On and On and On again....

So pooped out he fell asleep during a treatment and with the lights on, he normally hates the lights while sleeping!

Feeling better after the fever broke, finally a smile! Check out the shiner, yeah we are baffled as to where that came from and how he woke up with it in the morning. We never heard any noises out of his room, but we are guessing he hit his head on his bed rail while sleeping or getting out of bed. Poor guy!

On and On and On again......that is the way runny noses and colds are going about in our house. Dylan has been battling a cold, icky nose, wheezing etc since New Years day. He would get better than worse etc. He has been to the doctor 2 times including last Friday which bought him a steroid burst. Well this steroid has never worked for him before and it didn't work again. He had not really gotten much worse, just coughing a lot more and we could tell that nothing had gotten better. So using our best judgement yesterday we decided we better call into his Pediatrician and see what she would say. Well of course they wanted to see him again, so yesterday morning I scheduled a visit for last night after work. I called Brad to see if we really needed to take him in again and we both were like 'well, this and that and whatever.'
So about 4pm yesterday our sitter called and Dylan had suddenly started acting like he didn't feel good and had a sudden temp of 102 degrees. So it was a darn good thing that our conscious was talking to Brad and I and we kept that doctor appt.
So I took him in, got him checked out, got him some Tylenol. After blood work and an RSV test we were off to the hospital for x-rays. In the time I dropped Dylan off at daycare to when I picked him up last night he was a completely different kid, not talkative, very lethargic and sleepy. We both felt horrible. So after the x-rays we waited around the hospital to get a plan of action, our biggest fear was that they would want to admit him. Thank the lord, we got the call to pick up a prescription and head for home. So today Dylan has been at home recouping.
We took Danielle to daycare to keep her away from him for the day and it was a good thing because this afternoon his high fever returned, ugg! But the Tylenol broke it a short time later and since then he is back to good ole' Dylan, but wanting a lot of snuggle time which is always nice for mommy and daddy, we wish of course under not the illness consequences.
So we pray that Dylan will get feeling better very soon, that the breathing treatments and medication kick in fast and that the rest of our family especially the baby stay healthy.~

'We have chosen hope'......Progress is beautiful!

Our little man, there is hope for America's children! We will not look back and from now on we will look forward!

Our First Family 2009

Today is 'A defining moment in history' for ourselves and most importantly our children.

We don't get to riled about politics at our house, but recently have been talking as parents about what political views and policies would help make America a better place for our children. As we awoke this morning we had been thinking and talking the past few weeks what today would mean for our children, today is the beginning of the future for our children and our children's children. Dylan is dressed in red, white and blue today in his patriotic attire. The Inauguration of the Nations 44Th President, what a moment in history as this president is the first African American President of the United States. It truly brings tears to my eyes to even think about what this means for the future of our children. I think it can be best stated by a piece of the Inauguration speech by our new president Barack Obama ": the God-given promise that all are created equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness."

There is no question in our minds that God has something special in store for Dylan. He is such a miracle in itself and if you take a few moments to watch him go about his day, the moment he is in you will see what a very detail oriented, inquisitive little boy he is. This is the person he is becoming, there is such a grand future for him. As every parent thinks and wants the best for their children, no matter your political views, you as well as us, have to be so excited as parents, to think about what this new Presidency means for the future of our children. The world will hopefully be on the way to a better, peaceful, more whole world. It brings tears to my eyes when I look at the first daughters and think about how their father is literally going to do everything in his power to ensure that during his presidency he will begin to form the future and help it be a better place for his children and our children as well. "Starting today we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America." If you read the letter that Barack Obama wrote to his girls, it will melt your heart probably the same it did mine and Brads. The publication, Parade, published this last week. Amazing and so meaningful!

Dylan is doing so many wonderful things these days. He is talking a whole bunch and is even starting to stay more than 3 words at a time. It is just so heart warming to wake up each morning and walk into his room and have him greet you 'hi mama or hi daddy'. And he gets so excited in the mornings and evenings when mommy and daddy are home with him before we go our separate ways for the day or to bed at night. He will run down the hallway when Brad leaves for work and say 'where daddy go' and look for him. We can truly see through our children's eyes the importance of family and togetherness. And as we go forward with a new President we really feel that Barack Obama wants nothing more, than for everyone in America, to feel this togetherness as a country as well.

As I watched the Inauguration today, I could not help but have my eyes well up with tears and think about the hope that I have for our children that they will continue to feel this kind of love and togetherness from our family and their country for the rest of their lives. We are SO blessed to be their parents and have them as our children. And that they will be able to achieve their hopes and dreams and see the good in others and themselves as they grow and succeed. Life for our children will be different than our childhood once was. Technology and the world around us is ever changing but with our help as parents, and a President who promotes and tries to instill core family values, we can instill wonderful values into the hearts of our children, help them to feel equal and they can carry that on with them to future generations as well.

During the Benediction at the Inauguration today, Rev. Joseph E Lowery prayed, "we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to give back, when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man, and when white will embrace what is right."

Congratulations to our children and fellow friends and family members, we made history! Thank you lord for blessing our family and allowing us to embrace this momentous day for the future of our children!~

Dylan welcomes in 2009....

2008 made Dylan a BIG brother! What a sweet little boy welcoming his little sister home!

Dylan cheesing it with his Aunt Britni!
Kids getting loves from Amber's mom, their Grammie!

Happy New Year!

Welcome 2009, hopefully a year for bright days, new beginnings and togetherness for our family. 2008 brought many new things for our family and Dylan, at times it was not easy. But we made it thru and Dylan has a new little sister to run and play with! We found out I was pregnant with Danielle in the very beginning of 2008 and we immediately begun to wonder how Dylan would cope, what would this mean for him and how would we give equal attention to 2 well deserving children? Well first brought bed rest for mommy and daddy taking over virtually all of the house and child duties. Mommy was unable to lift Dylan from February until June of 2008, that was VERY difficult and to be honest, at times, depressing. To not be able to hold your child is not a good thought. So we improvised!! The ottoman fit nicely up to the side of the couch and that brought much snuggle time for mommy and Dylan. In June Dylan's sister Danielle was born and his world changed. It was daycare, and busy days for mom and dad with a new baby not home yet but in the NICU, then the eventual other challenge of the baby being 40 miles away at the University. Mommy not seeing Dylan in the morning because I was at the hospital by 5am to do feedings and Daddy not seeing Dylan at night because he was at the hospital right after work. But it worked, the baby is now home and what a great big brother Dylan is!

New Year's Eve brought early to bed for Mr. Dylan. A runny nose started and he was exhausted. New Years day brought FOOTBALL galore and most importantly Hawkeye Football. Away we went to a Bowl Party and Dylan had a great day playing with the kids and puppies and tonight he was even more exhausted. Bath and then bed at 6pm and he didn't fight it one bit!

2008 Dylan had many milestones. The most important one was not one hospital stay!! YAY! One whole year without a hospital stay was very exciting!! Dylan begun walking early Spring 2008 and now, he is a running, fun loving, very active and talking 2 year old. And what a little character and a friendly little man. He so much as hears the door creak or someones feet on the floor and he is greeting whomever with 'hi'! We were a little curious as to how Dylan would handle a new baby around. We took him up to the hospital a few times to make the initial acquaintance and made sure we took Dylan with the day we brought Danielle home. We feel this really helped because until just the past few weeks we have not seen any form of jealousy. Now all we see is him wanting to be included when we are in her room changing her diaper etc. So he will stand by the changing table or if she is in her crib we lift him up to see what the baby is doing, this has helped a lot. The equal attention has been key, our sitter has done wonderfully with this also and really we have not let the 'jealously' become and issue.

We can't wait to watch Dylan grow more and more in 2009. What a wonderful gift that we have been blessed with. There isn't a day that goes by that we take our children for granted, we are very fortunate to have them here with us today. Thank you lord for our miracle babies! We ring in the New Year with hopes of a happy, healthy, safe family for the whole year in 2009. We do not want to take any day with our children for granted. We want 2009 to be a year of new beginnings for our family. Bright days, new starts and togetherness. Time surely does just fly by, in September Dylan will be 3 years old. It is hard to believe that today he is just over 2 years old. He is thriving, growing strong and being such a good boy and big brother. We truly love the gifts that god has given to us in 2008 and we are excited to watch that gift, our little boy, grow and learn new things in 2009.
From our family to yours, Happy New Year! May 2009 bring health, prosperity and togetherness for our family and yours.~