MAMA!

One of the greatest things about Thanksgiving was that Cora started saying "MAMA". She hasn't been as verbal as Eli, as far as babbling goes, so it was a total shock when she said it. Brandon had gone out with Eli and I thought I heard her say it. When Brandon came home I told him, but he reminded me it doesn't count until both of us have heard it. He took Cora and in minutes was yelling for me to bring the camera. There she was saying, "Ma ma ma ma ma". It was awesome! Eli said "Dada" first, so it was my turn! She is still saying it all the time and has added "Baba". The other morning my mom was here and actually got her to say, "Nana" too. We all heard it loud and clear! She is at a very fun age! This video is the exact moment she started talking!

Thanksgiving

We enjoyed a wonderful week in Plano, TX with Brandon's family for Thanksgiving. The trip there and back went great (it helps that Cora is so easy and we stopped for an hour both ways at a play place). The kids soaked up all the attention from the family, and Eli got to play with his cousin Gavin almost every day! The weather was in the 80's the entire time, so we spent hours outside playing at different parks. Eli enjoyed playing in the hot tub every night, visiting Santa with Gavin and Cora (who cried the second she saw him), getting hot chocolate with Papa, eating all the delicious Thanksgiving treats, painting ornaments with Grams, visiting his uncle Paul's pig Dudley, and more! Eli asked for a "candy cane" for Christmas, and my nephew asked for a "spaceship and matchbox cars". It was adorable! All three of Brandon's brothers hadn't met Cora yet, so it was fun to introduce our sweet little girl to them! After our horrible two weeks of sickness, we are SO THANKFUL to have two healthy kids.

Hospital Stay

What a week? I don't even have the sanity to figure out where to begin! Sunday and Monday Eli was SO much better. He was eating and drinking and playing like his old self again. Brandon even went to work on Monday morning. Around 10:30 though, he started complaining that his stomach hurt again. Cora had a fever and wasn't feeling well and was only happy being held and rocked, so I had Eli call Brandon and tell him to come home to help out. After Brandon came home, Eli was just laying on the couch crying saying, "Tummy ache" over and over again. His stomach swelled up and got hard as a rock. We decided to head to our doctor's office and possibly the ER. He threw up and had diarrhea on the way out the door. He was so lethargic and miserable and I think his body went into shock because at the doctor's office he just laid asleep on the examining table and didn't move the whole time. He threw up again there. Our doctor was very concerned that he could possibly have Intussusception, which is a very serious intestinal blockage that requires surgery. I had a slight meltdown when she said she he needed to be admitted, but she made me feel a lot better when she said, "You did everything right and everything you could of." I just kept remembering that all day! We spent eight hours in a room in the ER before he was admitted for the night. He was so sick he was actually relieved and kept saying, "Eli hospital" after I told him that they were going to make him feel better. I have never been so proud of Eli in my life. Throughout the whole ordeal he listened to what the doctors or nurses told him to do and answered their questions. The worst part of it all was the IV. It took FIVE tries to get it. I'm guessing it was about an hour of poking and prodding before it was in. I kept it together the entire time we were in the hospital, but when I came home to spend the night with Cora I definitely had my freak out. Eli looked like death for the first couple of hours, but after getting some IV fluids and some pain meds he already was starting to look a lot better. The ER doctor was also concerned about Intussusception. I had to worry for hours before they did a sonogram that showed NO blockage, but a huge gas build up and a lot of bile. It appeared that his stomach virus caused his intestines to act up and shut down a bit. He was passing the most explosive gas all that day and night. They did two x-rays throughout our stay that showed the same thing. Everything was fine besides a gas build up. It was crazy to see our active boy just laying in bed not moving for 8 hours. My dad rushed down to help us with Cora and my brother joined us in the ER. We could not have survived without family. Brandon's mom rushed up from Texas and helped with Eli and Cora too. Eli spent the night in the hospital with Brandon. Leaving him to come home with Cora was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. It practially killed me, but both our kids needed us and I had to do it. The next day we spent the entire day in the hospital trying to keep Eli occupied. He was feeling better and didn't want to be there anymore. The hospital provided him with popsicles and other snacks to keep him busy and we took turns wheeling him around the halls in a wagon and dragging his IV behind. It was slightly hilarious. Finally around five they let us go home! Two days in the hospital was TWO TOO MANY! We are still exhausted, but I feel like I've gotten a lot done. All the housework is caught up and the entire house is sanitized and de-germed. It definitely has probably been the worst week of my life. It has been horrible watching Eli be sick, and I was SO scared throughout the hospital stay. Cora was sick too, so it made everything complicated. Double worry! I'm just glad it's all over now and we can move on!

Stomach flu!

We have been very fortunate that in his 3 years Eli has never had the stomach flu...until now. Thursday he started complaining that he had a tummy ache, and that night he threw up ALL over himself, his bed, stuffed animals etc. After a warm shower, while I started cleaning up and doing laundry, we stuck him in bed with us. None of us slept. He never cried, but he said "tummy ache" about every fifteen minutes all night. It has been rough, but he has been a trooper. He only threw up one more time, but has had the runs since. He never left the couch yesterday. He was so sick and miserable he could barely walk. We watched a lot of videos, took two naps, and read him books. That's about all he had the energy for. He has enjoyed drinking his "pink apple juice" aka Pedialyte. He had a low fever all day yesterday. He was still complaining of a tummy ache last night when we went to bed. Once again, no sleep! This time he had an almost 103 fever and was burning up all night. The only way he could even sleep was with his shirt off and a fan on him. Let's just say Brandon and I were freezing! At 2 a.m. I was able to give him a dose of IB profin and it did the trick. His fever broke finally. This morning he still has the runs and a tummy ache, but his energy is coming back and he has eaten a banana, some bread, and a couple crackers. He has wanted to play with Brandon and play a game with me, so we are making progress! We are all wiped out and praying that none of the rest of us get this (especially Cora). Brandon is leading worship this weekend, so I am struggling to stay positive knowing I'm going to be home alone tomorrow wrangling kids on zero energy. This parenting thing is HARD sometimes!

Six Month Appt.

Cora had her six month appointment yesterday. I am so glad Brandon met me to take care of Eli because Cora had a rough time. She is just coming into "stranger anxiety" in the past couple of weeks. The second she even saw the nurse she started crying. Poor little girl. It tried to comfort her the best I could, but I wasn't very successful. Just getting her weight was a crying ordeal. Her stats are: 16 lbs 4.5 oz (51%), 24 inches (5%), and her head was 16.5 (31%). She weighs almost two pounds more than Eli did at this point, but is almost two inches shorter! I could hardly believe it! She is definitely slimming down and losing rolls daily. It's kind of sad! Today at playgroup one of our pastors said hi to her and she just started bawling. I already have one kid with terrible separation anxiety, and I'm not looking forward to dealing with TWO! I had a great talk with my pediatrician about how I'm nervous about ADHD with Eli since three of his uncles have it and he shows a lot of signs of it. She, along with my sister, have given me some great ideas, games, etc. to play with him that will help him regardless, but especially help kids with ADHD. They don't even diagnose it until kids are in school, but I figure it can't hurt to be aware since he's high risk. I'm really enjoying my kids. I am fascinated by their differences (could they be more different...I think NOT) and enjoying parenting two totally different personalities and sexes. I have the same amount of love for each of them, but I love them so differently because they are so different! It is incredible! I am so thankful for them!

Great Wolf Lodge

We spent two nights at Great Wolf Lodge with the rest of my family. My parents took us, my brother, and my sister's family. Eli has literally been counting down the days for weeks! Every day he would count, "One, two, three, GREAT WOLF LODGE!" He still remembered what a fun time we had last year. This year it was even better because he was brave enough to go down the giant adult tube slides. I think technically he was too short (and I didn't see any other two year olds doing it), but they allowed him to go on it and I am so glad! Brandon was able to have a lot of fun doing it with him. I was so proud of him! My nieces and nephew had the time of their lives too. Cora was such a trooper. She was happy hanging out in the stroller with her toys while Brandon and I traded off playing with Eli in the water. The kids all enjoyed the perks of staying in a hotel that's just for kids. They enjoyed story time and the older kids did the "quest" game and had a blast. By the end of the trip Eli kept saying, "Aunt Em!" Proof that he's been around his cousins a lot! Both kids took naps on the way to Kansas City and back, so it was a great trip all around. It really is a wonderful, easy mini vacation staying at Great Wolf Lodge. No matter where you travel most kids enjoy the hotel pool the most, so it's a perfect fit! Adults can have a lot of fun too!

Food

I was hoping Cora would be as amazing of eater as Eli was. It doesn't look like that's going to be the case. She does like her cereal in the morning, but the vegetables always warrant a disgusted face at supper. She's had butternut squash, acorn squash, and peas so far. She'll eat some of it, but doesn't act too thrilled. Tonight finally I decided to try some pears and see if it was just that she didn't like the veggies. She gobbled down the pears excitedly and was wanting more more more. Hmmmm...I think we solved that one! Eli always ate a ton, so that was what I was expecting. Cora is SO different in every way! It is still a learning experience dealing with a whole new personality. Now I'm super curious to try and find other things she finds just as tasty (or maybe will be mixing pears and other fruits in with her veggies). Hopefully all my babyfood making won't be in vain!

Happy Halloween

We really enjoyed Halloween! After having Brandon gone all day at church and me stuck at home with snot nosed kids, it was great to go out as a family and have some fun. We started at uncle Will's apartment and then visited with all the neighbors on our street while Eli trick-or-treated. He did a great job and had a blast! He ran from house to house yelling "TRICK-OR-TREAT" and did a great job saying "Thank you" when he got his candy. We told him he had to see a light on to go to the house, so when he'd see one he would start yelling "LIGHT!" and run that way. It was so fun! It was great to trick-or-treat early and then get the kids to bed at their normal times. Of course as soon as they were asleep we raided Eli's candy! I love Halloween!