On the mend....

E is finally starting to feel a little better, get his appetite back and let me put him down for more than 2 seconds. Hopefully we can all stay healthy now for awhile.

Picture Perfect

And the sickness carries on.......

Well after 9 agonizing days of giving A her antibiotics for pneumonia - she wakes up on the 10th day and asks to take her medicine - WHAT? - whose child are you?? I was ready to stop the medicine early (I know you are not supposed to) but I was soooooo tired of the fight, battle, pin-down hold every morning - I wasn't sure it was worth it anymore - but we made it...to only find out 6 days later that now little E is sick. But not with pneumonia - Adenovirus - (whatever that is) - I have never heard of it until today - but I guess that is what they are calling it - He was tested for 7 different viruses and this one came back positive - So again we have high fevers, runny nose, sore throat, no appetite, red eyes - super cranky - the list goes on.....not treatable with anything but good ole' tylenol or motrin - and oh yes - definitely contagious. Will we ever get healthy again??? And where do they pick this stuff up - I don't take them to the grocery store with me - I rarely take them shopping with me - I just don't get it....but alas this too we will survive - we hope. We've had some long nights that last couple nights and this looks to be another.
Here E is sporting the "wash cloth" look - he is just so warm I've been putting a cold wash cloth on his face to try and cool him down.

Movin' on UP

So - we decided to switch the cribs around last night....make E's into a toddler bed for A and give E, A's crib. (it was a bit of work - given that both cribs had to be taken almost completely apart) We felt A was ready for the toddler bed - hope we were not wrong. She was super excited about the bed last night - but don't be deceived by this face - she was utterly distraught when it was actually time to go to bed. I sat in her room with her and tried to reason with her and calm her down for about 20 minutes (didn't work) - so E took over and spent over an hour in her room with her trying to help her realize it was okay to sleep in this bed, calm down and get her to go to sleep. I was ready to give up and turn it back into a crib.....but we decided to give it one more try - just lay her down, walk away and tell her it was time for bed - IT WORKED! - And at 6:55 am this morning she came trotting into our room - saying "I awake, I awake". We'll see how the nap goes this afternoon - wish me luck.

O Christmas Tree

A, proudly showing off the decorated tree.....we'll have to post a picture of it at night. (It's a bit "charlie brownish" - we know - but it works).

The Great Tree Hunt....

This was the 2nd annual tree hunt.....last year it was bitter cold....We were happy that the temps were at least above 30 this year.

Little E - all ready to go....there was a still a dusting of snow on the ground from a snowfall we had early last week.


I am not sure what A thought about all these clothes on.....but she certainly stayed warm.


2 kids - All packed up....now the question was "how long will they agree to stay in these packs?"


And the hike begins.....


Still hiking - 1 kid has decided he no longer is enjoying the ride.


And now 2 kids have decided they are done and ready to walk (or be carried) after a brief time of exploring the snow...


Finally - the "perfect tree" - it took quite a while to find the tree this year...the area was really over-picked - so we didn't have a lot to choose from and if there was a perfect one in sight - it of course was on the other side of the creek - which was impossible to cross without getting wet....This was actually tree #2 - after we cut the first tree we decided it actually wasn't all that spectacular so we re-planted it and began the hunt for another.


The walk back - 1 tree, 2 kids (now out of there "packs"), 2 empty kelty packs, 4 adults, a tree saw and a camera....needless to say it was a slow walk back - but we made it.

Here we are - and where is our tree???....well I guess we forgot to get a picture with the actual tree....but it made it home on top of the van and is resting nicely in the garage for now.

Lessons in Turkey.....

E got his first lesson in cleaning, stuffing and baking a turkey.....I opted out!


The BIRD.... stuffed and ready for the oven.


And 4 1/2 hours later (yes 4 1/2 hours) - some people around here thought 4 adults needed a 15 pound turkey....that translates to eating turkey left overs FOREVER.


Ready to eat!

A warm day in the middle of November means....

A perfect day to put up Christmas Lights.

E is convinced that he would much rather put the lights up early, if it means doing it in 60 degree temps and a rare no wind day as opposed to our occasional single digits temps and the usual wind. So this past Sunday was the day.....and he probably would have had it done in an hour or so if his wife didn't keep changing her mind as to where she wanted them. (right now our house seems like the Griswald's of the neighborhood since we are the only house around with lights up.) More pics to come of the finished product as soon as we get our camera back in working order.

8 Months Old

Hard to imagine this little boy is closer to 1 year now than he is to being our little infant.

He is only rolling (in one direction) and sitting up at this point - but so badly just wants to go - he just hasn't figured out how yet....so as of now our Christmas tree should be safe from his little hands (we hope)....not to say that he couldn't be crawling though by the time the day arrives.

What do these 2 have in common???

See the resemblance???

Hair - or lack there of.

One seems to have trouble growing hair and the other seems to have trouble keeping his hair.
Like Father like Son.

2 Little Monkeys......

Finally Feeling Better!!

This past week has been a true test of my patience....by Thursday I had had it. 2 really sick kids, ever so needy, being couped up in a house for 4 days straight and the constant battle of getting A to take her ever so tasty medicine - I don't wish this kind of week on anyone. Thankfully we survived - Kind of.....A is feeling much better and continuing to show us her stubborn almost 2 year old self and E - well he is just always happy if he is fed and you don't try to wipe his runny nose.

Rub-a-Dub-Dub

Two sick kids in a TUB


E - thankfully has just a bad cold and no fevers....
We put A in the tub last night to try and bring her fever down...and E was so excited to see the water we plopped him in the tub too!

A Trip to MN

We just returned on Saturday from a 9 day trip to MN to visit Grandma J and Grandpa H. E also had a conference to attend in Minneapolis so A got to stay behind at Grandma and Grandpa's and play with cousins O & I - I realized that when we got home...we didn't have a single picture to show from our trip. So instead A will show off some of her IKEA goods....we got her an art easel and a tent...both of which she loves!



Although, A is smiling - this picture is no indication of how she is feeling now.....I took her to the Dr. yesterday to discover that she has pneumonia - she is one sick little girl right now and just feeling miserable. In my attempt to get her to eat something yesterday - I realized that whatever I gave her - if it was pink she would maybe eat it - So PINK ice cream it was last night - she ate quite a large bowl which I decided was better than nothing at this point. We had a long night though - A got to sleep with me - Daddy got to sleep on the couch. Our bed is just not big enough for 3 so Daddy got the shaft. I am beginning to think though our bed is not even big enough for 2 with A in bed - I woke up quite sore this morning and I realized it was because I was begin kicked all night long.