Even MORE Christmas 2008

On Sunday we went to my Grammy Abell's house for her Christmas celebration. She even had Santa stop by!! Caroline was beside herself with excitment. This is the first picture of Caroline sitting on Santa's lap without crying since she was 2 months old (her very first Christmas)! Santa gave each child a "goodie bag" which Caroline thought was very special.

Will, on the other hand, was not having it!

Then he started signing help. So that was it for Will and Santa, maybe next year!

And then, I could just not resist posting these pictures of Mikkah, my nephew. Here he is in all of his sweetness. He calls me "Aunt Me-He", which what can I say, melts my heart every time I hear it. I call him, Chunky Monkey, Mikkah Jo, Jo-Jo or Mo-Mo Monster and I am also known for making him say grasshopper several times a day. Why grasshopper you ask? Because this pecious, sweet, lovable little boy says the word grasshopper as "ass-hopper" but really thinks that he is saying grasshopper. It is the funniest thing ever and I love it!! I laugh so hard every time that he says it he probably thinks I am a bit crazy (which I am not arguing!).

William recieved this Elmo barn in the gift exchange and it was a total hit. He loves it. He has been playing with it non-stop. Thanks Cheri!!

More Christmas 2008

On Saturday we went to Josh's brother and Sister-in-law's house to celebrate Christmas with Josh's side of the family.

The kids scoping out their gifts.

Aunt Andrea and Will.

Will enjoyed sitting on the boxes.


Ruthie loving on her doll.

Caroline and her Littlest pet shop critters. She was super excited about these!!

Ruthie looking too cute for words.

Ruthie and Will checking out Ruthie's new toy. So cute.

Will giving himself a kiss.

Great Grandpa Bill and Great Gramma Sandy with the kids.

Christmas Day 2008

On Christmas day we woke up and opened presents. Caroline was super excited that Santa came to her house and ate her cookies.

Will got a cell phone in his stocking that he was happy with.

Caroline really enjoyed giving her gifts this year. Josh and I took her shopping so that she could buy gifts for Will, Josh and I. They were the first gifts that she handed out, before she opened her gifts from Santa. She was very excited about the gift that Will gave her, a Hello Kitty doll. I gave her a camera, which is total junk. I am so disappointed by that thing. I didn't expect it to take amazing pictures but I did want it to take A picture. She has taken tons of pictures and they are all blurry, she is so disappointed and so am I. Josh gave her a Bitty Baby changing table that she was speechless about!

After opening gifts we got dressed and went to church. Grammy and Papa (Josh's mom and dad) met us there and came over after church. They stayed for a bit and the kids got to show them all of their gifts.

Around noon, my mom, stepdad and sister Marcea came over. We all ate lunch together and hung out. The kids played with their toys, Marcea included.

The tunnel was a huge hit with both the kids and the dog. Buster loves to run through it too. Funny. But this is my favorite picture from the holidays. Marcea and Caroline in the tunnel together.

This is what happens to your hair once you get out of the tunnel!

Christmas Eve 2008

Our Christmas Eve celebration at my Mom and StepDad's house was alot of fun this year. All of the kids were super excited about their presents. They were all super cute!

This is Caroline and her Bitty Baby doll, they had matching dresses and looked absolutely adorable together.

Mikkah (my nephew) peeling an orange. There were cookies and goodies all over the place and he chose to eat an orange! Go figure!


Here is Mikkah showing off his new SpiderMan scooter. He kept looking at the front plate on it and saying "It's SpiderMan!! So funny! He is also wearing his new backpack that we gave him for his leapster game, he loved it!

This is what Will liked to do on the scooter, with someone pushing him.

Will looking cute with drool all over his shirt!

Marcea making a funny face. She was glad to be home from school!

Mom and Marcea.

Marcea and the kids.

The family in front of the tree.

Nana and Poppi with all of the grandkids.

Leslie and Mikkah. Aaron (Leslie's boyfriend) was STILL at work! He wasn't able to come because he works for UPS and they had to get every one's packages to them before Christmas morning!! He didn't get home until after 8pm on Christmas Eve.

We had a great time together on Christmas Eve. We got home in time to leave cookies for Santa.

A little bit...

We are happy to report that we are all healthy now! Caroline is feeling much better and no one else has gotten sick in the last few days! Woo Hoo!!

Will has been going through a "I don't want to take a nap" phase. So in the evening he is extremely tired. One evening he fell asleep on the floor in the living room.

Last night we had dinner with Josh's aunt, uncle and cousin and returned home late. We had to tube feed Will before bed and this is what happened...

Caroline and I have been busy too. She was bored out of her skull so we decided to make these little beauties...

They were really easy to make and Caroline was super excited to be able to use the stapler! So she will be giving them to her Nana, Poppi, Grammy and Papa's, Aunts and Uncles. She is super excited!!

We will be traveling to my Mom and StepDad's house today for Christmas Eve festivities, pictures to follow. Have a Merry Christmas Eve!!!!

It's going around

Hey ya'll, it's been awhile. I know, I know. It has been just crazy around here. First I was sick, then Josh, now Caroline. She hasn't been feeling well since Saturday. I hope that she gets to feeling better soon. Poor kid.

Will was still vomiting. I took him to GI on Friday where they did an upper GI. The test showed reflux, so we have increased his reflux meds and went light on the feeds for 24 hours. He has taken 2 normal feeds today and has kept them down. I hope that we are out of the woods. I am not holding my breath.

We're Home!

My little man is home!

He was released from the hospital yesterday evening at about 6pm. He is doing well and keeping his feeds down. He is glad to be home and able to sleep in his own bed last night. So yeah for Will!! We are glad to be out of the hospital!!!!!!!

But when it is bad it is bad...

I woke up through the night vomiting! I have come down with the flu! Just what I need!! I am feeling pretty crummy but hopefully it is just a 24 hour bug!

Stitch Update

Will is still in the hospital tonight. Josh is at the hospital with him tonight. Today the doctors gave him an enema (the third one in three days), fun! They don't believe that he has the flu, has any obstructions or that he is still constipated. They think that he has an irritation in his GI track causing him to vomit. The doctors said that it usually lasts between 5 and 10 days before the track is healed. They are thinking that he is on the tail end of it since he has been vomiting since Tuesday of last week.

They are keeping him on IV fluids until they are sure that he can keep is pediasure bolus (the tube feedings that we use the pump) down. He is on a clear liquids diet until tomorrow when they will start to slowly give him his pediasure.

We are hoping that he will get to come home tomorrow, but we are not sure. He is being a good boy and handling everything every well. He is getting bored and wants to be up moving around which is hard with an IV.

Thank you all for your prayers and well wishes! I will continue to keep you updated.

Back to the hospital

We had to take Will to the hospital today. He has been vommitting off and on over the last week. We were suspecting constipation and were trying all of the normal remedies with marginal success. Since I was getting ready to travel to Florida, we decided to take him into the emergency room to make sure his pipes were free and clear. The xrays were negative for intestinal issues but did show a significant amount of stool. They want him to stay overnight. They are giving him fluids. Hopefully, everything will begin to move tomorrow. Myssie said that it has been 1.5 years since he has been hospitalized. I guess we had a good run. We'll keep everyone updated.

Sid and Mala Tools

Caroline LOVES this show on PBS in the afternoons. I think it is pretty cute too. There is a song that Sid and his Mom sing on the way to school, it goes "I love my Mom, my Mom is cool. But now it's time for having fun at school!" Caroline and I sing it on the way to school every morning.

Today Caroline came down stairs for supper and I asked her what Sid was about today. She told me that it was about sound and sound waves. Cool. She told me that sound travels in waves and that is how it goes into our ears so that we can hear it. Very cool.

Then she told me about another Sid show that she had seen a few days ago. She told me that when we smell something the "mala tools" go into your nose and you smell them but you can't see, taste or hear "mala tools". Only smell.

I gave her a funny look, I am sure. I had no idea what "mala tools" where. Mala tools, mala tools....ahhhhh, molecules!! I love her!!

But I am so impressed by this show!! I mean molecules at 5 years old!! I love it! And she has learned other stuff as well. Like charts, nutrition, exercise, senses, estimation and inventions. Kids usually don't like science in school but maybe this show will help kids to realize that science is COOL!!

We got Elfed!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Hermie Part 2

Okay so I know the answer to my question...why do hermit crabs come out of their shell? Answer....to die. Poor Hermie, may he rest in peace, has gone to hermit crab heaven.

Caroline took it well. She blamed me for not feeding him!

Hermie the Hermit Crab

Pretty sure I know nothing about hermit crabs. All I do is give it water and food every few days and it's good. This afternoon as I was putting the dishes in the dishwasher I noticed this...

That's right, ladies and gentlemen, we have a NAKED hermit crab!! AAAKKK!!!

I am guessing that he has outgrown his shell. So Caroline and I put a new shell in the container (the new shell is almost the size of the container) but he hasn't crawled into the new shell...still NAKED!!

I am pretty sure that they like to live in shells, right? So why is Hermie still naked??

I need some help!

What are you getting your Special Sweeties for Christmas?

I am having trouble coming up with gifts for Will that I know that he will enjoy. Caroline is cake, she tells me what she wants (sometimes too much). Will is a mystery.

Here is what I have so far...

A Wheely Bug Cow!! Isn't it cute!!

It sits low enough to the floor that his feet reach and it is easy to stear. And HELLO, it's a COW!!!

And this tunnel that I found at IKEA. This is one of those good "therapy" toys.

Some Signing Time DVDs.

And that is all I got! I am at a loss. Have you found something that you think your Special Sweetie will love? I have gotta know!!

Baths

This morning Will put Mr. Cow into the dog's water bowl, again. Mr. Cow got a bath. During Will's nap he threw up, all over Mr. Cow. Mr. Cow got a bath. No more than two minutes after getting Mr. Cow out of the dryer for the second time today, Will decided to put Mr. Cow in the toilet. Mr. Cow got a bath.

So let's review...

Dog bowl...bath.

Dog bowl, again...bath.

Puke...bath.

Toilet...bath.

That's right folks, Mr. Cow has been in the washing machine 4 times with in the past 24 hours. Poor Mr. Cow.

I can only laugh at this point.