to everything with her little skinny hands and sometimes she'll try to stand off of you if you're holding her.  Of course I don't let her stand, but she's a strong girl for sure!  She dreams and sometimes you will catch her sleeping with her eyes open.  Freaky, I know, but mom tells me she gets it from her Grandma Gloria.

As for me, I've seen the doctor and she told me I'm all healed which is great to hear.  My back still hurts though.  Some days it's not too bad but other days it hurts like a MF.  I was still taking the 800 mg of ibuprofen whenever my back pain would come back.  And then for some reason I kept getting these stomach aches.  I couldn't figure out why and why they seemed to come mostly at night time.  I was taking Tums and Pepto Bismol but they would only help a little.  Finally, yesterday I thought - holy crap! - what if it's the ibuprofen?  So I didn't take it yesterday and suffered through a day of back pain, but with no stomach problems!  Hooray!  Sort of.  I think I'll give it a few days (or at least until my back pain gets really bad) and then I'll start taking Aleve instead.  

Now my job will be to figure out how to be a SAHM with two kids all day.  At least for the next few months.  But first we get through December!!!!  Aaron's birthday is coming up and then Christmas.  Today we might go tree shopping if Josh can find the decorations!  We even have a fireplace to decorate this time!  Super exciting - our first Christmas together in a house as a family!

I hope you all are well, enjoying time with loved ones and that you all have a super fabulous holiday season! 

Babies & Lyrics

This is my family.  Not perfect, but loved & loving.

With both my kids, I have associated some DMB lyrics for one reason or another.  With Aaron, the first lyrics I can remember that came to me with him are (ironically) from "Grace is Gone".

I could never love again
So much as I love you
Where you end, where I begin
Is like a river running through 

With Aaron, it was as if he was the Eve to my Adam.  As if someone had literally removed a limb or body part from me and from that, came Aaron.  He is a part of me as if he IS me.  

And I remember vividly the first time he kissed me on his own.....  I was sitting on the floor eating a PB&J and he was waddling around the living room with his toys.  He'd come over every once in awhile to get a bite of my sandwich and one of the times, he placed his lips on mine instead.  I thought it was so sweet of course, but figured it was sort of an accident.  I mean, babies don't know how to really kiss, right?  Then he did it a second time and he stayed there for quite awhile, just laying a big smooch on me.  At first I laughed and kissed back, and then my laughter turned into a giant sob-fest because I was so overwhelmed by the love he just gave me.....  Kissing him back through my salty tears of joy and peanut butter.  And for that I remember these lyrics from "Old Dirt Hill (Bring That Beat Back)":

Ride my bike down that old dirt hill 
First time without my trainin' wheels
First time I kissed you I lost my legs
Bring that beat back to me again  

With Elizabeth, DMB lyrics also came naturally.  For one, I actually had an iPod playlist for the labor & birth that was mostly DMB.  The first song on the playlist is "Baby Blue" and although all babies have blue eyes when they are first born, her blue just seemed so vivid.  They are still a steely, grey blue.  So from her and her blue eyes, I got: 

Read more: DAVE MATTHEWS BAND - BABY BLUE LYRICS

Into your blue, blue eyes
Your blue, blue world
You're my baby blue

But really, the lyrics that kept playing over and over again in my head the first few days I had her home was from "Alligator Pie".  Though the song is really about Stella, it has these lyrics:

Grace is all I'm asking
When will Grace return
Grace is all I'm asking

If you haven't figured this out yet about Elizabeth Grace, her middle name is a tribute to Dave (DMB).   Grace is all I'm asking.........  

into your blue, blue eyes, your blue, blue world, you're my baby blue.

Read more: DAVE MATTHEWS BAND - BABY BLUE LYRICS

I have a poster from Blue C Sushi in Seattle with Dave in it and as soon as I get it framed, it's going in Aaron's room.  And I'm hoping to put something in Elizabeth's room too.  So far, I'm liking this handmade wall piece from Etsy: Little Feet Little Hands, which are lyrics from "So Much To Say".  

Yes, I think about lyrics a lot.  Not always Dave lyrics, but music is always in our house, our minds and our hearts.  
  
My family & Dave = Happiness.  

into your blue, blue eyes, your blue, blue world, you're my baby blue.

Read more: DAVE MATTHEWS BAND - BABY BLUE LYRICS