Long week...

Oh my, has this been a long week! Sunday night, Mikayla started with a little cough and runny nose. I wasn't very concerned, initially. However, on Monday she had a temperature, so I kept her home from school on Tuesday. She was very upset about this - she loves going to school. She has been out for the past 3 weeks and was ready to go back and see her friends. Tuesday, Mikayla was doing better, but Gavin who had started coughing on Monday night, wasn't doing so hot. I took him to the pediatrician on Tuesday where they just diagnosed him with a cold. The tough thing with a newborn cold is that you can't do much of anything for them. All I can do is saline nose drops, bulb suction and limited use of decongestant nose drops at night only.

Well, Wednesday, everything seemed to be going okay with both of the kids until Mikayla woke up from her nap. She had only been asleep for one hour or so, when she woke up crying. I went upstairs and she is complaining of her right ear hurting. It was just before 4pm and the pediatrician stops taking appointments at 4pm. I called and they said if I could get there in 20 minutes that they would see her. I was so thankful, because Mikayla was very upset and uncomfortable. She was diagnosed with an ear infection and after getting some pain medicine, she was back to her old self.

Okay, now on Thursday, I went ahead and sent Mikayla to school. She hadn't had a fever since Monday and her cough was almost gone. She did great at school and other than being a little more tired than normal afterwards, she did great the rest of the day. However, when Gavin woke up from his nap at 3pm, I thought he felt warm. I checked his temperature and it was 100.9. Normally, I wouldn't worry about that low a temperature, but in my little 2 1/2 month old little boy, I was concerned. So I make another last minute call to the pediatrician and get the last appointment of the day at 4pm. They checked his lungs, his ears and did a little blood work to rule out any bacterial infection. Other than the fact that is little nose is so clogged and he is coughing alot, everything checked out okay. They think he might have the RSV virus, but since he normally such a healthy little guy, he seems to be tolerating it okay. They gave me a prescription for the cough and that is where we are today.

So in one week, I have been to the pediatrician and the pharmacy three times each. Jeremy had taken this week off from work, and I am so thankful that he did. I know this wasn't exactly what he had planned, but I don't know if I could have handled this as well if he hadn't been here. He has been such a big help to me.

Gavin still sounds pitiful "(doesn't he look pitiful in that picture!) - he an hardly breathe through his nose. It takes him forever to eat, because he has to take so many breaks to breathe. Thankfully, he has only had a low grade fever today. His cough wakes him up when he is sleeping, which means that I am not getting a ton of sleep at night. I am also having a hard time getting much done - my indoor Christmas decorations are still up. (I am hoping to fix that tomorrow, though) Hopefully, this will all be done sooner rather than later. At least, Mikayla is feeling better, so I only have one sick child to deal with. Keep little Gavin in your thoughts and prayers!!

GEAUX TIGERS!!

This is a picture of my three Tigers fans prior to Jeremy leaving to go watch the game. We hope that the Tigers do well in the National Championship Game tonight.

GEAUX TIGERS!!

What a big girl!!

Mikayla has been doing a lot of things lately that make me realize how big she is getting. Yesterday, she drew this picture on her new art easel. I was pretty amazed at the little family that she drew, complete with legs, mouth and a nose.
She also LOVES to help me cook in the kitchen. She loves to help with everything from pouring ingredients into the bowl, stirring everything together, to pushing the buttons on the oven or microwave.
Another thing that has made me look at her as such a big girl is that she has graduated from the church nursery and is now a Sunbeam. She did so great today - no tears when I dropped her off with her new class. She was a little apprehensive, but with a little talk, hug and a kiss she was fine. This is a picture of her after we got home wearing her CTR (Choose The Right) necklace that they made.
I love listening to Mikayla and all of the funny things that she says. Of course, I can't specifically think of any right now to share with you, but I will try to be better about sharing them with you. They will definitely bring a smile to your face.

Hello 2008!! Good Bye 2007!

Well I have to say that this past year has brought many changes for our family. I look at the past year and see so many blessings in it. I truly feel so lucky to have the life that I do. I didn't ring in this year the way that I had hoped - sleeping. Jeremy had to go to bed early because he had to go to work very early this morning. Both of the kids were asleep by 10:30. I was watching Dick Clark, trying so hard to stay awake, but I just couldn't do it. At least I can say that I started the New Year well rested. I also return to work today - my maternity leave is done!! I am not excited about leaving my kids, but at least they will be with the best childcare in the world - their dad. Jeremy is such a wonderful father - I love watching him interact and play with them.
Well, I have thought about it and here is a list of my New Years Resolutions. I figure if they are in writing, maybe I will do a better job at keeping them.
1. Spend more quality time with my family - the key word here is quality. I want to create lasting memories with my husband and children.
2. Lose weight! I have a specific number in mind, but I don't want to share that with everyone. I do have a plan in place already. I am joining Weight Watchers next week, I am going to purchase a jogging stroller when the weather warms up and I have gotten some workout DVDs. I have to lose a little bit more baby weight, plus some weight that I had gained before I was pregnant. I am very determined to do this!!
3. Clean out and organize my home. I have several scary closets that need some serious attention and we can only park one car in our garage. I going to try to break it up into small sections so that I don't get overwhelmed.
Well, I wish everyone a happy and safe New Year!!

Two month report

Well, Gavin had his two month check up yesterday. He weighed 11 lbs. 4 oz. and was 23 inches long. That puts him in the 50th percentile for both. Also, his head is in the 25th percentile - such a difference from his off the chart sister. He was such so playful and smily at his appointment - until his shots of course. However, his big sister cried harder about the fact that someone was hurting her brother. She is so protective of him.
The rest of the day, he was understandably a little fussy. This was particularly challenging since I was fairly under the weather. I had a high temperature the night before and thought I was feeling better yesterday morning. However, I felt worse and worse as the day went on. Thankfully, my dad came to our rescue. He came and cooked dinner and played with Mikayla until Jeremy got home from work. Jeremy then sent me to bed and took care of Gavin so I could get some sleep. So far, I feel better today and Gavin is back to his old self. Hopefully the rest of the day will be good too!

Merry Christmas!!

I hope that everyone has had a wonderful Christmas. We had such a nice couple of days. I feel so blessed to live close to all of our family. It is nice to be able to see everyone that we love at the holidays. It makes for a busy couple of days, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
On the 23rd, we went to my grandparents house out in West Georgia. They live almost 2 hours away so we don't get to see them as often throughout the year, so I was very happy to be able to get to spend some time with our family out there.
My family out in Utah will probably laugh at this picture since they had several inches of real snow this past weekend. My aunt bought this snowman on HSN. You put a soap solution into it and it blows out little soap suds that look like snow. Mikayla had so much fun running around in "the snow." Earlier in the week she had told me that it couldn't be Christmas until it snowed. I tried to explain to her that it doesn't snow everywhere on Christmas. When my aunt set this snowman up, Mikayla kept running around saying, "It's snowing on Christmas!! It's snowing on Christmas!!" I was so glad that she got her wish.
This is a picture of my Grandad bonding with Gavin. Gavin was showing off all of his smiles and grins. My grandad had a lot of fun with him. It was so nice to see this interaction. It was a little sad, though since my Mammaw wasn't in the picture. She has very advanced Alzheimer's Disease and is completely bed ridden now. She is kept there at the house where my aunt and some very kind health care workers take care of her - they do such a wonderful job.


On Christmas Eve, we went to my parents home. We were a little concerned that the whole evening was going to be a complete crash and burn. Mikayla completely refused to take a nap that day (even though she desperately needed one). Dinner at my parents was very challenging - Mikayla was very whiney, cried easily, and was very difficult to deal with. However, thanks to Aunt Lollie entertaining her with some piano playing, Mikayla turned around (as you can see in the above picture). My Mom and I speculate that Mikayla will be very involved with music when she grows up. Even when Mikayla was a colicky baby, if Aunt Lollie started playing the piano, Mikayla would calm down. It was amazing.
This is a picture of Mikayla and Gavin in their Christmas jammies. Mikayla loves to hold Gavin and cuddle with him. It's been so wonderful to see her interaction with him. She loves him so much and loves to be around him.

Christmas morning was a lot of fun. First of all, our lovely children gave us a Christmas present by sleepin in until almost 9am. Very nice!! Mikayla's favorite presents from Santa were her "Pinkie Pie" My Little Pony and her little dollhouse. The pony sings and dances, she loves it! Mikayla's only disappointment, was that Santa wasn't downstairs in the morning. She was convinced that he would be there to show her the presents. We just tried to explain that Santa only comes when children are sleeping since he has to visit so many. Her three year old little mind, didn't quite appreciate all of this. After Santa presents and a family breakfast, we went to Jeremy's parents home spend some time with them. Mikayla had alot of fun over there. My sister-in-law got Mikayla alot of baby doll stuff so that she could take care of her baby while I take care of Gavin. There is a funny story that goes along with this. When Mikayla first walked in, the Cabbage Patch Kid was wrapped in a blanket in a carrier sitting next to the Christmas Tree. When we asked her who that baby was she exclaimed "Baby Jesus!" I guess it was fairly obvious that we have been talking alot with her about the Christmas story with her. (She understands the story, but we are still having a hard time getting her to connect it with Christmas and Santa and all of that stuff) The rest of the day the baby (whose Cabbage Patch name is Joseph) was called Baby Jesus. I am trying real hard to get her to call him Joseph. First of all, I don't want people at the grocery store and such to think we are religious fanatics. Secondly, I want her to understand that Christ is a special person like no other in the world. We'll see how it goes - she is only three after all.
Gavin slept through a large portion of the day. He was such a good boy through all of the craziness of the past couple of days.
This is a cute picture of Mikayla after she was "wrapped up" by her Aunt Ashley.

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I know that we did.

Pre-school Angel

Mikayla's preschool Christmas program was last Tuesday. My mom, mother-in-law and father-in-law joined Jeremy Gavin and I. It was such an adorable program. Each age group had a theme - the two-year-olds were "Little Angels." They sang "Angel Band, "Jingle Bells" and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." We were quite excited to see Mikayla actually joining in on the singing this time - during her Thanksgiving program Mikayla did more observing than participating. I apologize that I don't have any photos from during the program - I videotaped it instead.
There was a rather comical part of the program during the 3-year old presentation. There was alittle boy on the end who was totally involved in the program. He was singing loudly and dancing to the music - it was a hoot to watch him. The funniest part, however, was the little boy next to him who kept covering this loud little singer's mouth. Kids are so much fun to watch!

Mikayla's class had a book exchange with each other. They were all s excited.
Mikayla kept dipping her pretzels in the frosting on top of her cupcake. Definitely her mother's daughter.
This is a picture of the Christmas present they made for the parents. Iknow this will be displayed in our home for a long time.
I hope that everyone is having as wonderful a Christmas season as our family is.

Dora, Dora, Dora the Explorer!!

Today we celebrated Mikayla's birthday. We didn't do anything big - I wasn't up for it with a newborn and everything. We had our family and a couple of friends over. It was a fun day.

My Mom worked her cake magic and made Mikayla a very nice "Dora" cake. Mikayla was so excited.
This is Mikayla showing everyone how old she is. She has been practicing this for a couple of weeks and was very happy that she is actually three now.
We had a wonderful time celebrating Mikayla's birthday with our family. The day did prove to be a little overwhelming for Mikayla. We had the party at 1pm and at the beginning she was great. Towards the end however, it was painfully obvious that whe was in desperate need of a nap. She was becoming completely incapable of sharing and was crying at the slightest thing. When everybody was leaving and we informed her that whe was going to be taking a nap, she had a complete meltdown. Luckily, only the grandparents were witness to this very out of character behavior. After she woke up, she was in a much better mood and had fun playing with her toys.
I can't believe that Mikayla is already three. I put together a little slide show of pictures of the past three years - I got quite emotional watching my little girl "grow up" through out the timeline of pictures. I often just wish that things could be a little bit slower so I could enjoy her as a little girl a little bit longer. She is such a sweetheart and is definitely my little princess. She is such a joy and makes Jeremy and I laugh on a daily basis.

Santa Claus is coming to town!!

We took Mikayla and Gavin to see Santa this evening. When we were on our way to the mall, Mikayla informed us that we were going to the North Pole to see Santa. We told here that Santa made a special visit to the store to come see here - I wasn't in the mood for a meltdown when we got there and she realized it wasn't the North Pole. Mikayla was excited to see him, but she did get a little shy when he started talking to her. Gavin slept through the whole thing, which with a newborn, is probably a good thing.

FINALLY!!!

Well, about two weeks ago, Jeremy and I decided we wanted to switch from cable and get a satellite dish. I wanted to get satellite so that we would have a larger variety of children's programming and to get KBYU (conference in comfy clothes!!). Jeremy wants access to the never ending list of sports channels. Also, the HD programming is much better with the dish. We decided to also switch our phone and Internet service to AT&T since we could bundle these with our DirectTV and save money. When they hooked up our satellite dish two weeks ago, this knocked out our cable telephone and Internet. We could have had both, but it would have required additional wiring and money. The downside is that I haven't had Internet access until today. Other than feeling cut off from the world, I do all of our banking online, so I kept having to go to the library and my mom's to pay bills and check our balance.




These pictures are from the tree lighting in Alpharetta. It was sprinkling a little when we first go there, but we had a lot of fun. Unfortunately, Jeremy was working, but my parents came, which was nice. This Christmas season has been alot of fun. Mikayla has a good grasp on the whole Santa thing - we are trying hard to teach her the real meaning of Christmas, but she always seems to hone in on Santa. She knows who Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus are and she understands the Nativity story, but she isn't quite connecting them with Christmas yet. Oh well, all we can do is keep trying.
Here is a recent picture of Gavin. I can't believe how big he is getting. He is starting to smile a little bit. He is also starting to "play" some. He likes this jungle activity mat thing that we have. We have been having some sleeping issues with him, however. He sleeps great as long as he is in bed with us. He isn't wild about sleeping in a bed all alone. We always start the night in his crib, but usually around 2 am when I am so tired I can't hold my eyes open, I end up giving in. I pray for strength that I can help him learn to sleep by himself.