Home, Sweet Home

After a couple of crazy weeks, we're finally getting settled! We're back in the townhome we'd been renting out for the last year, and it's so nice to be back. David made some great improvements (I'll post a pic or two when we get all of our computer stuff set up) so in a way it feels like a new place! We love it. Bryan has really enjoyed having a yard and I'm not minding the dirty hands and feet at all! I love looking out at grass and flowers instead of a parking lot, and I really appreciate the extra space we've got here. Matty's favorite part is the stairway, which scares me to death! We're teaching him to go down backwards, but he still seems to think he can do it "big boy" style and makes some scary attempts every now and then. Today we enjoyed going to our favorite parks and walking the great walking paths in the community. I know this fabulous weather won't last for long so I want to enjoy it all as much as I can! David enjoyed doing laps in the pool tonight and looks forward to working out in the gym one of these days soon. =) It's been really fun to see old friends and be back in our old ward where we feel so comfortable. Our "first Sunday" wasn't scary like it normally is after a move. So all in all we're grateful to be back here and look forward to making lots of new memories in this home!

We're moving!

After a year in Draper, we're moving back to our townhome! We have the moving truck scheduled for Monday, so we're really doing it! It seems we've been talking about moving for months, but now the time's really come. For a while we considered buying another home elsewhere, but after much debating we decided this is the smartest thing for us to do right now.

I have mixed feelings about leaving. I'm really going to miss the great friends and people I've met in this area. It's always hard to make connections w/ people and then move on, but I'm hoping I'll be able to keep in touch with people, and we are looking forward to being in our old ward with old friends again. It certainly doesn't make it as scary to leave! I'm also going to miss lots of things in Salt Lake valley and being so close to the airport, etc. I can't say I'm too disappointed to be leaving Ute territory, though... All in all I think it's going to be a good move for us. We'll enjoy more room in our townhome and Bryan's excited about the pool and parks in our community.

Of course, moving is never a fun thing. Our family room is full of boxes and everything's a mess! But the boys have enjoyed building "houses" and playing together, so I guess that's good. I'll just be glad when we're settled again in our new (old) place!

Matty at 16 months

After my last post, I figured I'd better write some happier things about Matthew. He's such a fun little guy - cuter and more entertaining every day. =) Here are some things about him at this age... (It's a lot, but this is my way of keeping track of things!)

- He's not talking yet, but he's very expressive and communicates his wants really well, usually with monkey-like grunts, pointing, and affirmative smiles and laughs when we've found what he wants. He does say "hi" and "Daddy" (not Mommy!), and he can repeat "I love you" Scooby-doo style when he's in the mood. I'm waiting for his vocabulary to explode any day now! But in the meantime it's fun to hear his babble and watch him act things out (no signing, though!).
- His favorite foods include avocados, peas, graham crackers, yogurt, chicken nuggets, rice, strawberries, cheese, fishy crackers, and granola bars. He's a little pickier than he was a couple of months ago, but he's still a pretty good little eater.
- He LOVES taking baths, and will run for the bathroom when I suggest it.
- He goes to bed really well nice and early (6:30-7:00). He uses a pacifier, listens to Primary song lullabies, and insists on holding one of my silky slips. =)
- He growls anytime he sees an animal, bird, fish, dinosaur... Basically, if it moves, he associates it with growling noises.
- He likes to throw things, especially food, and he delights in making messes. The more food he can squish with his hands before throwing, the happier he is!
- He's begun to run and hide from us when he doesn't want to do something or he's doing something he shouldn't. He either hides under the kitchen table, behind the couch, or behind the recliner, and then he peeks out until we've found him. It's never that hard to figure out where he's gone.
- His favorite things are cars, trucks and tractors. He'll pass over every page in our picture books until he gets to the page w/ all the vehicles. Such a boy!
- He loves playing/wrestling with Bryan. The two of them are becoming better and better playmates as Matty is showing more interest in Bryan's toys and Bryan's getting better about sharing (little by little).
- He loves playing outside, climbing stairs, going on swings and slides - anything active and physical. No fear!
- He loves anything with buttons - phones, remotes, TVs, computers, etc. He figured out how to turn on our new TV before I did!
- He's still very sensitive and pretty moody for a little boy. He can throw a darn good tantrum when he doesn't get his way, but he can be a huge sweetheart, too. My favorite thing is when he makes his shy faces. If someone says hi to him or even looks his way he'll duck his face and peek out at them from the corner of his eye with a little grin on his face. So cute! =)

Our sweet Matthew in the hospital

Poor Matty had to go to the hospital this week! Late Sunday night David woke me up and told me Matthew was having trouble breathing. He'd been wheezing all day Sunday, but that night his chest was heaving up and down and he was breathing extra fast, so it was clear he wasn't getting the air he needed. We tried for a couple of hours to sit in our steam-filled bathroom or out in the freezing cold night air to see if either thing would help open up his lungs, but he only got worse, not better. Finally around 3:00 I worked up the nerve to wake up our doctor and she suggested we take him to Primary Children's Medical right away. We arrived at the hospital shortly after 4:00 am, and they put him on oxygen. His oxygen levels were below normal (they should well above 90 and his were in the low to mid 80s), so it was pretty scary for a while. They also did a breathing treatment w/ a nebulizer and stuck tubes down his nostrils to suck up whatever mucus they could get. He hated the tubes down his nose, and though the nebulizer didn't help in the long run a whole lot, it at least calmed him down for a bit.

After a few long hours, they told us they were going to admit him to the hospital and that he'd most likely be in the hospital for a few days. We hadn't expected at all for him to actually be admitted - it was surreal experience to take him up to a room and watch him get hooked up to all the monitors and machines. He'd hardly been sick aside from a cough for a couple of days, and all of a sudden there we were. Turns out he had a severe case of bronchiolitis - the first case the hospital workers had seen this year. He tested negative for RSV and the other common viruses that lead to his complications, so we're not sure how he got it. They kept him on oxygen and monitored all sorts of things that first day. They did at least two other breathing treatments (I lost count) and stuck tubes down his nose to suck out the junk at least two more times as well - poor baby. We rocked a lot in the rocking chair and he slept fitfully off and on. He still had to work really hard to get any air, and the skin around his ribs and on his neck really sucked in every time he took a breath. It was really scary, even though I knew he was getting oxygen and would most likely be okay. I stayed the night w/ him Monday night and cuddled with him in the hospital bed. Niether of us slept much, but it was reassuring to feel him so close and warm next to me. The nurses and doctors were great and did a great job working with him. They came in every couple of hours and took his stats. He developed a high fever which lasted for a while, and they thought at one point that we'd need to do a chest x-ray to see if he'd developed pneumonia, but thankfully that turned out to not be necessary.

The next day David came and and stayed with him for a few hours while I went home to shower, and while I was gone he started acting a little bit more like his normal self - smiling and wanting to play w/ toys. Little by little throughout the day he improved, though he still had to stay on oxygen. He did stop drinking so they had to give him an IV, but he didn't even cry when they put it in! The nurses were amazed. He was such a little trooper! They referred to him as the "model patient." He's just such a sweetheart. It broke my heart to see him with so many tubes and things coming off of him, but he did handle everything surprisingly well. Tuesday night David stayed with him and though David didn't sleep (those hospital beds sure aren't very comfy) Matty slept the whole night through and woke up Wednesday a new little man. He was able to go off the oxygen and maintain good levels on his own (mid 90s), and he was no longer having to work so hard to get air and was breathing at a normal rate. We had to push to get him to get liquids so he could be allowed to leave, and finally around 2:00 in the afternoon they said he was good enough to go home. We had a follow-up appt. w/ his pediatrician today and his oxygen level was at 99 and he seems to be back to his old feisty self!

We're grateful to all the great people at Primary Children's who treated him so well and did so much to make him as comfortable as possible. And we're especially grateful for everyone's prayers on his behalf. We know he was blessed to be able to recover so quickly! I can't imagine what it's like for the families that have children in the hospital for days, weeks, or months even. Not only was it heartbreaking to see him there, but it was hard to not be able to be together as a family. Bryan was certainly patient driving to and from the hospital numerous times, and while he enjoyed the hospital toys and cafeteria food, I'm sure it wasn't easy for him either. On the positive side, this trial made me feel closer to my Father in Heaven, and I'm also grateful for the special one-on-one time I had cuddling with Matthew in that little room. My love for him was deepened through this experience. I'm just so glad he's doing better and hope we don't have to go through anything like that again anytime soon!

(Taken right before we brought him home)

Another haircut for Matt

Matt was starting to get that bobblehead look again, so we decided to give him another haircut. =) We think he looks very handsome with his new buzz!

Easy entertainment

Our crazy boys love it when it's time to vacuum! Bryan calls the vacuum the "monster" and seems to think that the best thing to do is beat the thing as much as possible with whatever kind of sword or "smacker" he can find at the time. Today when I turned the vacuum on Bryan wasn't even around, but Matthew ran to his room and came back with a sword and went at it all on his own. Bryan soon joined him and I could barely move through the house with the two of them on the attack! It's actually quite entertaining for all of us, so sometimes when we're bored I bring out the vacuum regardless of whether or not the carpets need vacuuming. At least I feel productive and the boys think it's all a great game. =)

Wordle

These things are so cool!


You can click on it to see a bigger version. =)

Photo tag

So for this tag I had to go to "My Pictures," open the 4th folder, get the 4th picture and explain it.

This was taken this last summer one of the times we went swimming with Heather and Jake at their apartment complex. I think that this, actually, might have been Matthew's first time in the pool! He loved it, obviously. He LOOOVES playing in water! The bathroom is recently his favorite room in the house because, besides playing in the toilet water (yuck!) and the sink, he's discovered how to turn on the bath - just a trickle - and get his arms and face all wet. He's also a fan of the shower and gets super excited when he hears us turning it on. I should let him take long baths so he can play in the water more often, but he's figured out that it's really funny to do body slams in the water and get me soaking wet! He takes after David and Bryan, I guess. All of my boys love playing in water!

I'll tag... anyone who'd like to be reminded of an old pic and share about it. That's cheating, I know, but oh well. =)

General Conference

I loved watching Conference this last weekend. We stayed at home and had the kids crawling all over us, but I was still so inspired and strengthened by the words of our prophet and church leaders. I loved the counsel to simplify our lives, cherish the small moments with the ones we love, recognize the "angels" around us, be an "angel" for others by serving them or sharing with them gospel truths, express gratitude to our Father in Heaven, seek out virtue and goodness in the dark world around us, strive to have unity, and have hope and keep moving forward even when things are unbearably hard. I enjoyed the spirit that I felt in our home as we listened to the beautiful choirs - Matthew and Bryan both got especially excited when the children's choir sang. Bryan also enjoyed seeing President Monson and the other members of the First Presidency. During different talks certain words would catch his attention and he'd ask questions about what the speakers were saying, allowing for several neat teaching experiences. I'm so grateful for the opportunity we had to hear the leaders of our church. President Monson is such a kind, loving man, and I know that he truly is the prophet of God! I know that through him the Lord leads this church and inspires the leaders of the church to tell us the things we need to know at this time. How blessed we are to have divine guidance in these crazy times!

"I love you, Mom!"

I can't say how many times I've heard Bryan say this to me in the past few days! The other day I tried to count and it was somewhere between 15 and 20 times in one day - at least! He's such a sweetheart. He says it at the most random times, too - in the middle of a computer game, eating a sandwich, getting dressed, driving in the car... There's nothing that brings it on, which makes it all the more sweet. Sometimes he'll give a spontaneous hug or pucker up for a quick, drooly kiss as well! I have to admit that after the 10th time or so I start to get a little like "Okay, Bry, I know you love me. I heard you when you told me just a few minutes ago!" But then I remind myself that this phase may not last long, and I'll be left longing to hear him say those three sweet words so freely. In the meantime I'll treasure every bit of his affectionate nature and thank Heavenly Father for blessing me with such a sweet, loving little boy!

On our own

This past week hasn't been the easiest week for me. First of all, I haven't been feeling too well lately, Bryan's come down with a pretty nasty cough, and Matty has had chronic diarhea for over a month now! Seriously, we change him and within 20 minutes he's stinky again! (Yuck!!) On top of all that, David started his training down in Arizona this week, so he's a real traveling business man now! The only problem is that the boys and I aren't used to being left on our own, so it was a little rough for us the 2 1/2 days he was gone. I know it's not much, and I'm sure we'll get used to him being gone in the coming months. Other moms do it all the time and for much longer amounts of time - surely I shouldn't complain... But I still didn't like it, and poor Bryan got tears in his eyes every time he thought about David and wondered when he was coming home.

The first night actually wasn't all that bad. I got the boys to bed without any problems, and didn't begrudge the fact that I had to feed, bathe, dress, brush teeth, etc. all by myself since there really wasn't any other option! The next day I hung out with my neighbor friend, Catherine, and ran errands with the boys so I was too busy to really think about being all alone. Then Catherine insisted on bringing us dinner since I hadn't been feeling well, and that totally made my night! It was so sweet of her, especially since her idea of an "easy meal" is yummy apricot chicken with couscous on the side! (Thanks, Cass!) After that, unfortunately, things went down hill...

First, I got a migraine and couldn't go to sleep. Then, wouldn't you know it, soon after I do fall asleep Bryan woke me up with his cough and crying, so I brought him into bed with me and listened to his labored breathing for the next hour or so until I drifted off again, only to wake up to Matty crying a short time later. Most moms know how nights like this go. They're endless! Although this one did end too soon for me since Matthew decided he was ready to wake up a little after 5:00 in the morning! I'm sorry, but that is WAY too early for me. I locked all the bathroom doors and basically let him run free while I lay on the couch half conscious for a couple hours until he was ready for an early morning nap, after which I really did lose consciousness for a while. Poor Bryan came up to me several times to give me a kiss on the arm or say something about wanting chocolate milk, but thank goodness for morning children's shows as he stayed pretty well entertained on his own. Around 11:00 I was still in my pj's and the house was a disaster when there was a knock on the door. Thankfully, it was my visiting teacher, who was truly an answer to prayers that day! She offered to take Bryan to play with her son for a few hours, which allowed me to get myself and the house back together and spend some one-on-one time with Matt. It was great! The rest of the day flew by with only a few minor upsets and David was home before we knew it. I'm glad this first time was only for a couple of days - I don't know if I could've handled much more than that! Thank goodness for good friends who helped out probably more than they know, and my sweet boys who put up with me on that especially rotten morning. Most of all, I'm grateful for David, who does so much more for us on a daily (and middle-of-the-night) basis than I give him credit for!