Stephen's FIRST Haircut!

A couple days before Easter, Ryan and I were laughing at how long SJ's hair was compared to JR.  John had the clean shave look, and Stephen was rocking an over grown mullet- it was time for a cut!!

On Friday evening we took him to Kid's Hair.  He took his job very seriously, studying every move the lady made, watching her scissors and comb.  But, he didn't move much, needless to say, it went smoothly!  Ryan and I were glad we made it a family affair-

So mellow-  can you tell he has a double ear infection???  He looks kind of sad doesn't he??  :(

Brotherly.... love?

Last week, the boys were in the tub.  One of their favorite things to do!  John was hording the toys and splashing most of the water out of the tub as Stephen was refusing to sit while he was also trying to splash all the rest of the water out of the tub.  It is quite a party here!
Stephen decided he wanted the toy boat, but John wanted all the toys.  I tried to use this as a teaching moment.  Explaining to John how to share and that SJ is a baby and he doesn't know how to ask for a toy...so, let's just give him one!  Well, JR was not taking to the idea of sharing his toys and SJ was done waiting.  All the sudden, SJ lunged at JR and bit his arm- really hard!!

OUCH!!!  After icing it for 20 minutes, it still bruised.  And, every time John went near Stephen for the next couple days he would say, "NO Beef, NO Bite me!!  NICE BEEEF"

Here is John explaining what happened-  NOOOO BITE ME!

I tried to rally after the bite- I put Stephen down for a nap and I told John we were going to dip cookies in milk!  A first for John! :)

He was a disaster by the time he was done dipping his 3 Oreos-- he could have used another bath... haha

Catching up....

I have TONS to catch up on, it is going to take me a bit!  I do have the pictures to jog my memory...but I still want everything to be as fresh as possible!! 

Pray for some time in my schedule opening up....

Go ahead, look him up!!

The Board of Accountancy (finally) reviewed the CPA candidates from last October!  And, that would include RYAN!  :D

This was the last step for him-- he has been approved! 

Since I am sure you want to see it for yourself.... Click on this link and search by last name. 
I'm looking forward to the recognition dinner in May!! 

YAHOO!!

You're going to give me a chicken?!!?!

My mother in law, Jana, has a blog and she has a great entry this week!  Please, if you need a great laugh- this is where you will find it!! :D

Jana's Blog

Jana writes every Wednesday- tune in! 
Lauren, I'm loving your Christmas present that keeps giving!!

Visiting the Easter Bunny and a Night at Carlson's

I took off blogging this week-  I needed it!  As much as I love that I have so many of our memories "on paper" I also was getting sick of sitting at the computer.  So, I took the whole week off and I am not going to look back! :)

On Friday night we went to bed early- the boys were sleeping by 7pm and Ryan and I by about 8:15.  It would be an understatement to say we were all tired. 
Saturday we woke up, tired still- Why?! So, we all had a lazy morning and stayed in our jammies until 11am! :D We had breakfast and read books.  It was nice to do nothing.  At about 11 both Ryan and I got the itch to get moving! Too much laying around... We got everyone ready and headed to the MOA to see the Bunny!!
There was not a line at all!! We walked right in- perfect!!!  Ryan and I drove separate because Ryan was volunteering at STA so he was just going to go strait there from the mall.  We took the double stroller, but I wanted to let John walk.  He has been loving going on walks when he gets to actually walk.  So, this was the first time I have let him walk while we were in public somewhere busy.  I have been practicing having him hold on to the side of the stroller while walking, and holding my hand when we are crossing a street or if we hear/see and emergency vehicle.  It took us almost a half hour to walk one length of the mall- but John was in wonderland!  He was pointing ot everything, laughing and cheering.  He saw the Bubba Gump Shrimp man, and ran to him for a quick high-five. The bunny was on a break when we got there, so the four of us walked around Camp Snoopy Nickelodeon Universe.  John was in complete shock, he has never been anywhere like it.  He was waving at every kid, chapped for every ride and would only hold daddy's hand.  Stephen was thrilled too! He was like an owl- his head spinning in every direction, trying to take it all in.  He was screaming (in a good way!) and "talking" the whole time. 
We walked right in to see the Bunny, he was very friendly- and it was FREE!  You could take all your own pictures- LOVE IT!  I was very curious to see how this was going to play out.  John was scared of Santa (and the Easter Bunny last year)  but Stephen was very intrigued by Santa.  It was the opposite this time!  Was thought it was great, he gave him high-fives and sat right next to him smiling for the camera.  Stephen was un-sure, he wasn't crying, but it was scared- stranger-danger!  The boys got their "treat bags" and we headed to run a couple quick errands at the mall.  We got most of them done but then Ryan had to leave, so the boys and I walked around and had a lovely time.  We even stopped for a kid-size dish of ice cream for the boys to share.  Every two bites John had, Stephen got one.... John thought that was perfectly fair! haha
Then we went home for naps so the boys would be ready for our night.  While we were napping, Ryan was at STA bartending for their auction dinner.  He had an excellent time seeing friends and having some "guy-time" :) 
We headed to Carlson's for a pizza dinner.  Things have really changed since we first started hanging out with the Carlson's-  haha  We now find having a pizza party, surrounded by 3 (soon to be 4) highchairs, talking about Kristin's pregnancy, the best kind of knives for chopping up food for the kids, and singing along to the kids music a perfect Saturday night!!  Thanks for having us over- it was a blast! 

Sunday was date morning -- we dropped the boys off at my parents and headed to mass.  Then went to Dixie's for their brunch- YUMMY!  Came back to our house and did more organizing. At the end of all of this cleaning, our goal is to have everything we own to be in a bin or dresser.  No more "junk-drawers" or any randoms ...  we are making huge progress!  I can't wait to be totally organized! :D

John, "on a ride"  He was thrilled!!!  we just made "motor" sounds and he was screaming and cheering! :) Simple joys. 

Stephen taking is all in- a happy camper!

John loving the bunny!

Lo Lou  John has been saying "love you" So sweet- I Lo Luo too, John!

Our (productive) Weekend

We got a ton of work done this weekend!! Even though, it really is just the tip of the iceberg... we have a million projects that need to happen, are happening and need to be finished...
Saturday morning I watched the boys while Ryan cut up lilacs, and hauled away 6 loads of brush and yard waste to the dump.  Ryan made amazing progress on our yard! I was pretty shocked when I got home with J and S.  He still has to dig out all of the lilac stumps and roots and then pull out the stone edging, fill it in with dirt and plant grass.  In other words... just the tip of the iceberg!
I took the boys walking.  We needed to get out of the house but they couldn't play in the yard with all the work going on.  We walked to my parents where Jinette and Ryan were staying for the weekend.  My brother Ryan helped John fill the bird feeders and followed him around the yard while Jinette and I got to have some time to chat- I haven't seen her since their wedding!!!  We drank coffee and played with SJ too. :)
Lunch time crept up on us and my mom had her own yard work to finish so we walked home.  I fed the boys lunch.  When Ryan got home from his 6th dump run, I went to get my hair cut/colored... it had been way, way too long!  Ryan put the boys down for their naps.  When John woke up Ryan had the hair-cut itch so he buzzed all of John's hair off.  John likes the feel of it, but the poor boy- bald! ;) JK, I am just giving Ryan a hard time.  It got a lot shorter then he had intended... and felt pretty bad about it.  No worries- hair grows back!!
We went to Nana and Bompa's house for dinner of steak and potatoes.  John sure had missed Nana!  It was nice to catch up with each other-  Ryan and Steve watched a baseball game and Jana and I chatted.  Steve and John painted a picture and then both boys cleared out most of the kitchen cupboards on to the floor.  :)  Sooo much exploring to do!  We had ice cream for dessert and then went home to bed. 

On Sunday, it was date morning!!  Ryan and I had big plans! haha- sarcastic! We had breakfast, dropped the boys off at my parents and headed to church.  After church we raced the clock to see how much we could get done before our 1pm pick-up time.  We started in the garage- first we tore out this old metal bench thing that was totally worthless- none of the drawers worked and it was taking up a ton of room!  We un-nailed it from the wall and put it in the alley for the junk collectors to take!  Same with our broken snow blower, TV, DVD player, and a trestle.  (It was all "collected" within a couple hours...YAY!) We put the winter stuff away (shovels, sleds, ice scrappers, salt etc. up in the rafters and got down the summer stuff (sprinklers, sand toys, trikes, pools, and put the sensory table in the backyard.)
Next, we headed inside.... we went to the basement and re-organized a bunch of stuff.  Made a pile of things I have been collecting to garage sale and another pile of trash.  (Note to self: never move when pregnant!!  I was super preggers and sick when we moved here.  My mom and MIL packed up our apartment.  (Thank you!!) But, when you don't pack yourself, everything just isn't where you would have put it and you don't de-junk while packing....) Anyways, this is what we were desperately doing.  We have everything in the basement in plastic bins now- got rid of 10 cardboard boxes! Yay!!  Then, carried garage sale stuff to the garage, and loaded the bed of Ryan's truck with trash. 
I collected all of our winter gear (jackets, snow pants, boots, mittens, hats...) washed them all and packed it away for next year.  I got all of there summer clothes out!  Switching out the seasons of clothes is one of my least favorite jobs... it always starts out as a "small" project...and quickly turns into a mess!  It is done now-- Bring on the sunshine!! :D  I filled the hats and mittens bins upstairs with sunscreen, swimsuits, sandals and sunhats. We are ready~
Then Ryan and I went upstairs- we got more garage sale stuff out of SJ's closet I had been collecting up their and brought that to the garage.  We went through all of our first aid stuff- assessed what we needed, was expired, had to much of....  We went through our files too, de-junked them- shred baby, shred! :D 
It was quickly 12:30... so we took all the trash we had collected and threw it away and headed to my parents to get the boys. 
They were out walking!  SJ was sleeping in the stroller and my mom was trying to keep John from jumping in every puddle he could find. haha  We headed to Target to get more plastic bins and do our grocery shopping... $350 later we headed home.  Not a good week for our budget.... and I even had $37 in coupons!! I guess I need to watch more of the show, Extreme Couponing!   It was nap time for the boys.  So, Ryan and I split up duties.  He worked outside more and I put the boys to bed and finished organizing inside.  By dinner time we were so tired!! 
Great grandma Kreuser was in town at the History Center with my parents, so they stopped by on their way to dinner to see the boys.  We all looked terrible- in our work clothes, dirty, tired and hungry.  She didn't seem to mind- she raised 10 kids on a farm!! haha- she knows what real dirt is! ;D
Dinner of spaghetti, salad and rolls.  Then, all Ryan wanted to do was have an hour (yes, just even an hour) of simply family time.  We hardly ever get this-  all 4 of us together with nothing else to do.  We went out on the porch with a big blanket and read books and played.  They little boys even wrestled a little! Our hour quickly ran up and it was bedtime. 
Goodnight!

Sandbox Fun!

We have a little green turtle sandbox that was Ryan's when he was a kid! John and Stephen are both loving anytime they can get outside!  John thinks knows he has the best of both worlds.... in our backyard there are still mounds of snow where the house shadows the yard but it is sunny in the other parts.  He goes back and forth between digging in the snow and being barefoot playing in the sandbox. 
Stephen is loving the sand too!  I haven't put him in the snow because it is pretty cold to just lay in snow, but laying in the sandbox makes him one happy camper! :D  He digs with his hands and just simply looks at it, only a couple times did he accidentally put it in his mouth. As soon as his hand touched his lips he would cry- a quick lesson learned for him!

I am out of storage on my blog.... I bought more, but it takes 24 hours to kick in.  I can add the pictures then.  So much for the "free blog" ! : /

Stephen at 10 Months

I took Stephen to his "9 month" well-child appointment on Wednesday.  I had his original "9 month" check-up scheduled awhile ago, but we needed to change it to a pre-op for his surgery.  So, his "9 month" check-up got pushed to a 10 month and 1 week.  :) 
Stephen's stats:
Weight: 19 lbs 10 oz (22%)
Length: 27.75 inches (16.5%)
Weight for length: 69%
Head circumference: 17.75 inches (32%)

My beefy baby is not so beefy after all! ;)  He has slimmed out- he was riding the 80% curve at his past check-ups, but now he is on the lower end of the curve. 
His check-up went perfect!  His ears look great now that he has the tubes, lungs were clear, we counted his teeth- 7 of them with one more just about to pop through.
Now that he hasn't been running a daily fever I decided to start his shots.  He got three of them.  It was hard to watch- the nurse wouldn't do them 2 at a time- poor SJ! 
On the development part of the exam, he is doing great!! The only part he didn't "pass" was that he doesn't clap his hands.  But, really I am not worried at all.  He is a happy, healthy, growing boy! :) 
Stephen has been getting more daring with his "furniture cruising."  In the last month he has been pulling himself up and standing in his crib, at the couch, at toy bins etc.  But, once he was up he was stuck.  Now, he is able to get back down.  On Monday he even climbed up onto the trampoline in our living room!  I couldn't believe it when I saw him completely on the tramp.  Yikes!  We have been sure to keep the door to the upstairs closed... Naturally the stairs will be the next climb he tries...but these steep steps will not be accessible to him anytime soon! 
Stephen is a little fighter!  I can't believe how defensive he is to John.  If he gets within an arms reach of John he swats at him and he shouts in his face.  John's sweetness just says, "NIIIICE BEEF! NIIICE!"  When John gives Stephen a hug, Stephen just cries-- I think the sibling rivalry is in full swing!
Stephen is eating all table foods.  He eats whatever we are having for that meal- except for eggs, honey, strawberries and nuts.  He loves food and so far I have really only found one food he doesn't like- avocados. Other then that he will eat everything, he is a good eater!  The weaning thing isn't going very well.  He has no interest in any kind of formula or BM from a bottle/cup/sippy.  I bought 5 different kinds of pre-mixed formula hoping he would like one of them- nope!
Stephen is sleeping through the night, only occasionally he wakes up. If I nurse him he goes right back to sleep.  He is still sleeping in the swing.  We put him to sleep at 8:30/9pm and he wakes up about 7/7:30am.  He naps on and off while we are running to appointments during the days, but when we are home for the day he takes a short cat-nap in the morning from about 10ish-10:30a and then again from 1-3/4pm.
Stephen loves to play with toys!!  He is very entertained by them- he has 2 toys that I would consider his favorite: Sophie the Giraffe and a plastic french fry.  He chews on them- they are small and the perfect size for little baby hands.  SJ really likes to play with a lot of different toys and is always trying to get in the middle of what ever JR is playing!
Stephen is still riding in his baby carrier for a car seat or as we call it; the bucket. However, I think he is almost bursting out of it!  We may be able to get a couple more weeks out of it... but then it is time for him to graduate to a rear facing 5 point harness car seat. 
Stephen continues to be an easy going baby with an infectious laugh.  Now, if I can just get him to stop being so feisty to John!  They are brothers for life- <3
<3  We love you Stephen!!!  <3

Applebee's

Tonight we were driving, and got stuck in traffic a little longer then we were expecting.  While we were driving, John was asking for "num-nums"  ... Clearly he was hungry!So, Ryan and I started talking about where we could stop for food.  McDonald's? Culver's? Famous Dave's? Applebee's?  All the sudden from the backseat we hear: "APPLE-BEES!!" Ryan and I both simultaneously looked at each other and said "DID HE JUST SAY APPLEBEE'S?!!!??"  AHHHHH! :D
We were sooo shocked!  It was one of the most exciting moments- John was smiling ear-to-ear.  He was so proud of himself.  And we were even more proud.  We couldn't believe it~ Go John!! You have been exploding with new words everyday! 
On Tuesday, when we were driving to the MN Zoo, John was pointing out all sorts of things... a go-go (train) truck,  then when we got there.... duck, zeeebra, moose.  It is so fun to hear him talk, he has so much to say.  AND all in the sweetest little voice.  I love it, I love you John.

Mom and John Date

On Monday night, I was feeling like I really needed to get out of the house!  Well, let me back up to earlier in the day first.  Monday morning, I woke up to an email in response to my weaning blog...well, I woke up to a ton of supportive emails!  It was very relieving to know that really, I have a huge support system around me- family, friends and all my mom friends from M&M's.  Thank you!  One mom, Cyndi has a 5 month old who she is still BFing- and she had some extra pumped milk that she offered me.  So, I packed up the boys and we went to their house for a little informal play date.  It was really fun for the boys-a whole room full of new toys and Makenna to play with!! :D Cyndi and I got to chat while the kids played then I got my Cyndi's milk and we left. 
Monday evening, I was planning to take John to got him a new potty chair because his old one broke.  As I was packing the boys up, I thought, hmm...maybe Sara will watch SJ so I can have some time with just John?? Sure enough, she agreed!! :D  So, I dropped of SJ at my parents and Sara and SJ played while John and I went on a date!  (DATE, it is John's new favorite word.  On Sunday mornings, Ryan and I go on a date; church, breakfast and to buy groceries.  It is something we talk about all week and then on Sunday mornings, we tell John that he gets to have a date with grandma and poppa while mom and dad have their date.)  Anyways, after we dropped off SJ, John and I headed to BabiesRUs and found a new Elmo potty.  Of course, he picked it out! ;) Then we went to Perkins and had dinner.  We had a blast!  While we waited for the food, I didn't have to talk to any other adults, or be dividing my time between JR and SJ.  We colored on the menu, played eye-spy, sang songs and read the dessert menu. ;)  We enjoyed our dinners and then John took his cookie and the pie we got dad and we headed to my parents to get SJ. 
Stephen had a blast with Sara, Mike, Kelli and my parents- it was a party over there! We brought the potty inside to show everyone and played for a bit until Ryan called to tell us he was on his way home from school.  I packed the boys up and we headed home! A very fun night! Thanks Sara!!
Now, I just need to get John consistently using the potty...haha

Mail from Nana

Nana has been gone for awhile now (a month or more?) vacationing in Cabo and then to their AZ home.  John (well, all of us!) have really been missing her.  John has a very strong bond with his Nana Jana.  Nana watched John 4 days a week while I had to work from when John was 12 weeks until he was 16 months.  Nana was very good to John, she spent every minute he was at her house in full John mode. Now that I have been home with the boys, I make sure the boys see Nana as often as possible.  This is high on John's list of Favorite Things! :D When Nana went to Cabo, I explained to John that Nana went on an airplane with Bompa and Lauren to the Ocean. Now, that Nana is in AZ, I have been explaining that Nana went on another airplane to a place with no water- the desert! Every time we see an airplane, John points, and shouts, "NANA, HI NANA!!  NOOO WATTY!!!"  He sure misses Nana! 
However, since the boys' surgery, Nana has been sending packages, cards or postcards almost everyday!!  I have been finding John waiting at the front window when for the mail van to pull up.  Then he runs around in circles shouting, "NANA!! NANA!!" It has been really fun for him to be getting all this mail!!  The packages have been filled with all sorts of stuff; matching Sun Devils shirts, movies, Elmo crackers and cereal bars, Highlights magazines, bath toys, play-doh, little boxers for John, and the list goes on.  
I keep trying to have John call Nana to thank her... but everytime I remember, I get sidetracked-  He will just get to thank her in person when she comes home on FRIDAY! :D

Backyard Project Continues...

This weekend, Ryan and Ryan went lilac killing crazy! :)  My brother Ryan was in town and offered to help Ryan pull down all of our lilac bushes.  Ryan P. was thrilled to have help!  I couldn't help because I was on baby duty... and having the boys in the backyard while doing this was simply not safe.  So, I took the boys to Burnsville mall shopping for a MOB dress for my aunt Connie- and we found a smookin' hot MOB dress!! ;D 
Ryan and Ryan sure went to town!  We need to clear all of the lilacs (that have been grown over with grape vines) so that we can put up our new privacy fence.  Well, saying that we (Ok, Ryan) needs to just clear the lilac would be a huge understatement.  There is a ton of prep work that needs to be done -- tons.  They guys cut down all the lilacs and cut up the brush.  We have a big pile of the "tree-trunk" parts and 3 huge piles of the "brush" part. 
Today we burned brush in our fire pit while John played in the snow that is left on our yard and I played with Stephen in the backyard. It was great to be outside for a few hours and spend time as a family.  We seem to not have much of this time in our busy lives right now.  Usually someone is at class/work/appointments/running errands/cooking etc. 
Thank you Ryan Lais AND Ryan Patrick ;) for all of the hard, physical work you did this weekend! It was NO small task you took on.  And, we WILL be having you and Jinette over for drinks and cigars in our backyard this summer! :D  Thanks!

MOM Lead Weaning

** Probably more information that you would like to know**  But, something I want for my "records" ....

Please, catch your breath!  To all my biggest critics out there:  until you are my size, you cannot judge that I am ready to be done nursing.
I know that many of you are thinking, you have made it 10 months, what's another 2??  8 weeks of torture for me!  On Saturday, I went shopping with my cousin Miranda, her son Jack and my aunt Connie- what a blast!!!  As I was getting ready to go, I realized that I haven't worn a bra in over 2 weeks! 
First, I don't have one that fits me- do you have any idea how hard it is to find a nursing bra in a size 36 **  ??  The ONLY place I can find them is at Bravo Bras- they custom make bras!  I have ordered over $1000 worth of bras from online boutiques that say they have "bigger sizes"... so far none of them have been my size (I have had to return them all).  However, I can find tons of bras in my size that are not nursing.  I did buy one of these for a pretty penny, the problem is that I can never nurse SJ in public then.  I have to go take the bra off and then nurse.  It is a mess, especially when I have John with me!  And, no I can't just "pull the bra down" there are no "cute" bras in my size- it is only full-coverage yuck!
Secondly, I have bad back pain.  I have been seeing a chiropractor for about 3 months now.  Well, I have been seeing one since I got pregnant with John, but for the last three months I have been going 1-3 times a week.  Being done nursing would decrease my size and I would be able to find a bra that fits and would give me the support I need.
This will also make exercising so much easier-  I love running and I catch myself running at the gym holding myself! Umm... not a great look, not comfortable, and not a good way to work out!
Why do I need to defend myself?! :(
I am a huge breastfeeding supporter- HUGE, HUGE, HUGE.  But, I also believe that I have given breastfeeding a good, fair run.  I had mastitis on and off for 7 months.  I did push through that and succeeded!  I am now just not interested/out of $$ to spend on more custom made bras-- do you have any idea what those cost?!  I am very proud of what I went through to nurse Stephen for 10 months, and I do deserve a pat on the back for that.  :)  In the ideal world, I would love to nurse him until he is 18 months.  That would be wonderful!  But that is just the farthest thing for reality for me. 

So, how is the weaning going???  Well, Stephen is really not that interested- shocked huh?! haha
I have tried breast milk, whole milk, water and formula from a bottle/sippy/cup and the only thing he will drink is whole cow milk (cold) from a cup.  UGH.  That just isn't going to work!!  He cannot have cow milk (as a main source of "milk") until he is 12 months.  I thought *if* I could get him to drink *anything* from *anything* I could start to cut it with formula and he would be fine.  Well, as soon as I add formula to anything, he freaks!  I am SOOO bummed that all my BM thawed a couple months ago- I had pumped and saved enough milk to last about 2-3 months.  I would have been golden.  AHH. 

We shall see how this goes this week as I try to wean little Stephen. 

Recovery Round 2, MOMs and a Package from Nana

As I typed the last post, I thought my flu was wrapping up.  Well, round 2 hit at about 5pm on Saturday... and NOW I think it is finally over!  All the flu symptoms came back full force.  Last night I ate some chicken broth and crackers.... the first solid food I have been able to keep down since Wednesday night!!
Stephen seems to be back to health, we were back and forth the last couple days with fevers, but he has been fever free for 18 hours now- YAY! :) 
John is at about 80%.  He had a fever most of yesterday, but has been fever free since yesterday at about 3pm.  He is having a hard time with his stiff neck.  He is almost looking at the ground it is so sore- he can't hold it up all the way.  Dr. Malone said he may have a stiff neck, and the days 3-5 of recovery would be the worst.  Well, we are past day 5, and his neck is still pretty bad.  He can't drink from a cup because he can't life his head! :(  So, it is straws for little John.  He has been doing a lot of extra TV watching these past few days.  I know he isn't feeling his best when he is laying on the couch holding a heat pack on his neck.
** What do you know-  Pretty much as soon as I posted this, they both have fevers again... I will draw up the Tylenol!  100.4 for John and 100.7 for Stephen. Let's hope this is the last does for a while! :)


**************************************************************
Mothers Of Multiples  (MOMs)

This past weekend, my mom went to the MOMs spring sale for me.  Well, I couldn't really go to the members only part because I am not a MOMs (Mother of twins, triplets, quads, etc...).  So my mom went in search of a stroller I want and a climber for our backyard.  (Stroller: http://www.bobgear.com/node/329/n  Climber: http://www.step2.com/product.cfm?product_id=1649 )  Well, she didn't find either.  BUT, she came home with tons of new toys and jackets for the boys!  The emergency vehicles- ambulance, firetruck, helicopter and the farm books are the favorites.  We will have to wait for summer for some of the toys (watering can, frog sprinkler/pool and basketball hoop)  She also found a really warm snowsuit for John to wear next winter, a rain coat of this spring and a fall jacket.  John is a lucky boy! Thanks mom!!  My mom came over to help on Sunday morning so I could sleep and Ryan could study and iron his clothes for the week, they had a blast "saving" Sophie the giraffe with the firetruck ladder and firemen.
John and Stephen also got a package from Nana who is in AZ.  She sent a cute card with a doggie on the front, Elmo crackers and cereal bars, play-doh and a movie about animals.  John loves to get mail, so a package was very exciting! Thank you Nana!! On Saturday afternoon, John snacked on his Elmo treats and played play-doh with Ryan.  :D

Ryan making John Elmo :)

Surgery is OVER

OH BOY!  That was a wild ride!  The boys did really well!!  Ryan and my mom were a HUGE help- the show would not have gone on with out them.  But, the show couldn't go on with out me either... UGH. 
The morning of surgery (Thursday) I woke up feeling very sick to my stomach.  Ryan was going to work and my mom and I were going to tackle the surgeries together.  Well, luckily, Ryan's parental guilt kicked in while he was at work at 4:30am (!!) and he decided he couldn't miss his boys having surgery.  My mom got here about 9am and took John outside to play.  I showered and played with SJ, while Ryan tied up loose ends for work.  We all headed down to Children's at 10:30 with 2 starving children!  We got the boys checked in- My mom and JR played stickers, and Ryan and SJ played with little trucks.  I tried to answer the questions the nurse had about the boys' health history etc.  I was so confused by the end of it:  When is the last time John has had Tylenol?  (ME: Saturday)  When is the last time Stephen had Tylenol? (ME: Tuesday) Is he allergic to any medications? (ME: WHO?!?!!! )   The nurse was so confusing- jumping back and forth until everyone was confused about everything. 

SJ and his daddy.  SJ was so cute in his little hospital jams- Koalas riding in space ships. :)

Grandma Mitty took JR over to the neuro-surgery area while I was trying to answer the health history questions... they found a huge chest full of little toys and booklets of stickers!!!  John's dream come true- he climbed right into the chest and picked out a Christmas sticker book. ;)

This picture doesn't even do it justice-  he had probably 60+ stickers on his shirt. 

John's surgery was scheduled for 12 and Stephen's was for 12:45.  At 12 we headed down to the waiting room to meet with the anesthesiologist and Dr. Malone, late- I think so!  John got to put strawberry flavor into his gas mask -- this is something I will never forget from when I had surgery when I was 5, the strawberry chapstick!  After a lot of back and forth of who was going to take the boys back to be put under, Ryan did the job for both.  I wanted to, but  at the same time, I couldn't imagine seeing the operating room and having my babies go limp in my arms- plus, even worse then that, was the level of nausea I had at that point.  As Ryan walked John back to the OR, my mom held SJ the whole time in the waiting room, watched all of our gear and watched my cousin Jed playing basketball at the Target Center (!!!!!) (Good game Jed!  That was an amazing game- did you see how excited your coach was when you made that 3 pointer?!?!!) And, I was running down the hall looking for a bathroom, the vom was in full effect.  Now, I am sure you are thinking, why didn't I just go home?!! I know, I would have if I didn't need to feed SJ!

John's surgery lasted 20 minutes- Dr. Malone said his adenoids were HUGE and that this should help with his eating, talking, hearing, drooling, and fevers!!!  Oh, I hope she is right.  As Ryan, my mom and I waited for SJ to get called back for his surgery and JR to wake up from his surgery we watched Jed's BBg.  Ryan took SJ back to be put under.  Right as he left, JR was waking up.  So, I went to hold him.  It was one of the sweetest moments I have ever had with him.  He just laid in my arms, not fighting it at all, and wanted to cuddle with me.  He was calling my name and daddy's name.  It was so sweet.  But, as sweet as it was, the breath from the surgery and my nausea did not go well together.  So, Ryan came back to be with him and I went to lay down in the waiting room with my mom.  JR was admitted to 3232- him and Ryan went upstairs and my mom and I waited for SJ. 

Stephen's surgery lasted 55 minutes! :(  It seemed like forever!  Dr. Malone came and talked to me about how it went, and everything went great!!  His adenoids were "disgustingly huge" (umm.... thanks?) the tubes were in perfectly, the little cyst on his ear took the longest of the 4 things, but looks great and his DA Bronch showed his larynges are closer then they should be, but will keep moving apart with age.  Yay!!  As he woke up, all I wanted to do was throw up-  this was the worst time for a mom to be sick- when both of your boys are having surgery!!  SO, I laid in the bed and nursed SJ as they admitted him to 3232 also.  What a mess.

John bounced back to health very quickly!  He was begging Grandma Mitty for gummy bears as soon as she came in the room with me and SJ.  John ate them all... and just about everything else he could get his hands on.  He laid and watched Elmo, eating gummy bears and snuggling with Nana's blanket. 

I laid with SJ nursing him, he wasn't as happy as John though.  Poor guy was pretty sad- he had a lot more done though.  Ryan ordered Jimmy John's for everyone- Maybe that was why I was sick? I hadn't eaten anything??  So, I ate 1/2 of a sandwich and for about an hour I thought I was OK.  By 5pm, my mom left to go home to get ready for work the next day, John was happy watching Elmo and the rest gets very fuzzy for me...  I have no idea what SJ was doing...  All I know is that OK quickly became terrible.  Ryan called my mom and told her she needed to come back and Sara was going to come get me so I could go home to sleep.  I started "walking" down to the front entrance... well, actually, I was running from one trash can to the next throwing up.  I actually never made it to the front door -- A nurse practically carried me to the ER and I was immediately seen... in the hallway!!!! The ER Dr said all the rooms were full, but that they needed to get an IV in me asap...umm, NOOOO! I tried to explain how both of my boys were in 3200 from having surgery, but they both had strep on Saturday.  I told her ALL I wanted was a strep test... well, that came back as a big negative! They gave me 12MG of zofran and viccodin for my migraine headache and brought a bed into the hallway for me- LOL.  She decided I must just have some kind of flu, and to keep up with the zofran and pain meds.  Poor Sara was waiting outside while all this happened in the ER.  (THANK YOU) I didn't go home because SJ needed to nurse, and I was OK again.  When I got upstairs to 3232, John had thrown up from a steroid they gave him- poor boy.  But he was still a champ! I knew that my mom needed to leave eventually because she needed to work the next day, and John was NOT going to sleep- all he wanted was to watch Elmo re-runs.  And our nurse was terrible- it never failed, as soon as they were quiet or sleeping, there she was, "I'm here to check vitals!" "REALLY?!! NOOO!  Please, please don't wake them up again!" 

It was getting later, and JR wasn't sleeping, I was still sick, SJ was screaming, my mom needed to go home and Ryan couldn't possibly deal with 3 sick people by himself.  So, we begged and pleaded with the nurse to let us go home.  That way, John would sleep, I could sleep, SJ could sleep in his swing and Ryan had somewhere to sleep.  Nope, the nurse was a jerk.  (I'm sorry, but she was.) She said she called Dr. Malone and that Dr. Malone said that is was "against her medical advice, and if SJ leaves, our insurance would cover NONE of his surgery, but John could leave" (And, she said it all with a smirk on her face) AHHH  ...  Ryan took John home and he went right to bed, my mom stayed to try and get SJ to sleep, and I slept for a couple hours while she rocked SJ and fed him (the only thing he would eat...) ice cream! haha  At about midnight, after the staff had switched over, my mom talked to the new nurse and told her that she could NOT wake SJ for any reason, and that I was super sick.  THANK GOD.  She never woke him all night and he slept until Dr. Malone came at 7:30. 

Dr. Malone walked in the room and said, "What the hell happened in here~!?!!!"  And, I looked back at her and said, "This is what you get when you make a sick mom stay at the hospital with her baby!!  WHY DIDN'T YOU LET ME LEAVE??!!!"  You should have seen the look on her face-  she was SO so confused!!!  She said the nurse never told her I was sick, all she said was that if it were OK, could we leave?  Dr. Malone was mad then too, she said had she known I was in the ER, and SJ and JR would have done better at home where I could get help, she would have never had us stay at the hospital- EVER!  We were immediately discharged, and all the nurses were apologizing to me, none of them knew what was happening in 3232.   UGH.

Ryan and John came and picked SJ and I up.  I was still sick, so I went right to bed- I didn't get out all day expect until about 3pm when I checked my temp- 102.0!  John was his normal self, running around screaming, and playing.  SJ slept most of the day, but was still pretty sad and batting at his ears.  Everyone was in bed at 8pm...

Today, I am not as sick to my stomach, but I still have the migraine.  JR and Ryan went to Menard's to look at fence stuff and then to go see Auntie Alana and SJ is sleeping. 

Now, really, if I wasn't nursing SJ, this would have been MUCH more simple.  Ryan and my mom could have done this with out me there... Never will we do surgery if I am sick and nursing the patient!!!! 

Thank you mom and Ryan- you were life savers!  And, to Kelli for taking off work on Friday to help, and Sara for waiting at the ER for me for 2 hours, and everyone else for all the offers...we just don't want anyone to get WHATEVER I have! D: 

I can't wait for Ryan and my mom to read this... let's just say, this was all a blur... I am simply trying to remember what seems like a dream~  WOOF  LOL

On a VERY VERY exciting note:  I CAN WEAR MY WEDDING RING AGAIN!!!  I got it re-sized... I haven't worn it since I go PG with John, 4 months after our wedding.  It had been too long to not wear my wedding ring.  I am so excited!!! I love getting at wear it- size 5.5 was too small~ 7 is perfect! :D

Surgery

Well, since John has been sick (almost) all week with a fever, and Stephen has another double ear infection.... I went ahead and scheduled their surgeries.
I have to say, I am not at all wanting to do this.  I am anxious and exhausted just thinking about it.  We are doing theirs both at the same time.  I am praying that everything goes smooth and they both have very speedy recoveries. 
John is having his adenoids out.
Stephen is having his adenoids out, tubes in and a lung study done.

Another week full of appointments ahead of me...pre-ops for both, John's speech/OT x3 and of course the surgeries...

It will be nice to get this done before it is super nice outside! =)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!!!

Today, John got to play with his Uncle Mark!  Being St. Patrick's Day, and it being Mark's first St. Patrick's Day of age, I was very impressed he wanted to spend it with his nephew.  I was thrilled though! =)  I had an appointment to go to, so I took SJ with me and JR and Mark stayed home to play. 

Mark reading Three Little Pigs

They read books, played with water and soap in the sensory table, counted potato chips, ate very buttery Mac & Cheese, and Mark taught him how to shoot rubber bands.  Clearly, they both had a blast!!!  John took a 4 hour nap this afternoon...

One of John's favorite parts of the day is when we get the mail.  He just loves tearing apart all of the junk mail and even our bills.  Well, tonight JR and SJ got a card from Nana and Bompa!  :D  They sent a sweet St. Patrick's Day card for the boys, the best part is that they sent shamrock stickers too!!!  Very fun! Thank you Nana and Bompa!

Stephen wearing his shamrock sticker.

As we were reading the boys' card, my parents stopped by.  They brought a green spider! (plastic of course!!) haha  We chatted and hung out.  I very low-key St. Patrick's Day here. 

John has been sick this whole week-  On Tuesday morning, when Ryan went to check on him before he left for work at 5am, he found JR had thrown up all over in his bed.  On Tuesday, he seemed ok, but as we were putting him to bed we realized he was running a fever. He had a fever all day Wednesday, woke up today without a fever, but threw up again tonight.  Stephen has a double ear infection this week again--- 9th one of his 9 month life. 

I am so excited for the weather to warm up!!!!!!!!!  We have been getting estimates for a wood fence for our backyard this week, it will be great to have our yard fenced in.   

Cornbread, Sensory Table Fun and Popcorn for a Bedtime Snack!

As the weather has began to warm up, I decided that we better eat up our chili's and stews in our freezer.  During the winter, if I make a soup I would always freeze the extras for a cold night that I didn't have time to make a dinner.  White Chicken Chili it was for this week! 
I thought it would be fun to make cornbread with John to eat with dinner.  He could measure out the ingredients and help mix it.  What could go wrong... it was corn bread!?  Well, all was going well until I tried to take a picture.  I asked John to hold the can of corn meal for the picture... umm...

Darling smile John...  :)

Then, As I was setting the camera down, he poured all the cornmeal into the bowl!  Well, we have a ton of cornbread muffins now! haha

After our dinner of white chicken chili and cornbread, we had some sensory table fun!

Snow + a little green food coloring = easy peasy fun! =)

Sporting the fireman hat!  (backwords of course!) ;)

Nummy! Snow!! 

John was having the boat carry the snow.

BRRRRR!!  The snow was super cold!

Smile big John! I love you little man, you are so sweet!

After Stephen went to bed early, Ryan and I decided to make popcorn with John for a bedtime snack.

John saying, pop! pop! pop!!

More popping! =)

Carefully watching, waiting for the first kernel...

And the fun begins!

DONE!  :D  However, he was not a fan of the popcorn...  Ryan enjoyed the buttery, salty treat! ;)

XO John!

Our Weekend!

Pizza Party!
On Friday night, we had some of my cousins and Sara over for a low-key pizza dinner.  It was so much fun to catch up with Miranda, Tina, Rachel and Jake!  All, while John, Stephen and Jack played toys. 
Miranda had a lot of news to fill us in on regarding her and Javi's wedding!!  EEEk! We are super excited for their wedding on August 19th-  the colors sound amazing!  You will be a beautiful bride Miranda. 
Jake and Rach were sweet as ever, Rachel brought a yummy Snicker Bar pie to share with everyone.  It was neat to hear a little more about Jake's family business and life in Lonsdale! :)  <3
We would love to do this again-  you are all the ideal guests!!  We had a blast hanging out with you!

John and Jack playing on the Trampoline


Saturday Night With the Travelers!
Jana and Steve just got home from Cabo on Friday night, welcome home!  We had them over for dinner on Saturday.  It was great to hear about their trip with Lauren- deep sea fishing seemed like it was the hit! 
Jana brought John a huge sucker, he was thrilled! :)  We had pork tenderloin, cheesy mashed potatoes, carrots and crescent rolls.  It was a great meal, SJ ate his heart out! After dinner, Jana and I bathed the boys and Ryan and Steve cleaned up dinner.  John had a blast jumping on the bed after tub-time. 
Once the boys were both fresh and smelt of baby lotion JR and Nana built with our big cardboard blocks as the men watched the HS Hockey Tournament.  All of the sudden, JR said "HOC-KEY!" I am so glad that the Patrick grandparents were here to hear him say hockey for the first time!

Sunday-Funday!
About a month ago, my mom called me and said that her and my dad want to watch the boys one evening a week so Ryan and I can have some "us" time. Wowo!  I was thrilled when I got of the phone-  dates, every week??!!!  I'm there!  However, the more the idea was talked about, the more it was not going to happen. My mom works (very) long days- she doesn't get home until 7pm (or later) - and we go to bed here by 8pm.  That was just not going to work for either of our schedules... bummer!  My mom pushed the subject again- (yay!) and we came up with a plan for Ryan and I to do Sunday morning dates.  Much more our style!!  Now, we have been going to church together (kid-free) and then to run errands.  
This week we went to Assumption in downtown STP at 9:30.  From there we made a return at Kohl's, stopped at the battery store for a new battery for my Polar watch, and then to Target to get the boys their Easter baskets!  Ahhh, SO FUN.  I picked out bubbles, pinwheels, sport shaped eggs, and matching trucks.  Ryan picked out chocolate bunnies, jellybeans, chocolate eggs, a Nerds rope, and stickers!  We love being parents to our little bunnies!! :D