Quinn's First Ambulance Ride

Thursday started out as a normal day, we met some friends at Windsor Lake for playing in the sand and swimming.  After being there a little while Quinn started to get fussy, I didn't think much of it because I knew he was ready for a nap.  Then I noticed he was scratching his neck like crazy, and had a really terrible rash.   I still wasn't too worried, I dumped my water bottle on some wipes and started wiping him down to cool him down.  I thought he had finally calmed down and was snuggling into me, but when I looked at him his face was swollen and bright red, he had giant hives on his eyes and was struggling breathing.  He couldn't cry or make noise, just wheezing and coughing a little.
It was so scary!  At first I thought maybe it was just the wind bothering him so I took him into the bathroom for a minute, but it didn't get better.  So I threw him in the car (leaving my older boys at the beach with friends) and started driving like crazy back towards Greeley.  I was probably only in the car about 15 mins. but it was the LONGEST 15 mins. ever.  When I got to the Emergency Center I pulled him out of his seat and ran inside, he was limp, still coughing a little, eyes completely swollen AND totally smiling at me.  They immediately gave him some Benadryl, steroids, and a breathing treatment and he started doing better right away.  We took off his clothes and saw he was covered in hives.
Once he started breathing better I figured they would send us home, but because he was so bad when he came in and it was an anaphylactic event we had to be admitted to the hospital...and it was protocol to transport us on an ambulance!

A view I hope to never see again!

We ended up being treated in the hospital until Friday afternoon.  When his pediatrician saw him that morning she heard a stridor cough and a little wheezing and wanted to keep observing us.

He was a little trooper.  He hated the pulseox on his toe, and didn't like being hooked to cords.  I think the medicine made him irritable.  It was a long day for everyone!

We will meet with an allergist Monday and try to figure out what happened.  We now get to carry epi-pens with us (I really hope I don't have to use it).  I was surprisingly calm during the ordeal (besides my racing heart and the fact that I couldn't remember his birthday when I was checking him into the ER), I think there is a survival instinct that kicks in and I just did what I had to do.  However, that afternoon when Clark finally met up with us at the hospital, the adrenaline was gone and I felt like I had been hit by a truck.  Now all of my boys have been admitted to the hospital while they are babies for freak things that without the help of modern medicine could have been fatal.  I'm so grateful that we live in a place and during a time when this kind of help is readily available.  I'm so grateful for my litttle Quinn and that he is feeling better today!  

Summer Solstice

Smelling Sunscreen

Splashing

Sonic Sipping

Sizzling

Sssssssssummer is here!

Quinn at 7 Months

This last month brought a lot of "firsts" for little Quinn.

He had his first time swimming and loved it!

When he hit 6 months we started solid foods, he eats rice cereal and several types of baby food...but his favorite was corn on the cob.

He is a little joy!

Check out the thighs, just chillin' after church.

The biggest change is how he is on the move!  He gets up in the crawling position and goes backwards.  He is always scooting around and can get to anything in the room.  Now that he is wearing shorts his knees are getting rug burns.

He also loves to sit and play with things, this past week if he is on his belly he has figured out how to get back into a sitting position.  Tonight the boys were loving watching him do push-ups...he really was in a perfect push-up position going up and down, it was awesome!  He wants to be moving and I just feel like his little body is trying to keep up with his mind, he wants to run with his brothers!

His hair makes a pretty nice comb over look these days.  He's a handsome little buddy.

Now that he is moving and sitting up more his brothers pay a little more attention to him, which he loves!

I feel like this past month he is turning into a Daddy's boy.  He lights up when Clark gets home.  I think he knows that there is a lot of fun to be had with Dad around.

Giggling like crazy as he flies through the air!

I'm loving the sunny days with my blanket baby!

Nothing is safe anymore around Quinn.  He broke a glass that I thought was far away from him while sitting in his Bumbo on the counter top.  He grabs for everything.

Grabbing for the box Clark was using...

He won!

Now if we could just get him to sleep a little better at night!  The other day he took a nap in his seat at my Zumba class, totally fell asleep to the loud music.  We are going to try blasting Pitbull and Shakira at night and see if that helps!

We love Quinn!  This little baby just makes me smile!

Pride Comes Before The Fall

Tonight Clark is working late and we had a tee-ball game at 7:00, so I had the great idea to take the boys to dinner before the game.  Old Chicago supposedly had .99 cent kids meals on Weds. so I thought it would be cheap, fun, and I wouldn't have to cook.  Win, win, win!
When we got there we ordered our food and were having a good time together.  My 3 little boys were being polite and well behaved.  I looked around and had the thought, "yay me, I got this, all alone with 3 little boys at the restaurant and rockin' it, I got this mom thing down!"  I gave myself a big mental high 5!
Then the bill came.
First thing I noticed was that the kids meals were not actually .99 cents, they stopped that promotion awhile ago.  Bummer.  So I reached in the diaper bag for my wallet...just then I had a very clear memory of leaving my wallet by the computer after calling about a bill earlier in the day.  I didn't have my wallet!!!  I flagged the waitress down and told her what I had done...I promised I would come back, I even offered to leave my diaper bag as collateral.  They were actually super nice about it.
So I ran Ethan to his game, asked a mom to watch out for him...then I ran home, got my wallet, ran back to the restaurant to pay, and then back to the tee-ball game.
When I got there all of the parents were excited to tell me that Ethan made the first out of the whole season.  I didn't even know they had outs in this tee-ball league.  Apparently, he caught the ball near third and ran back and tagged the base.  I'm not sure he even knew what he had done, and the little girl he got out was also surprised.  I was bummed I missed his big moment!

THEN, while we watched the rest of the game I let Caden push Quinn around in the stroller.  I was horrified (along with several other parents) to look over and see our big double stroller on it's side, with Quinn still buckled into his baby seat on the ground.
Mother of the year right here!  I took away my mental high 5 from earlier!  Then I caught a glimpse of myself when we got in the car.  I promise I looked somewhat put together when we left the house.  

Happy Wednesday!

Lakeside Father's Day

Yesterday we kidnapped Clark and drove him to Lakeside Amusement Park in Denver!  I bought a Groupon for a really good deal for Clark for Father's Day.  When we first pulled into the parking lot I was a little nervous, because it was in a shady part of town and looked a little sketchy...and I'm kind of notorious for selecting activities that sound better on paper than they actually are (my brothers still won't let me live down the Halloween Cruise).

But oh my, it was such a fun day!  So fun that we stayed until 11 pm!  The park is over a century old and hasn't been updated too much.

 The first ride Ethan went on was the big white roller coaster (similar to the white roller coaster at Lagoon).  Clark said he started holding onto the bar, but as soon as they started down the first big hill Ethan was clutching his arm so hard.  He was a bit of a roller coaster junkie, as soon as he finished he would beg to do it again.

Before the first big ride!

Wooden roller coaster cars.

Going with mom.

Poor Caden had a hard time when he wasn't tall enough for some rides, he has no fear and just wanted to ride everything.  Luckily there were plenty of things to keep him entertained too!

Before the Tilt-O-Whirl...Clark doesn't handle the spinny rides so I had the privilege!  And yes, I'm still feeling a bit dizzy.

Brother buddies had so much fun riding together.

Quinn even got in on the action with his first carousel ride!

 Quinn was such a little trooper!  He didn't need any big rides...just some tree time!

 It was just such a fun family day with lots of laughing together.  Clark and I loved watching the boys grin and giggle on all of the rides.

These boys sure love their Dad!  Last week we were shopping for new boots for Clark for Father's Day.  The boys found boots and horses all on their own so they could be a cowboy just like their Dad.

Not everyday we see little cowboys in boots and swimsuits!

To celebrate today the boys helped me make Dad's favorite dessert, chocolate cake!  Caden was such a great helper he had chocolate in his hair!

So grateful for all of the Dad's I have in my life this Father's Day!

Girls are Cute and Boys are Awesome

This is something Caden says all the time.  I don't know where he got it from but at least once a day he says to me, "momma, you are cute...and I am awesome...girls are cute and boys are awesome."  If I tell him he's cute he gets mad and reminds me that he is a boy!

Boys really are awesome!  Boys are creative!
I looked out the window and found Ethan "practicing for tee-ball" with a bike pump, broken squirt gun and the police helmet!  Love it!

Boys think that boots go with everything...even in the summer!

Boys are adventurous!

A few weeks ago we went to Johnstown BBQ days.  It wasn't a particularly warm day, 70 degrees and windy.  It is the tradition at the end of the parade for the firemen to hook up their hoses and spray the road and the kids that want to get wet.  My boys were right in the middle of it.

After the parade we went around the park and did a few little activities.  They had a dunk tank where you sit under the water, and when someone hits the target it spills on your head.  Well, of course Ethan wanted to get wet so he did it...and then Caden just had to do what Ethan does.  Everyone was horrified when they saw little Caden sit down in the dunk chair.  His face was priceless when the water hit him.  He bolted out of that chair 100 mph, he was in shock, and wanting to cry, but he didn't.  I will never forget that little face, it still makes me laugh thinking about it.

 These brothers are best friends.  The oldest brother always has big plans and the little brother is always willing to go along with it...which is not always a good thing.  On Sunday we were visiting friends and the boys were having fun on the trampoline (the bounceline) as Caden calls it.  When they got off there was no ladder to get back on.  So Ethan came up with a plan.  He decided that they should use the teeter-totter near the trampoline, he figured he could launch Caden from the teeter-totter to the tramp with no problems.  Well, I heard Caden bawling so I went out to investigate, he was in a little pile near the teeter-totter.  When I asked Ethan what happened he said, "well I tried to launch him from the teeter-totter to the tramp, I told him to let go and I came up and jumped on the other side of the teeter-totter as hard as I could...he did get launched, but missed the tramp."  Oh. My.  I'm glad I didn't see that one happen.

A Bed of Brothers

Little boys are snuggly!
Our new favorite place to read stories is on the bottom bunk bed, because  it can be a pirate ship or a rocket ship...but never just a bed.

When I get a little morning nuggle it usually includes more dogs than boys.

Quinn thinks boys are awesome too!  He just lights up when his brothers talk to him and loves to watch them play.  I snapped this picture while Quinn was watching them wrestle, he thought it was so funny!

So I agree with Caden that boys are awesome...but don't tell him I also think boys are pretty darn cute too!