Home again home again jiggity jig!

We got home this morning from the hospital. Since we were in the E.R. most of the day on Tues. I figured we were there 5 days and 4 nights. A few days too many for me. Ethan is doing better today. He actually has an appetite and is eating a little more. He is still a sick little boy and very weak from everything, but I think we are on the mend.

While in the hospital he mastered saying "hi" and with a big grin and waving really cute at all the nurses. We sure love him and are so glad to have him home! Thanks for all of your prayers for him! We are grateful he's getting better.

Zombie Mom

So we are in the hospital yet another night. I ran to the store this evening to get us a few groceries. I did not realize until I was about half-way done with shopping that I forgot to put on my shoes...and yes it was snowy, wet and cold outside. I got a few odd looks. I feel like a walking zombie with an impeccable style!

This is what I ventured outside in!

(I have been wearing my cute leopard flip-flop/slippers in the hospital room...I had my socks on with them because my feet have been cold.)

Oh dear.

Let Me Out!

Well...we are still in the hospital. Ethan has a little more energy and is doing better, so hopefully we will get to go home tonight. He is starting to get a little cabin fever, since he can only move around in his crib/cage. He is inventing new games today...

This game he tried to get out of his crib and get the graham crackers. He was a little ticked when he got stuck!

In this game he kept sticking his forehead out of the bars to touch my forehead. He also thought it was funny to give kisses through the bars.

Maybe if I click the red shoes I'm wearing today 3 times we'll be home tonight!

Hospital Stay

The day after we got home (Weds.) from the E.R. Ethan still didn't feel much better. I called the nurses station at the hospital and the male nurse that I talked to was very patronizing. He basically called me a neurotic mother and told me of course my son was sick and that there was nothing they could do for us at the hospital. I of course broke down crying on the phone and got a little ticked off at the guy. As the mom I knew that something was not right. He was so limp and listless.
After a good nap he had a little more energy and seemed to be holding down a little food - so we thought he was on his way up. We even gave him his birthday bear...which he loved!

Anyway, a couple of hours later he was so sick again, so we decided to bring him back to the E.R. This time we got a great doctor that actually was concerned and paid attention to us. They found out he was really dehydrated and decided to admit him to the hospital. He's been on an IV since last night. This evening he has been able to keep down a little food and has more energy to play. The highlight for us was when he pulled himself up to the standing position in his industrial strength zoo cage (also known as his crib). That was the first time we have seen him stand in days!

We've been holding up pretty well. We are a little exhausted, and Ethan is scared to death of any person that comes into the room with medical equipment (he's been poked too many times.)We are really grateful for good hospitals, doctors, and nurses. I can't imagine living in pioneer times without access to healthcare. We are just happy he is starting to feel a little better. We've missed his mischief and fun little antics.

We're not sure when we are going home yet...but maybe tomorrow morning!

An E.R. Themed Birthday Party

Some kids get to go to Chuck E. Cheese on their birthday, some kids get a big party with a lot of presents...Ethan spent his first birthday in the Emergency Room.
He has been so sick, he can't keep anything down so worried about dehydration we took him to the E.R. We spent about 5 hours there. They hooked him up to an IV and filled him full of fluids. The most traumatizing part for Ethan (and for his mom) was when the nurses drew blood and then couldn't find a vein for the IV and had to poke his feet twice. He was hysterical! Kicking, screaming, weeping, wailing, it took all of my strength not to scream at them to leave my poor child alone. They ended up having to call the Life Flight team to come down to give him his IV.

I wish I could say that he feels better, but as soon as we pulled into the driveway on our way home he got so sick again! I'm worried about our big one year old!

He did get to watch Baby Einstein, and the nurse gave him some stickers before we came home, but all in all I would rather not have another E.R. themed birthday party!

He was not amused by the peach colored gown.

If looks could kill...he was not even willing to attempt to smile for anyone!

Last night we had a terrible storm, one that you feel like the roof is going to blow off your house at any second - I was worried about Ethan, our basement flooding, and our house being struck by lightning, and I couldn't sleep...so what else to do but decorate the house for the sick little boy's birthday!

(I wanted to put up pictures of how Ethan has grown every month this past year...I've included all of the pictures that I hung up below!)

But poor little Bubba couldn't even make it through opening one package from Grammy Tammy! He got through one present and then just laid on the floor.

Here are the pictures I hung on the wall:

Look How I've Grown

1 Day Old

1 Week Old

1 Month

2 Months

3 Months

4 Months

5 Months

6 Months

7 Months

8 Months

9 Months

10 Months

11 Months

Oh how I love this little boy! Being in the hospital today with all of the hospital smells totally took me back to this day last year when Ethan was born. Since it was a planned C-Section, we knew exactly when he would be coming. I remember the night before he was born, it felt so surreal to know that we would have a son joining us the next morning. I was scared, nervous, but SO excited to see and meet our baby!

I loved him from the first minute I got to hold him in my arms.

He was about 9 pounds and had fat little cheeks, the nurses were shocked and nicknamed him Bubba. I thought he was the cutest little baby I had ever seen. I was so impressed that he could use his toes to pull his hospital bracelets and alarm off of his ankles. I loved that the second night in the hospital, he ate and fell asleep - so we sent him to the nursery so we could get a little sleep. The nurse came back after 15 mins. and said, "you need to feed this baby, he won't stop crying." She handed Ethan to me and he instantly stopped crying, snuggled into me and fell right back asleep, it was so sweet! I think that's the moment I felt like I really was a mom.

Even though there have been overwhelming days this past year (like the first day it was just Ethan and I at home after my mom left and Clark went back to school...I was still pretty sore and Clark came home and found this...he was laughing so hard he had to take a picture of my superior mothering skills).

(the trash can just seemed so far away)

And there have been days when Ethan's little red hair comes out in his determined little personality...

But I can't think of anything better than being a mom to my sweet little boy. Everyday he has brought more joy into my life than I even knew existed. He has been the happiest, sweetest little guy. I laugh that everynight when I check on him while he is sleeping I have to go get Clark to come look because "he seriously looks so cute right now." I just can't get enough. I love his curiosity, determination, friendliness, giggle and cheesy grins!

Before he was born I was really worried about being a stay-at-home mom. "What could I possibly fill my time with?!" Now I laugh that I even had that concern. Being with Ethan everyday is the best and honestly I can't think of anything I would rather be doing. This last year has flown by too fast!

Everynight I thank my Heavenly Father for allowing me the blessing to have Ethan in our home! I love my little one year old!

Happy Birthday Ethan!

Two Tales of Turbulent Travel (Spring Break 2009)

Clark had all last week off from school for Spring Break. So we were able to spend 9 days in Durango relaxing and hanging out with his parents, brothers, sisters in law, niece and nephews. It was a wonderful trip besides the actual getting to and from there.

Tale #1
We left on Friday the 13th and there was a full moon that night. We should have known it was going to be a long night. Our plane left Des Moines late and we missed our connecting flight in Denver by 4 mins...the plane was still sitting there but they would not let us on. Luckily Ethan was so cute with the United employee at the gate that she hooked us up with a hotel room for that night. (There were several others on our flight that weren't so lucky that spent the night in the airport). Ethan was so exhausted when we got to the hotel he couldn't sleep. He stayed up until 2:30 am (3:30 Des Moines time) and then we got up at 5:30 am to head back to the airport. Saturday morning we were so happy to actually get to Durango!

Tale #2
Yesterday all of our flights ran perfectly on time. Unfortunately, Ethan came down with a bad stomach flu on Sat. We were hoping he would be okay on the plane. We packed tons of paper towels, diapers and baby wipes. Within a couple of mins. after takeoff Ethan threw up all over Clark, himself and his blanket.
Unfortunately for us we were on a small plane and it was a day when the friendly skies were not so friendly and the air was turbulent. We bounced and bobbed and rolled along. All of the motion, along with Ethan's unpleasant aroma wafting through the air, and along with the sickening smell of the bubble gum flavored lotion the lady was using behind me...I had to pull out my motion sickness bag. I was concentrating so hard on not using it I didn't even notice Clark.
When I looked over at him he was sweating and muttering angrily about the turbulent air, the pilot made an announcement that we had 10 more mins...and Clark grumbled, "that's not soon enough!" That's when I knew we were in trouble.
Next thing I knew Clark traded me Ethan for my air sick bag and filled it more than once. I don't think anyone liked us on the plane. We finally arrived in Denver. We changed Ethan's clothes, bought a lovely dry shirt for Clark on clearance at a gift shop, and a new blanket for Ethan (to be used like a tarp on our next flight.) The next leg was just as special. We were so happy to arrive back in Des Moines.
Then the fun really started. Clark now has the same bug that Ethan has. Ethan is still sick and only wants his mom (right now he is sleeping). I hate seeing them sick. It is so hard. Ethan has not had much to eat or drink at all the last 2 days. We took him to the doctor this afternoon and were told to take him to the ER if he doesn't get better in the next 24 hours. I'm just bummed that we had to cancel his birthday party for tomorrow night. Poor kid! At least he isn't old enough to know he's missing out on something. It is rainy and the sky is gray...I guess Spring Break is officially over, welcome home to us!

But back to the good times:
Spring Break was great! We had so much fun! Here are a few pictures that highlight the trip!

The best part was hanging out with family. Ethan loved his grandparents!

The weather was beautiful! We enjoyed being outside for a few trips to the park, a fun walk along the river with Lucy and Henry, a picnic for the girls, and people watching with Delanie downtown while eating chocolate!

Seeing all of the baby calves definitely made it feel like Spring. They were so cute. It is so fun to see how the moms take care of their babies. Ethan was fascinated with the cows and loved Jackson (the dog).

One of the little calves was an orphan and had to be fed with a bottle and separated from the other cows. I felt so sorry for the little orphan calf. One morning Vaughn discovered that one of the calves had died during the night. So he skinned it and tied the hide onto the orphan calf. The mother of the deceased baby started taking care of the orphan calf like it was her own. I thought that was pretty ingenious. The best part was that the little orphan calf was brown but wearing the hide of a black calf so it looked pretty interesting!

Swimming at the Rec Center.

Bowling with everyone! I think I may have been in the middle of my best game ever (and that is when Ethan got sick). Poor little guy and poor everyone else who had to watch it and clean it up. Sorry to everyone for putting a damper on the fun day.


Back in Des Moines...don't you like Clark's new shirt?
Can we have Spring Break again?

Unexpected

So last night I was at the school at a meeting and Clark was at the school studying. I called him when I left and he said he wouldn't be too far behind.
I got home, put Ethan to bed and waited a little while longer than I thought for Clark to come home. Finally I heard an unfamiliar truck pull into the driveway. My first thought was "oh great, the Buick finally died." But no, Clark's friend Tyler gave him a ride home not because the Buick wouldn't start...but because they could not get the Buick's doors open. Apparently the 40 degree drop in weather was more than the little Buick could handle and it was frozen shut!
That was a first for us. A little bit unexpected because it is March, but it is Iowa! The good news is that the car was still there this morning and the Buick is back home tonight.

On a roll...

This morning Ethan has been on a roll...

He managed to spill an entire box of cereal and eat quite a bit of it all while I quickly loaded the dishwasher.

Then he managed to empty out part of his dresser and pull it down (thank goodness the chair was there to catch it) all while I quickly pulled my hair into a ponytail.

Its not even lunch yet and we are on a roll!

Happy Monday!

Victory Dance!

I love watching Ethan's determined little face as he is learning to walk. It is amazing how fast babies can learn, he knows how to balance himself and fall gently after just a couple days of walking. My favorite part is that after he walks he gets so excited and proud of himself. He bobs up and down and makes a little noise and shouts, his own unique victory dance! This video catches his sweet victory.

Ethan is going to start running with his Dad!

A little video of silly playing and cute giggling! A great distraction from working on my Relief Society lesson preparations. There is just too much fun playing with Clark and Bubba!

My favorite part of that video is that right before I got the camera out Ethan was laughing so hard at Clark making that sound. By the time I shot the video he was done with the game and giving us a look like my parents are the weirdest. We get that look a lot!

It's beginning to look a lot like Springtime!

We broke records today in Iowa!

The warmest day on record...it was in the 70's and it was delightful! We had a picnic lunch with Clark at the school and then Ethan and I joined up with some friends and went to Gray's Lake.

Ethan's hair also broke a record I'm sure for the coolest red comb over in the state! His hair is getting out of control, the days I try to tame it makes it even worse.

Gray's Lake is a little lake here in town that has a 2 mile path around it. There is also a sandy beach and a playground. Today it was a popular spot for walkers, runners, stroller riders, dogs and even an intense roller blader that sang to her ipod as she went.

There is also a cool bridge that is part of the path. At night there are reflective panels that make the bridge look like it has multi-colored lights.

I thought Ethan would be as thrilled as I was to be outside in the sun, but I think he was just shocked! He probably can't even remember the last time he went outdoors without being bundled up and his mom racing from the car to wherever we were going. We started at the playground.

I couldn't even buy a smile from him when he rode the swing next to his friend Rivers.

He clung to me when I took him out of the swing (and he never does that). Poor kid is scared of the sun (it was really windy too so maybe that was part of it)! I think this is a sign that winter has been long enough for us! I am so excited for spring. Yes, the lake was still partially frozen and yes, I do know it will probably snow again...but today did give me hope that winter will someday end!

Ethan after our walk. He looks thrilled doesn't he!?

This was just a picture I took earlier this week that I love. Clark was having a snack and Ethan wanted to join him. So they shared a sandwich, I think they look like a couple of good buddies!