Tahoe!!!

Janeane's birthday is today! To celebrate it we went to Tahoe last weekend and stayed at her mother-in-law's condo. We had so much fun! Peyton was so excited to see the snow! Derek and I love getting away for a few days, but we've never gone anywhere with my sister's and their families. We loved it! 

The view was beautiful! It was so pretty there. Somehow snow makes everything pretty.

I love this picture of Damon and Peyton. Peyton was his trial child before Kinsley came along because him and Audge always had her when I was still working. It's fun having family that loves each other and each other's children like they were their own.

Damon has an identical twin so we always tease Audrea that she's going to have twins somewhere along the line. I think this is pretty much what it would look like. The condo was right across the street from the casino so us girls decided to leave the kids with the guys and go have a little fun. By this time Sarah and her boyfriend Jeff were there. They had to come a day later because Sarah had work. It didn't take long until all four of us sisters were sitting at a black jack table. It was the highlight of the whole weekend. We made some friends and had a BLAST. Did we win? No, we lost every cent. The thought even crossed all of our minds to go back and get more money from the men and if the kids hadn't come on this trip we probably would have.

But they were across the street with the guys and we had our fun. It was time to go make sure they were behaving. We went to dinner after that and then Damon and Derek took their turn at the tables. Derek's been telling me that he wanted to learn how to play craps. Damon taught him and he actually did pretty well so by the time they came back that night they were both beaming. You could tell they had a great time. The weekend flew by so fast, but it was great to get to go. I think we all needed a little time away to relax and just have a good time.  

Kids Update...

Since my last few posts have been about my sisters I decided to catch you up on my family. Peyton is getting so smart. She knows so much for a two year old. She can count to twenty in English and Spanish, she can spell her name, she knows her birthday, and so much more! Jax is army crawling and getting pretty fast at it. He can get across the room in no time. If only he could figure out how to keep his belly off the floor. I took the pictures above when we went to Costco the other day. I was so excited because it was the first time they got to ride side by side in a cart. They did so well too until Peyton slapped Jax across the face because he was whining. She never hits so that was a shock to me.

We've been spending some time on the house. Weird, I know, but Derek and I have actually been looking forward to these little projects. We lived in apartments for almost four years and we used to talk about how we missed the little things about living in a house, even things like painting and mowing the lawn. Our projects this month included painting the dinning room, installing a new ceiling fan in the living room, yard work and just today shampooing carpets. I'm proud of how much we've accomplished in the past few weeks.

We were forced to take another trip to the Dr.. Peyton developed a very gross rash on her hands. The doctor said it's just a reaction to the virus she had and should only last a week.

Jax is soo fun, but can also be a little dare devil.

He actually fell head first out of this walker not to long ago. I almost had a heart attack. I was in the kitchen and he was in the living room. He was reaching over the side trying to get one of Peyton's toys that was on the floor. Then he stepped his foot on the side bars and pushed himself out. I saw the whole thing going down and felt like I was running in slow motion towards him, but it happened to fast and before I knew it he was on the floor screaming. It took a few moments to calm him down and check to make sure he was ok, but it definitely freaked me out.

We've been taking advantage of the nice weather we've been having. Audge and Damon got this swing set from a friend of theirs for Peyton and Jax. It was their Christmas present, but they haven't been able to play on it because it's been cold and raining. Peyton loves it. She could swing for hours.

We're staying busy. The kids are getting big and we're just enjoying our little family.

sad news...

I'm not even really sure how to even begin this blog. Usually I have soo many things to say I just have to figure out how I want to say them, but not now... I figure maybe if I just ramble on about it for a little while the right words would eventually come so bare with me. I debated on whether or not I should even blog about what I'm going to put in this post, but after careful consideration I decided to just go with it. Considering I treat my blog as if it were a journal of events taking place in my life and this is one that I won't forget I felt that I needed to include it. As I said in my last post I love my sisters soo soo much and everything they go through in life affects me as well. I feel so connected to them. This is why my heart totally broke three days ago when I got the text from Janeane that told me her unborn baby didn't have a heartbeat and had stopped growing five weeks ago. It's been three days and the feeling is returning even now as I'm typing this post. I can't imagine sitting there watching someone give you an ultrasound being so excited to see how big your baby has grown and then hearing the words, "I can't find a heartbeat". That was my worst fear during both my pregnancies and she had to live it. It just sucks all the way around. It's sad that my sister and her husband even had to go through this when there are people out there that are choosing to abort their babies and they would have done anything to keep theirs. Yesterday they put her under and took the baby out. How empty she must have felt waking up knowing it was over. She did everything she could to have a healthy baby and all of her blood work came back looking great. They told her it wasn't anything she did that these things just happen. They also told her they happen way more often than you would think, but knowing how common it is doesn't make it feel any better. She's doing ok though. Obviously she's sad and bummed that they won't be bringing a baby home in October, but she's holding it together so well and her let's get through it and move on attitude is completely inspiring. There are worse things that could have happened and this was what God had in store, it's just hard to accept it. I know they will get the baby they've been wanting so bad and when they do it will be such a great day and their love for that baby will be that much more special.

Inspired by Audge...

The other day Audge put up a status on her facebook about how much she loved having sisters! This is what got my wheels turning and pretty much inspired this post. Since I'm always blogging about my kids I thought this might be something a little different for a change, but will somehow probably eventually come right back to my children. Everything seems to do that these days. To start off I just want to say I love my family so much and I think about how lucky I am every day to have such an amazing support system. My sisters especially are soo amazing! Throughout this post are just a few of my favorite moments captured with them.

Growing up in a house with three sisters and two brothers wasn't always perfect. We definitely had our bad moments. Oh the fights we would have. I remember feeling like I hated my sisters on soo many occasions over stupid things. I couldn't wait to start my own life. Now, they're an even bigger part of my life and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I love how close we've become through the years. I've said it before that family is everything to me and they're what make it even more special. I'm not saying there isn't drama between us because there can be from time to time, but that's pretty much expected. I always tell Derek that it's comforting to know that anything we go through in life we'll have each other to go through it with. The same thing stands for my sisters and I. I'm very excited when I think about the future of our family.

They've already helped me through so much and know me sometimes better than I know myself, which isn't always such a great thing. They're very wise and have gone through a lot of the same things I have. It's weird sometimes how much we think alike and how our reactions to a lot of things have been the same. They hold up expectations of me that I'm greatful for because I try just a little harder knowing that they'll be right there to call me out on anything and that(i feel) has made me a better person, and a better mother. They're a little comical relief when I need it and no matter what I do I know they will always have my back.

This is where this post comes back to my children. Having them obviously was amazing! Having my sisters with me through all of it is even more amazing. It's great that they're just minutes away if I need them. I'm fortunate that they're still around and haven't moved to a different state or somewhere far.

It's so special to me how much they love my kids. Peyton and Jax light up when they come around. They have taught them so much and I know they are a big reason why my kids are so sweet. I could not imagine life or my family without them. It would be so boring.



Yes it's true, grocery shopping rejuvenated me... is that sad?

As I posted before I've been stuck at home with my kids for over two weeks now. The only times we've gone out of the house was for our trips to the Dr.. Well, the other day Derek didn't have to work till the evening so I saw my chance to escape, and I took it. You could only imagine after 2 or 3 weeks of no grocery shopping how bare our cupboards were so I kinda didn't have a choice of where I would go. Plus I thought it would be different because I'm so used to lugging 2 kids to the store with me. Derek was outside working on the lawn so I figured he could use an audience...

They seemed to be having a lot of fun out there since it was pretty much the first nice day we've had the whole time we've been stuck at home. I got them all set up and loaded their little trays with snacks. They were happy! I couldn't help feeling guilty though about how excited I was to get away and they were stuck at home for another day sick. Of course that only lasted a minute because once I hit the highway I had the radio blasting, the windows down and I was singing at the top of my lungs! Needless to say I took my time in the store making sure I hit almost every aisle. I forgot how it felt to shop alone and take as much time as I wanted. Walking through the door at home was funny because Peyton acted like I had been gone forever. Derek carried Jax over and he was just laughing at me for no reason. I think he was just really excited too so that's how it came out. It's amazing how one trip to the grocery store could recharge my batteries and I could go on tending to them and their needs.  

Luckily both of them are feeling so much better. Peyton's tract infection is gone and Jax's pink eyes look like they're way better. They both started playing, eating and drinking regularly. They still have a cough, but it's getting better. I feel like we're almost all healed up, but I still want to give it a couple more days before I expose them to anyone else. Jax is army crawling all over the place. He's also baby chattering, saying "bababa" it's soo funny. In the picture above you can tell how big he's getting. He can hold himself up pretty well it's insane! He loves to get into everything and he's always wanting to play with what his sister has. Peyton is talking up a storm and she's pretty funny. She helps me take such good care of Jax and always tells him, "It's ok brother!" every time he cries. They've been all about playing with each other because there has been no one else to play with. This made it very difficult for me to keep Peyton from catching Jax's pink eye, but I think I'm safe now! We just have to wait out the next couple of days until we can reconnect with the rest of the world!

Give us the drugs...

This picture was originally inspired by two prescription drugs for Peyton and Jax, but as I was cleaning off the kitchen counter I suddenly realized how much medications we've been depending on in our house the past few days. It's quite ridiculous because I started out with two and kept adding one more and then another until the counter was clean and I finally came up with this. I threw in the Lysol because I've been using that nonstop as well, and just to clarify (even though it should go without saying) the Tylenol pm, cough drops and benadryl pills are what Derek and I have taken and have not been given to the kids.

My little princess has been through so much the last week. First RSV and now the doctor confirmed yesterday that she has a UTI. I'm pretty sure it developed because of the lack of fluid intake over the past week. I'm now pushing fluids more than ever with her. We're also giving her a prescribed med twice a day for a week. Her doctor wanted to send out for a urine culture as well to make sure it's nothing more. The results should be in by tomorrow and we'll go from there. Hopefully that's all it is.

The Dr. also confirmed that Jax has pink eye. We now have a prescribed ointment that we've been putting on his eye. It doesn't seem to bother him a whole lot, but I think it has already spread to his other eye so I've been putting it on both. I'm trying to keep Peyton away from him as much as I can, but like she gave him the RSV virus I'm pretty sure he's going to return the favor by giving her pink eye, but I'm still doing everything I can to prevent it. I've tried to focus on the positive, but there isn't a whole lot. Not to mention I'm starting to come down with a cold. This is the hardest thing I've had to go through the whole time I've been a mom. It's definitely draining and stressful. Not only are my kids and I sick, but my niece Kinsley has bronchiolitis bad. Audge is taking her back to the doctor today because she isn't getting any better and now has a fever. She's only 11 weeks old and still so little so there is major cause for concern with her. That's not all. To add to all that my dad had to go to the emergency room yesterday because he broke the bone in his left pointer finger.

What else can I say about all of this? I guess worse things could happen. When talking to Audge we've mentioned to each other that we almost have to laugh because it's just crazy that it's been one thing after the other with our family the past week. Hopefully by next week our kids will be better and my posts will be uplifting again...

Respiratory syncytial virus

Soo, quarantine continues... Wednesday was day 4 of fevers and a stuffy nose for Peyton so we decided to take her to the Dr.. When we got there they took her temperature and it was 98.5. The only time she had a normal temp had to happen there. Dr. Felix also listened to her breathing and said everything seemed fine and she didn't have a bacterial infection which is good. She told us that Peyton was probably just getting over the flu or some sort of cold and to keep giving her Tylenol whenever her fever would come back. Peyton seemed a LOT better so after her appointment we decided to do a little shopping. Not even an hour after we left the Dr.'s office her nose started running really bad and her eyes started to get all puffy and red so we went home. That night was rough. I was giving her Tylenol for the fever and then after a few hours benadryl for the runny nose and I continued that cycle through the night. Derek had to work overnight and Peyton slept with me so I could keep an eye on her. The next morning(yesterday) was worse. Snot kept pouring out of her nose and she had a pretty bad fever. I felt soo bad. Derek came home from work a little while after we got out of bed and one look at her and he felt bad for her too. He picked her up and was hugging her and told her he loved her. She tried to tell him she loved him back, but it came out mumbled and gulpy, if that makes any sense. I started crying cause I felt soo helpless and I knew she was miserable. I didn't want to take her back to the doctor because I thought she would just tell me the same thing as the day before. Audge came over to see her and made the call to take her to urgent care. By that time Peyton seemed really lethargic and it took all the energy she had just to say one word. She was barely talking, her poor little body was soo lifeless, and even though she was wide awake her eyes were rolling back like she could pass out any moment. It was very sad. We took her in and the Dr. looked her over and ordered a chest xray and two test swabs of the nose and one of the mouth. The xray showed that she had RSV. Most children get this before they turn 3. There's 3 stages of it Mild, moderate, and severe. Most kids have the mild version and don't even know that's what it is. It just seems like a cold or flu virus. If you ask me she was borderline severe. There's no antibiotics for it because it's not a bacterial infection. We went home empty handed because there was nothing we could have given her. All we could do was hope she got better. Scariest part is that it's contagious. I really think Jax had already caught it, but he just didn't have it that bad at all. I was really stressed out when I couldn't get her to drink anything and I thought she was going to get dehydrated because she wasn't using the restroom at all and wasn't eating either. I was finally able to get her to drink out of a big girl cup with a straw, thanks to Audge for the advice. Last night all four of us camped out in our bedroom with the door shut and the vaporizer running. It seemed to help because I barely heard any coughing through the night. Peyton did wake up a few times and I set my alarm to check on both of them and give Peyton some more Tylenol. This morning was a whole new day though. She woke up feeling better and her energy seemed to be returning. She's such a spunky little thing so to see her like that yesterday was hard. I'm really greatful for the support system that I have. We got a bunch of phone calls today from family wondering if she was ok and telling us that they had prayed for her. I know that helped. I'm very thankful that she woke up better today. My little girl's almost back to normal!

Quarantine

The past few days Peyton and Jax have been sick. It's no fun and I feel soo bad for them. They seem to be getting semi-better though and hopefully by tomorrow they will be well enough to venture out. We usually like the days that we stay home and go nowhere, but the weather has been soo nice and here we are dreaming of things we could be doing if they weren't sick. Peyton's had a pretty high fever, but seems to be doing better and her energy is starting to return. Jax is warm, but hasn't had a very high fever yet. I'm hoping he doesn't get worse. His nose is constantly running. So far to keep us entertained we have colored, played blocks, painted our toes, watched videos, played with play dough, taken naps and watched numerous cartoons, some two or three times. (This is where I get to play on my blog) It's funny because the other day as our mini vacation to Tahoe was coming to an end I told Derek that I was ready to come home and be a mom again. Taking care of these sickies isn't exactly what I meant, but I definitely feel my motherly role coming into play. Be careful what you ask for I guess. We're even missing my mom's birthday dinner tonight. I thought "oh well, at least Derek will be home all day", but nope. He got called to work. I feel like this post has been pretty negative which doesn't match the rest of my blog at all. So, here's a few things we've been up to when we're not covered in germs....

These pictures were taken the morning we went to church to hear my brother Brad's homecoming talk. The kids were soo good and he gave a great talk. It's very fun to see my kids interact with him. Peyton says what little words she knows in Spanish to him which is pretty cool. Jax warmed up to him really quick too.

  Things like this happen at our house every day. They usually start from something small like me giving Jax a bath. I'm bathing my baby in the sink and before you know it my toddler's in too. Funny how something soo small can totally make her whole day. It really did! She loved it. All she did is sit there and get splashed by her brother, who by the way is a natural splasher, and she didn't want to get out for at least 30 minutes or so. It's moments like these that make me soo greatful to be a stay at home mom. I realize that if I worked now, like I did when Peyton was Jax's age, I would miss soo much. Instead of being able to play with them and do all these things that they want to do I'd be rushed to be somewhere I wouldn't want to be. I keep wondering when I'm going to run out of ways to explain on here how happy my kids make me and then I won't have anything more to write, but it just keeps coming so I'll just keep blogging untill I have to start repeating the things I've already said and hopefully by then you would've forgotten that I have already said them! :)

Did I mention...

Jax is almost crawling!?! He now knows how to scoot himself backwards, pull himself onto his hands and knees, and crawl sideways. Yeah, sideways. It's funny when he does that. It's like a side step, but even more awkward. Every day he gets better and better at holding himself up there and pretty soon he'll be all over! Help! :) Peyton is fully potty trained now! She's even wearing big girl panties to bed and hasn't had an accident yet! I'm soo soo proud of her! Derek and I are talking about taking the kids to Fort Bragg next month when he's scheduled for a week of vacation. I'm pretty excited to show Jax the ocean for the first time, even if he doesn't have a clue what it is. I can't wait to take them, but for now, it's back to reality being in Quarantine!

Uncle Brad's Home!!!

Brad came home from his mission on February 16th. It was a great day! He served in Mexico and had a good time, but you could tell he was excited to be home.

This picture was taken right before he left. Peyton was about five months old.

A lot has changed in two years.

This is the first time he's ever seen Jax... He came home to a nephew he had never met,

and a niece he'd never met! It was a pretty fun day! He seemed pretty overwhelmed, but who wouldn't after not seeing their family for two years! How exciting is it that my kids are now able to know their uncle? The only one missing is Uncle Kenny! He's on his mission in Utah and has about 10 months left.

Our Valentines...



Jax's first Valentines day! Audge took pictures of the kids so we could make a few cards for the family. They turned out soo good!



Peyton can be soo cheesy sometimes! I love it! Audge had to bribe her with "pink ice cream" so she would sit still and smile for us. Whenever we take pictures of her she always yells, "CHEESEBURGER!!!" She's silly!



Jax is getting soo big. He's such a funny guy! I actually taught him how to do "the what's up nod" today! He's a stud!



These kids are soo cute when they get together! You can tell Jax and Kinsley both just want to play soo bad!

Derek had to work valentines day. His shift started in the afternoon so when we woke up I had Peyton give him his cards. Then we got up and made heartshaped pancakes with sprinkles. That was a big hit with Peyton. After breakfast I was cleaning up the Kitchen and Derek called me into the hallway. I went and he just stood there looking at me like a wierdo so I went back to cleaning the kitchen. He then came into the living room and asked me if I was completely oblivious. On the counter was a box of flowers that I had just walked by twice. Man, I'm losing it! I was soo excited though! He hasn't sent me flowers since we got engaged! It was nice! I've never gotten tullips though so I was worried after following the directions my flowers were still droopy...

But the next day they were standing straight up! and they look soo pretty!

This was my gift from Derek! I picked it out and was soo excited to see it sitting on my front porch when we got home from grocery shopping today! My gift to Derek was the ultimate rock ballads of the 80's cd set. He kept watching the infomercial over and over so he could hear the fragments of songs he used to listen to on his parents record player. Are we that old?

These two are definately a handful sometimes, but I would never trade them in for anything... Their smiles and laughter fill my heart! I had 3 wonderful Valentines this year and I loved it!

Busy Busy!

Things have been pretty crazy in our neck of the woods lately! So here's an update of things that are happening with our family... Peyton and Jax are starting to play soo well together. They do get upset at times and don't like to share, but it's always shortlived. Jax is already six months old and I feel like I'm still trying to get used to having two kids!

Peyton Plus



Going on the potty equals...

Money for her piggy bank!

Peyton has been learning to use the potty. She would not go for stickers and she would not go for candy, but as soon as I bribed her with money she started going no problem. She even faked having to go a few times just so she could put more money in her bank! A few accidents have happened here and there, but I can now take her out in public without a diaper. So far no accidents while we're out of the house. I only put her in a diaper when she goes to bed and I plan on doing that untill I can get her to start waking up with dry diapers. I can't believe how fast she's picked up on this. It was definately time! She just recently learned all the colors of the rainbow in spanish and loves to go over them with me like I'm quizzing her. She's becoming a lot less shy which is good and bad. Good because she's more social, bad because she can say random things like "quit whinning!" to some little girl in the dr.'s office today and I can't control it. Once she says things like that all I can do is apologize to the annoyed mother...

Jax is definatley his own person. He is now 19lbs 6oz, 27in long and growing! The past few weeks he's hit a few milestones. His two front bottom teeth have popped up! He can now sit on his own, but still falls over when he reaches for something. He learned how to wave and clap his hands and he practices when he thinks no one's watching! He's such a sweetheart!

Both my kids are adjusting to not being the only grandbabies! Having a cousin is pretty exciting for them. Kinsley's getting big and we love getting together and spending time with her, but the fun hasn't even started yet!

Three cousins now! When will the fourth come along? Soon! Janeane is PREGNANT! I'm going to be an aunt AGAIN! She's not too far along yet, but she's due the begining of October! I can't help it! I smile everytime I think about how fun our family is right now! The only thing that freaks me out, and I don't know if I've said this in a previous post because I've thought about it a lot recently, but it's that my siblings and I are now the older generation. We're not just crazy kids anymore. We're the parents, aunts and uncles of some kids that are probably crazier than we were! Oh well, Here come's Another Piece Of Heaven!!!