Monday, December 21, 2009

More Fun in the Snow!

On Sunday afternoon we treked back outside for some more fun in the snow! On Saturday, Gillian was rather skeptical of this whole adventure, as you could probably tell from the last video. On Sunday, she had reconciled her skepticism and was ready to rock. Colin really enjoyed riding the sled, but wanted nothing to do with walking in the snow (granted we had 6 inches of snow, and he has, like, an 8 inch inseam).

So, more sledding, with smiles this time!

And a little video of Bean's Happy Sledding Noises (that sounds like MumMumMum). Also, enjoy Michael sounding like Kermit The Frog.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Snow

So much like most of mid-atlantic/north-eastern region, we got a good bit of snow from Friday night to Saturday morning. In all we got somewhere north of four inches. Since the kids got snowsuits for their birthday, this snow seemed like a good opportunity to test them out. We were pretty excited because this was going to be their first real experience with any appreciable amount of snow (though our friend Al thought that we should take them out to play in the snow last year).

After lunch we all snow-suited-up and got ready to go check out the snow. As we were getting ready to go out, Uncle Al called and said that he needed to drop off something for me to take into work. I told him that we were headed out, so we could meet him outside and he wouldn't have to pull into our unshoveled driveway. Well, he got here before we were ready (but just by a little bit). Anyway, much to our surprise he brought C & G a present: a new sled!

IMG_0272.JPG

That Uncle Al is always so thoughtful! He had called even earlier in the day, and I mentioned that we were going to play in the snow. I said that we didn't have a sled and since we had no plans to go to the store that day, we were going to use a laundry basket as a sled. Evidently, this didn't sit well with Uncle Al, who with his penchant for dollar store deals proceeded to buy one while he was out. It was greatly appreciated!
IMG_0275.JPG
IMG_0276.JPG
IMG_0277.JPG
Though we did have some mishaps...
IMG_0279.JPG
A good time was definitely had:

And to top it all off, the kids got to meet Santa (I know him!) when he and Mrs. Claus came by on their fire truck:
IMG_0281.JPG

Friday, December 11, 2009

Miss Muppet's Christmas Special

Return of the Muppet!

DSC_0056.NEF

(It's nice to look at these pictures from a few weeks ago since Muppet face has been replaced by Mean Face, yet to be captured for posterity.)

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Who Knew...

...that Colin was already in elementary schools and had his picture taken by Olan Mills:
DSC_0032.NEF

Monday, December 7, 2009

Over the River and Through the Woods....

The Friday after Thanksgiving, Colin, Michael, and I made our way North to the Land of Grandmas! FINALLY! We were quite happy to be headed toward turkey and Gillian! We arrived at the Uhls' house by lunch and were happy to scoop up Lil'Bean and scarf some leftovers!

We were interested in what C&G would do after not seeing each other for two days. The answer is....nothing. They really could not have carried less about not seeing each other. I also wasn't quite sure what to expect from Gillian, after being separated from Mama and Dada for two days. The answer is...whine, and cling, and snot. She was not pleasant. I think she held it all together for the Grandmas, but once Mama was there, she was Free To Be Me. Honestly, she didn't feel well, at all.

That evening we had the Traditional Grandpa Frank Birthday Get-together with the Keisters. Since the kids were tired and messy after dinner, we gave them a bath and put them in their jammies for the evening. They enjoyed a nice play with Jess, Joe, Uncle D, and Aunt Mercedes. This is also pretty much the only time all weekend that Daddy had his camera out. He got some awfully goofy pictures, especially of Colin. I'm not sure what was up with Colin, but he was WILD.

Colin and Gillian received these awesome blocks from Great Aunt Jane and Great Uncle Bob, and they were a HIT!
DSC_0006.NEF

DSC_0007.NEF

CRAZY COLIN!
DSC_0009.NEF

DSC_0010.NEF

See, more crazy....
DSC_0016.NEF

On Saturday evening, we had dinner with my mom's side of the family. Crazily enough, there were 31 people there for dinner. It was loud, busy, and a little overwhelming, but C&G took it in stride. They ate well with Grandma RoRo and Grandpa Greg (so Mommy and Daddy could eat in peace, which was a treat!), and were friendly and happy with everyone!

On Sunday we visited Dickiedoo and Noonie for lunch, and the kiddos were spoiled once again by their Grandparents. Seriously, they were just handed every little thing that they wanted!!

After lunch, we headed back to the 'Burgh. It was a busy, tiring weekend, but we were pretty happy to make it North at all!

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Colin's Holiday Adventure (AKA: How to Scare Your Parents)

Twas the Tuesday night before Thanksgiving, and all through the house no one was sleeping, well, Daddy was......

Anyway, I knew Colin and Gillian were getting colds before Thanksgiving. Yet another cold, that is. But, Tuesday night Colin was up about 6 times crying, being stuffy, and generally being miserable. I even had to change the sheets in the middle of the night because they were soaked in snot. So, I had an idea that we would be headed to the pediatrician on Wednesday because I thought he had an ear infection or other such fun thing going on. I finally got him out of bed around 7:00 on Wednesday, and he is just having the hardest time breathing. And he's breathing VERY LOUDLY. He then screamed for the next two hours! I was trying to hold off on a dr's appointment until early afternoon, so that Michael could stay home with Gillian and only take a half a day off. After the two hours of screaming, I knew he couldn't wait that long. At least I had THAT much sense!

So, off the three of us go to see one of our preferred pediatrician's around 11:00 AM.

The nurse immediately says to me, "Oh, he sounds awful, did you give him a treatment?"

Me: "HUH, treatment? For what?"

Nurse: "Oh, he's never had an asthma attack before?"

Me: "ARG. CRY." And I cried for the next three hours. I get weepy when I'm exhausted, ok???

So, the doctor has him take a breathing treatment in the office. Mind you, he is screaming the entire time and Gillian, poor innocent child, is along for the ride. She's sitting, dumbstruck, in her stroller with "The Five Little Pumpkins" in her hand just staring at her screaming brother and her weeping mother. If she knew how to roll her eyes, she would have done it. In reality, she was such, such, such a good girl that day. She could not have been better. Good as gold, and then some.

Anyway, the treatment doesn't make a dent in his wheeze, so the doctor sent us off to the hospital. I chose to be admitted directly to the ped's floor at St. Clair Hospital, as opposed to three hours in the ER at Children's. Michael met us there by noon, and we had the NICEST nurse. The hospital doctor ordered more breathing treatments and an oral steroid, and told us we'd be there over night. That decision made, we had to decide what to do with Gillian.

I was not a fan of my mostly healthy child hanging out in the hospital with us, so, as usual, Uncle D and Aunt Mercedes to the rescue!!! Fortunately, David and Mercedes were just about to head north for the holiday and were quite happy to deliver Lil'Bean to her Grandmas for a day or so. I ran back to our house with them; Aunt Mercedes fed Bean a snack; I frantically packed for our little girl, and Uncle D moved the carseat! After Gillian was safely on her way, I packed a few things for the hospital and headed back to see Daddy and Colin.

Colin was feeling some better when I got back, but was tired since he wouldn't take a nap. Michael and I decided that it would be best if Daddy stayed overnight with C-man, since Daddy can sleep anywhere and through anything. As previously mentioned, I was already exhausted, so I was happy to accept the offer of some sleep. I fed Colin dinner and his bedtime bottle, got him in his jammies, and settled for sleep and headed home. Of course, I am a horrible mother and took pictures and videos of my ill child. In my defense, I took the video so I could remember what this sounded like in case it happened again.

IMG_0235

Michael reports that Colin slept well that night and by the time I got back, on Thanksgiving Day, at 6:00 AM, he was looking and sound MUCH better. Here's a video from breakfast on Thursday of a healthier Colin:

When the dr came around that morning, we were set for discharge. Thankfully!! The doctor also cleared us to travel on Friday to see our families! By noon, we were on our way home with our Little Man! We were happy to be at home, and I think Colin was too. It was strange to only have one little monkey around the house! He certainly got to do a few more things around the house than he usually gets to do, like help cook or wander around the dining room.

From all accounts, Gillian did quite well with her adventures as well. She spend Wednesday night and part of Thursday with Grandma RoRo and Grandpa Greg and Thursday to Friday with Grammy Lynn and Grandpa Frank. Michael, Colin, and I joined her on Friday at the Uhls! By that point, her cold was in FULL FORCE and she just wanted to whine and hang on Mommy. I was ok with that!! I missed her so much!!! Her little personality is so important to our family dynamic, it was strange to go without it!

Colin saw the pediatrican for a follow up last Monday, and he is doing just fine. We just have to wait and see if this was a one time deal, or if it will develop into a pattern of asthma. We are hoping for the former, not the later.

It was certainly not the holiday we envisioned, but we have two healthy, happy children, so that's all that matters in the end.