To Hell and Back

That is how I think Carter must being feeling right now. After being sick for 9 days and having crying spells in the middle of the night that would last for 30 minutes and sometimes up to an hour, we had decided it was time find out what was going on. The advice nurse told us to bring him in the ER right away so off we went at 6:00 am Tuesday morning. The doctor quickly decided that Carter needed to have every test known to man -- x-ray, straight catheter for urine sample, IV (it took four pokes to get one), and an ultra sound. It was one of the most excruciating things that I have been through as a parent. Carter was screaming the entire time and what he was screaming was "MAMA." I felt helpless!!

The tests reveled what appeared to be something called "intussusception." Intussusception occurs when one portion of the bowel slides into the next, much like the pieces of a telescope. It is very common in children under 3. So the next course of action was to perform a barium enema to both diagnose and treat a suspected intussusception and if that treatment didn't work, perform surgery. However, before they can do this test they needed to give Carter Morphine, which should give you an idea how painful it was. When they did the test, there was no sign of the intussusception, so they think he probably had it and that it resolved it self. That said, the radiologist said that he just thought he was extremely backed-up. So, after that sigh of relief we thought we were going home, but they decided that they wanted to keep him over night to watch him - no food or drink and a big IV - YUCK! I stayed with him last night and he did great, although I didn't get any sleep.

Thankfully, he was back to his normal self this morning and we were discharged from the hospital. I am so thankful that he is feeling better and that 99.9% of the time he is a healthy, happy little boy!

The Flu

Our poor little Carter has been super sick since Sunday. He has diarrhea and has been throwing-up (sorry - too much information). It started Sunday evening with diarrhea and by Tuesday night he was throwing-up. We thought he was getting better but yesterday he was having horrible stomach cramps so off to the doctor we went, where he basically told it is probably the flu but could be salmonella (we took him to a petting zoo on Sunday). But since there really isn't anything they can do for him we were sent home. Will is out of town, so last night I was praying for a peaceful night, but ended up being up with him from 2:00 - 4:00 am with diarrhea and vomiting and up for good at 6:00 am. Needless to say I am exhausted today and am really worried about him. I hope he gets better soon!

Happy Anniversary!

It is hard to believe that Will and I have been married 8 years today!! How did 8 years go by so fast? It seems like yesterday that we were filled with excitement about getting married, wondering what married life would be like and making all sorts of plans for our future. Today, I can honestly say that being married to Will is better than I could ever have imagined. This is just a snapshot of some of the major things that we have been through over the past 8 years:

• Purchased our first home
• Added Jack to our family
• Attended countless Duck football games
• Will made a major career change and I was laid-off from my job all at the same time (good times)
• Struggled through 2 very painful years of infertility
• 1 twin pregnancy
• 73 days on strict hospital bedrest
• We were blessed with the birth of 2 healthy baby boys
• The loss of 2 grandparents
• 4 tropical vacations and our first trip to Maui with Carter and Jacob
• And countless more good times with my best friend - Will

Happy Anniversary Will! I love you and I can't wait to see what the next 8 years brings to us!

Last Days of Summer

Since summer is almost over we decided to take the boys and Jack for a day trip to the beach before the weather turns to 9 months of rain. My parents and sister Sarah also came with us which was a huge help and the boys love spending time with their grandma and papa.

Our first stop was lunch at Mo's and then it was off to the beach. The boys had a great time playing in the sand, shoveling sand and building a sand castle with papa. Jacob had a great time getting his feet wet but Carter just kept saying "cold, brrrrr." It definitely was not like the ocean in Maui.

On the way home Will and I were talking about how much fun we had with them and how it use to seem like trips like this would have been impossible. They are growing up so fast.

Fasten your seat belts

Can you imagine what it is going to be like teaching these two to drive??

I'm Officially...

... a soccer mom!! Carter and Jacob started "Scoccertots" today. It is an indoor soccer class that is geared for little ones. The class teaches them a little bit soccer while letting them run around with the ball, play with bubbles, etc. They absolutely loved it and I think it completely wore them out (mission accomplished). It was so cute to see them kicking the ball across this huge soccer field. They always say that if you start to learn things young it is much easier. That is so true - they were kicking the ball around like "real" soccer players by the end of class. Will was even able to come to their first class which was a nice treat for me and the boys. They had a great time and we can't wait to go back next week.

Auntie Erika and Uncle "Abby"

Carter and Jacob don't get to see Will's sister Erika and her husband Abbas as often as we would like since they live in Ashland, however they did make it up to see the boys for a day over the Labor Day weekend. The boys almost immediately took to uncle Abbas. The only problem was they couldn't say Abbas and so he became known as "Abby." They left on monday and every morning since Jacob asks about "Abby" :)

Say Cheese

I have been trying to teach the boys how to smile for pictures and Carter thinks he has figured it out. Check out all of the new photos I have of him "smiling." :)

Flying Food

Okay, when it comes to mealtime, let's just say that things have not been going well. Jacob has decided that if: (a) he doesn't like what we are having or (b) is all done, that the perfect place for his food to go is on the floor where our dog, who is allergic to everything, quickly gobbles it up. It does not help that while I am trying desperately to remain calm and reason with Jacob, Carter is laughing hysterically.

For example, yesterday we came home from the zoo and only had a short amount of time before we needed to leave the house due to a showing. I quickly whipped up a peanut butter and jelly sandwich which is promptly thrown onto the floor and eaten by Jack. "Jacob you have a choice to make, you can either eat your lunch or go sit in time out." Round two, new sandwiches. Same result. As you can imagine, I am beginning to boil on the inside while trying to remain calm. Yesterday, he didn't like what I was offering but some days, it is just when he is close to being done that the food starts flying. So, as you can tell, the mealtime antics need to stop or they are going to push their mommy over the edge. I really hope this stage passes quickly.

How did they get so big?

Carter and Jacob's oldest and dearest friends are Coen and Emme whose parents we met in the NICU just a couple of days after our boys were born. Coen and Emme are only 5 days older and live just 5 minutes away from us. Our boys have been playing with them since the very beginning. The other day we had them all together and decided it would be fun to take a picture of them just like we did only a couple of months after they were born. They were all so little when they were born, but as you can see, these little preemies aren't so little anymore!!

THEN
NOW