getting better

The boys are on the mend.  The tamiflu drug does wonders.  Within an hour of taking it Joels fever went away and he stopped crying and started smiling again.  He also started eating again.  He barely ate all week and didn't want to eat at all on Friday. Colin is feeling much better and just wants to run around. We are still taking it easy this weekend and trying not to let Colin do too much since last night around 6:45pm this is what we saw:

I especially love the drool coming out of his mouth.  He might have done too much yesterday since he was feeling better he just wanted to move. And Colin never likes to sit still for long. So we are taking it easy and trying to enjoy the beautiful weather we are having.  We are very thankful both our boys are doing so much better.

another one bites the dust...

Last night around 9:00 Brent mentioned updating our blog so everyone could know that Colin is starting to get better.  I was too tired and exhausted to do it then (because I also have the swine flu) and said maybe in the morning if Colin is fever free (by then he would have gone 24 hours without a fever and wouldn't be contagious any more) and if Joel didnt get it.  When we were at the doctors office this week the doctor said it was highly unlikely that Joel would get it since he has all the immunities in breastmilk.   at 9:30 Joel woke up which is unusually for him and crying an awful cry.  We took his temperature - it was 99 - and noticed he was struggling to breathe.  At that point I stuck him in the car seat and went straight to the emergency room.  Our doctor said not to worry about temperatures but its the difficulty breathing that kills people with this virus and to not even question it - if they have trouble breathing then just go.  So we did.  The ride there was the most terrifying ride I've ever had.  I could hear Joel's raspy breathing in the back seat and couldnt see what was going on and thought I was losing him. We got to the ER along with the whole city filled with coughing patients. (and in 30 minutes even after giving him tylenol Joel's temp was over 101)  We had to wait a while (which i got mad because here was a baby having trouble breathing and we had to wait our turn)  They took xrays, blood tests and urine tests to rule out everything.  We are still waiting to hear back about a urine culture (having him catheterized was AWFUL)  Also having blood drawn took about 30 minutes of digging in his arm because they couldn't find a vein.  And I always hate it when doctors and nurses say that the baby can't feel the needle poking him - that they are just mad that they are being held down.  Ummm no he definitely screamed more when they put the needle in him.  And they had to get so much blood to test - poor guy.  So for now we are going to put him on tamiflu - what the rest of us are already on and hope he gets better soon.  We will take him to our pediatrician to get checked out too.  And the difficulty breathing is from all the congestion he has from the virus.  So I'm glad I was just a panicked mom and nothing else was wrong.  Brent so far is the only one who hasn't gotten it but he's on the medication so he shouldn't now.  And I'm hoping my baby will bounce back as quickly as Colin has.  He's tired of being cooped up in the house and woke up this morning ready to go.  The first thing Colin said  to me after I told him that baby Joel was now sick "mommy WHO KISSED HIM?" (and was very upset)  since we weren't allowing that this week.   I'm very tired but glad that my baby will be ok. I should've known though Joel has done nothing but defy doctors.they said he'd be born early,he wasn't.they said he would have a long delivery,he didn't.They said he wouldn't catch the flu,he did.

Swine flu

Our sweet Colin has the swine flu.  He's a very sick boy right now but still really really wants to kiss his little brother and went and took a nap voluntarily today because he wanted to get better so he could kiss Joel again soon.  We are going to the doctor tomorrow morning to get the tamiflu shot for Colin since we talked to the doctor tonight after hours.  (And yes he is still in the same clothes from the wedding. I took this yesterday when he was watching one of his favorite shows and since have gotten him to change.  but he fell asleep in the car on the way home Saturday night and we put him straight to bed.  In the morning he woke up and was excited he was already dressed and didn't have to get out of his jammies.  Sunday night he begged not to take a bath because he wanted to stay in the same clothes.  he went 3 days straight.  At least it saved on laundry!)

And the other morning after I took a shower I passed Joel in the kitchen and this is what I saw

wedding weekend

This past weekend my friend Sam got married. It was a beautiful wedding and we had lots of fun.  Sam and Mick are a really fun couple and just perfect for each other. The wedding was held in a really pretty park overlooking the river.  Colin ate chocolate chip cookies all night and Joel got passed around and got lots of attention.  Colin also made a new friend in Mick (the groom) and while he doesn't want to go to a wedding anytime soon he does want to go back and play with his new friend.  Sam looked beautiful and it was such a pretty wedding.  We loved the park and the reception was in an old bank.  Such a cool building.  It even still had the old bank vault that the kids found fun to play in.  A very fun day for us all.

Playing in the dirt

We have been playing outside a lot this week.  Brent and Colin pulled up most of the plants in the garden so now there is a huge dirt/mud pit for Colin to play in.  He loves it.  Usually Joel will just sit and watch but today I put him in one of Colin's trucks.  He loved it. Colin laughed and giggled the whole time. He thought it was great to have Joel playing with him.

Joel LOVED it and thought he was a big boy sitting there all by himself.

Until he saw this truck.  Then the thrill of his little truck was gone.

Can you believe it?

Can you believe I am old enough for this?  I can't either but I love spending all my time in it now.

redskins

Sunday Brent wanted me to take some pictures of him and the boys in their redskins gear before the game. Brent was hopeful this week. Poor guy
The boys were disgusted
Better luck next time (and by next time I mean next year)

a long lost friend

Monday night we had a long lost friend over for dinner. She wasn't really lost and we've been in touch over the years but we met Kristin our first year on staff at West Virginia. I don't think we've seen her since we left staff with crusade. She was in our freshmen bible study and we became great friends. (she was one of the girls I stalked for a while the first few weeks of school because i loved her instantly and wanted her in our bible study) She even went with us on a summer project to Snowridge in Colorado the summer of 05. We just love Kristin. And in fact she was one of the first ones we told when were pregnant with Colin after we told our family. We were mean and made her keep it a secret for a few weeks :) She shares a birthday with Colin and saw him probably within hours of his birth.
She has since graduated from wvu and is an intern with campus crusade for christ in the Hampton Roads area. They are starting crusade here and she is one of the ones helping to launch ministries at cnu and odu. I still can't believe it took us 2 months to get together since she's moved here but we are excited she is so close and hope we can get together a lot. After she left Colin said "that was fun mommy. lets do it again." And for fun here is Kristin with Colin when he was 12 months. Which may have been the last time she saw him before this week.And Krisin and I right before we went on a hiking/camping trip in Colorado. Brent and I loved that summer assignment. One day we hope to go back.

tickle monster

Growing up my dad would become tickle monster where he would sometimes take a big pillow, put it over top of us so we couldn't move and then tickle us. A cruel punishment :) and a form of torture in some countries I've heard. But we loved it. Now however the tables are turned and Colin is the tickle monster. And with all this rainy weather we've been having the boys and I have been reading a lot of books on the couch together. I love how both boys are really into this book. We've read it over and over. Good thing it goes back to the library this week

zoo fun

Yesterday we went to the zoo with Jamie and Benjamin. It was an overcast windy day which kept most people away but made it perfect for the boys to just run around. We rode the train, saw Joey of course and even got to see the baby lion cubs that were born this summer. Colin said the best part was chasing the goose with Ben and Jamie. There was a newborn Bongo baby born the day before that Jamie and I were excited to see but it wasn't up against the fence like they said. maybe next time. It was a fun morning and a great way to get the boys out of the house especially since its supposed to rain the next few days.
They both love Joel so much.
His nose is even like a fun button to push (one of these days Joel will learn he doesn't have to sit there and take it)
Watching an elephant poop
Jamie and Benjamin
Joel really likes sucking on these two fingers lately
Watching a giraffe eat its breakfast. I never knew their tongues were that long

Tickle spot

Today I found Joel's tickle spot so I grabbed the camera. He still laughed but you can tell is trying to figure out what I'm holding in my hand.

Destiny comes to town

So we have lived in our house for a year now and Destiny has come to visit 3 times. whats wrong with the rest of you? haha :) just kidding. We love having Destiny here and I think Colin always cries when she leaves. We went down to the beach of course and Colin loved playing on the playground that is right on the beach and also liked playing in the water. We went back to the beach the next day but the wind was so strong it was blowing sand and after dragging all our stuff down to the beach Colin immediately wanted to leave. But the best part was going to play putt-putt. We had a coupon for a free game of putt-putt at two different places and Colin picked the pirate one. Of course. There was only us and another couple there the whole day (we could play all day) so we took our time and Colin got to play his favorite holes over and over and over and over. Perfect for him. And the best part - they had this huge pirate ship you could play on. I didn't think we'd ever get Colin off the ship. We even left, had lunch, went down to the boardwalk and then came back to play more. AND Colin got TWO HOLES IN ONE! I was very impressed. The first time he did it he was so excited. "mommy I just hit the ball and it went under the bridge and then right into the hole! SO FUN!" So he tried for a long time after that to do it again and believe it or not he did! I can't even hit it in the hole when its 2 inches from the hole. He didn't get his golfing skills from me. Good thing we didn't keep score. It was a great start to the weekend and we're sad that Destiny is gone now. But hopefully she will come back again very soon.

Pumpkin time

Sunday after church we decided to go to a pumpkin patch. I had read about a farm in Pungo with a hayride and pumpkins. We got to the farm and there was no one there. So I called the number and they said they didn't have pumpkins this year. (when I went back home I pulled up the website I had looked at to prove to Brent I wasn't wrong and it did say sept 09 they had pumpkins!) So we went to the farmers market instead and let the boys pick out pumpkins. Colin picked out a small one for Joel who looked like he just wanted to slobber on his. Then Colin found the biggest one there and said that he wanted that pumpkin. It was over 80lbs and cost $100. I told him we needed to eat this week and couldn't buy him that big pumpkin to which he replied "we can eat my pumpkin. Its pretty big" ha! good try. So he settled on a really tall skinny one and still isn't that excited about it but its growing on him. Joel keeps looking at his pumpkin and wondering what it is.

The one he wanted and the one we came home with.

Men do it!

Saturday morning Brent took Colin fishing at a lake near his office. They stock it with fish and when Brent was in training 2 years ago he would go fishing during their lunch breaks. Colin was very excited and I really thought they would catch something because Brent always used to get one a day it seemed. Sadly they didn't as Colin explained to me how the fish were sleeping that day. But the greatest thing Colin keeps telling me is that "mommy men do it" He kept repeating it and then the whole story came out. Men can potty behind a tree.

Cutest baby

Colin says we have the cutest baby in the world. And who can argue with a face like this.

dont get any ideas...

But Colin fell in love with a hamster named Elvis yesterday. My sister Mary was home for the weekend and was pet sitting a hamster. Colin LOVED it. He kept waiting for Elvis to wake up so he could play with him. He would walk by the cage or just sit by the cage going "hey little guy" So cute. It would make a great weekend pet so anyone out there who would like us to pet sit a hamster we'd gladly take one for a few days. No more than that.

candy corn

I don't think Joel likes being a candy corn. But he sure is cute!