Our Days...

We spend a lot of time doing this...

Then I have to admit there is a little of this...
and this...
But the best moments are like this...
and this...

Sleepy Sunday

"AHHH"

This and That

Yesterday, I accomplished something BIG! I went to Target with both kids and made it through the store with no major meltdowns! Now that I know I can go to Target, my life can start seeming more normal! JK! Sort of JK, but I love going to Target!

Last night Abby slept 6 hours! YA! She didn't wake up until 4am, which is really close to 5am, which can be considered sleeping through the night. But, I am not going to get my hopes up that this is the norm. I know that we still have some crazy nights yet to come. But, my goodness 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep was glorious! :)

Caleb has two new things that he loves to say. One is "Abby, bed"; he says this quite often because he wants me all to himself. The other is "Abby watching"; he loves for Abby to "watch" him play basketball or trains. In fact, he loves for anyone and everyone to watch him do these things.

I think Abby may be more demanding that Caleb was at this age. Maybe I am imagining it and can't remember what it was like before. But, she really really wants to be held all of the time. I am hoping this will get better and better as she grows and starts being able to play. It is hard to take care of a two year old, keep the house !somewhat! clean, and hold an infant all at the same time. The Baby Bjorn is the best!

I can't complain too much. Both babies are asleep now... wait never mind... I hear Abby crying!

Sweet Thang!

Isn't she precious? I had to remind myself at 1am, 4am, 6am, and 7am, but it is SO worth it! Anyone heard the country sound by Darius Tucker with these words "It won't be like this for long. One day soon that girl is going to be all grown up and gone. This phase is gonna fly by, so just hold on. It won't be like this for long."- a perfect song for this time of our lives; it talks about a newborn baby and how fast she will grow up. So Jon and I listen to the song quite often right now- helps keep things in perspective. Time is precious.

Birthday Mathematics

Take a little of this...

and add this....

and you get this...A Very Happy Birthday Boy!

The New Thing

Well Grandma was correct. Jon and I just got a dslr camera! We had been looking at them and trying to learn about them, and the one we were interested in showed up on Craig's list! I offered the girl a low amount thinking she would counter, and she said she would take it! So we are now the proud owners of a Canon Rebel Xti. Now I just need to learn how to use it!

Caleb 2 Years Old

This is a common sight in our house: Caleb playing with his trains while watching a Thomas the Train dvd. He will come up to me saying in a very pleading voice, "Thomas, Thomas". He loves Thomas the train! For his birthday, Caleb got several Thomas train sets, and he has had a great time playing with them. He was having such a fun time playing the other night, that he had a major meltdown because it was time for bed. He was screaming and yelling, "I want trains." It was a perfect example of a two year temper tantrum! I guess you could say that we ended up compromising because Jon and I let him take one of his Thomas trains to bed with him. He was still unhappy that he couldn't bring all of the trains, and he fell asleep with the train in his hand. Caleb still loves basketball; one of his favorite things to do is to dance to the Globetrotters song "Sweet Georgia Brown" while he plays basketball. He often says to me "music" to request that I turn on his basketball play list. He particularly enjoys this when Daddy is home to dance and play along with him. Caleb mostly ignores Abby although sometimes he says "Abby, bed" when he wants me to himself. At his bedtime, Caleb "kisses" everyone goodnight. We have done this for a long time, but he doesn't really kiss us, he just leans in so we can kiss him. However, he does kiss Abby on the top of the head each night. Caleb only naps during the day some of the time. Most days, he plays in his crib for two hours or longer and never goes to sleep. He doesn't seem to be an worse for the wear, and I am getting a break still, so this works for us. Caleb is growing up and looking more and more like a little boy. He is getting freckles on his face just like his Daddy has. While Abby was in the hospital, Caleb went to work with Jon. He got to play on the track with several gold medal Olympic athletes, and he learned how to start a race. Now Jon and Caleb "race" around the coffee table. Jon says "on your marks", and Caleb gets in the starting position, "get set" and "go", and they both run around the room. What a joy this boy is! We are so glad that he is a part of our family!

Happy Birthday Caleb!

Other than Caleb being a year older, any guesses on what else is new about this post?

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Abby changed outfits four times today before 10:00, but we made sure she had on green with each one. Here are some recent pictures! Enjoy!
Sweet girl!
Caleb showing the camera one of his favorite toys!
Abby not quite ready for this position yet!

Thanks Gege and G-pa for the singing birthday card. As you can see it has brought me lots of enjoyment! Love, Caleb

My Babies

Abby at 4 weeks, Caleb at 8 weeks

Abby One Month Old

This sweet baby is one month old! The past month has flown by! Isn't she a sweet pretty little baby? She has such a cute pink complexion on her cheeks and lips. It almost looks like she is wearing makeup. Abby has recovered well from our traumatic hospital stay. Maybe I am imagining it, but she just seems genuinely happy to be at home. Our last night at the hospital was a rough one for both of us. She just didn't want to go to sleep. I know that this happens with all babies and makes their parents crazy, but at the hospital it is especially bad. I kept trying to get her to go to sleep, putting her down, and then she would instantly start crying. Along with that the hospital bed that I slept on was really strange; it would randomly start inflating in different spots and make a bunch of noise. So the night went like this: nurse Abby, sooth Abby to sleep, put Abby in bed, lay down in my annoying bed, hear Abby crying, pick Abby up and repeat all of the steps. It seemed like once I finally got her to sleep a nurse would come in needing to do vitals or something else. We hardly got any sleep. The worst was when someone from the lab came in at 5:30 in the morning to take blood. Nothing like being woken up from a hard sleep with a prick to the heel and then having the blood squeezed out of your foot. Okay- enough about the hospital- putting it behind us now! Abby is eating well, and we will work on the sleeping next. She is seeming to be more and more awake and hardly looks like a newborn to me anymore. She has grown out of her newborn diapers and out of several of her outfits. Her hair is looking more and more red/blonde. In fact, several people have commented that she is going to be a red head. Red hair or not I love thinking about all of the milestones to come for this little sweetie!

Psalm 34:4-8

"I sought the Lord and He answered me; He delivered me from all of my fears. Those who look to Him are radiant. Their faces are never covered with shame. This poor woman called, and the Lord heard her; He saved save out of all her troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and He delivers them. Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the woman who takes refuge in Him."

We are all home! It has been a very tough few days, but Abby is home safe and sound. We thank everyone for their prayers for our family. Most likely this was caused by a virus. Abby's fever has subsided, and she is acting like she feels much better!

Abby Update

If you haven't seen Jon's twitter posts on the side, we wanted to let everyone know that Abby had to be admitted to the hospital yesterday morning. She had a high fever of 102, which is taken very seriously in babies so young- seriously as in a spinal tap, tons of blood work, iv blood draw, catheter, heel prick, iv fluids, nasal flu swabs, and iv antibiotics every 6 hours until she is better.

We spent about 5 hours in the ER yesterday morning while various nurses tried to start an iv. Our poor little baby was poked at least 14 times (not an exaggeration)- three in the head, two on arms, three on wrists, two on ankles, one on her heel, a shot of antibiotics in each thigh, and a spinal tap. This was not easy to watch especially because many of the pokes seemed to be accomplishing nothing because they couldn't get in her veins. Several labor and delivery nurses came down to try to get a vein, and they were unsuccessful as well. Finally one of the pediatricians was successful in starting an IV, which they are using to administer antibiotics. So far, the results are looking like this is a virus, but we have to wait 48-72 hours for the blood cultures to come back. We are praying this is nothing too serious. So we will be spending at least one more night at the hospital and possibly two.

Please pray for Abby to continue to eat and sleep well and for the cultures to come back negative for any type of bacterial infection. Pray for Abby's fever to come down and for her sweet body to heal quickly. It has still be quite high today. The spinal tap came back negative for meningitis- so praise God for that! Finally pray that this iv lasts and doesn't have any problems. I really don't want them to have to try to start another one!

That's the update. Hopefully soon we will be on our way home with a healthy girl- who may never leave the house again! JK, but boy this has not been fun for any of us- her in particular!

Here are a few pictures from Grandma Pace's camera. I love the first one of Caleb holding his basketball because that is a very common sight around our household! The bottom picture is from Abigail's first bath. She definitely did not like the sponge bath thing, but now that her umbilical cord has fallen off, she can take real baths. She gets really relaxed in her baby tub and seems to enjoy bathtime (which has been a frequent activity b/c of many blow out diapers and spit up incidents!).