Rainy Day Cupcakes

This rainy day called for cupcakes.  She even got to decorate them herself.

Her only request was that we light the "candlesticks" and pretend it was her birthday.

While on the phone...

This morning, I was sitting at the kitchen table feeding Maxwell and talking to a friend on the phone.

Maxwell was in his Bumbo on the table, attempting to eat cream of wheat and pears.

Kathryn was standing at the sink making her famous apple cider (water and apple scented soap).

Maxwell was quickly disinterested in his food, so I gave him the spoon to play with instead.

Within seconds, he had food all over face, hands and clothes.

And Kathryn worked her way up to the counter and was washing the bar.

I didn't have my glasses on, but I described the scene to my friend as best as I could.

She said to me, "You are such a good mom."

To which I replied, "No, I'm not a good mom. I'm just on the phone and not reacting quite the way I might if I weren't on the phone."

But still, I was interested to see what Kathryn would do.  Plus my counters needed washing anyway.

So I let her spread water and soap all over the bar and counter, adding more and more soap as she went.

And I let Maxwell continue to splatter food all over himself, while I talked to my dear, sweet friend who lives across the country.

Suddenly, water was dumped all over the counter, which quickly gushed onto the tile floor.

And Kathryn, stripping as she went, stood up on the wet, soapy counter in her underwear, only to find herself slipping.

So I rushed over to her, leaving Maxwell sitting in his Bumbo on the kitchen table, to catch my slipping daughter.  All the while, turning my head to keep a careful eye on my tiny, little son on the table. 

Luckily, she caught herself, and Maxwell sat very still in his seat.

I told my friend goodbye.  And then, I informed Kathryn that she needed to wipe up all the water.

By this point, she was jumping on the couch cushions, which were on the living floor, in the nude.

And she told me No. She was not going to wipe up all the water.

I told her to go to sit on her chair in her bedroom for a time-out if she wouldn't wipe up the water.  

She happily obliged.  So I decided to change my mind, and told her she didn't have a choice in the matter.  

She needed to be responsible and clean up her mess.

And that is how both of my children ended up clothes-less.  

Maxwell because he had food all over his clothes and Kathryn because she was soaking wet.

I did need my counters and floors cleaned after all, so it ended up just fine in the end.

My Kids

Kathryn and Maxwell were snuggling on the couch this morning.

And Kathryn requested that I take a picture of them together.

 So I took a quick moment to snap a picture.  And I'm so very glad that I did.

Because they are so adorable.  And they are growing up right before my eyes.

Grieving

There was a little bit of grieving at our house on Sunday afternoon.

We had Michael's parents over to watch the UNC basketball game and eat dinner with us.

Unfortunately, they lost to Kansas.  Michael and his mother were especially sad.

Because they have Carolina blue running through their veins.

Spring (is) was here

I say that, because it has been BEAUTIFUL the past few days.

And it's supposed to be even nicer this weekend.  But the predicted forecast for Monday is rainy and grey.

So I'm anticipating that this spring temptation is only temporary.  And this is how Kathryn (we) feels about it.

So the last few days, we've been trying to soak it all up.  

The clear blue skies, the sunshine and the yellow daffodils blooming in my neighbors yard across the street.

And just yesterday, I saw the tulips in our flower beds starting to sprout up too.

So far, we've been to the park to swing, gotten ice-cream, fired up the grill and worked in our yard.

With this nicer weather, I've been dreaming about summer.  

About our deck, yummy summer treats and the pool Kathryn's going to take swimming lessons at.

We're anxious to make some changes to our yard too.  Such as making it more manageable.

There are SO many bushes and shrubs, and the spiders are terrible!  We'll see though... 

The only downside to these past few beautiful days, was when Michael had to perform the Heimlich.

Kathryn didn't chew up her steak well enough...that was scary.  Luckily he reacted fast! 

Good News

I am happy to report good news today.

Although we don't have completely clear answers yet, we have a better idea of what's going on with Max.

Unfortunately, the swallow study was not his most successful.  The little stinker would not take a bottle.

He must be too spoiled since I have only ever nursed him, except for the previous swallow studies.

  He's too old now and KNOWS what he wants.

We practiced and practiced for a full week, and he either screamed at the bottle or played with it, depending on his mood.  It was very stressful and we didn't know what to do, except pray a lot.

However, during the study we were able to give him baby food laced with barium and a sippy cup full of the same delicious, chalky stuff.  He loved sitting up like a big boy in that seat. 

The therapist and technician could not get enough of him.  

He was so adorable as he spewed food from of his mouth and all over the x-ray machine.

This therapist noticed that was his tongue and frenulum were somewhat tight.

She said that it could be effecting his swallow and making it difficult to move food to the back of his mouth.

It could also explain why he still continues to gag and choke while he is nursing, even though he's 8 months.

The ENT checked his frenulum and also thought it was tight, that he was somewhat tongue-tied.

Every baby is different, and even though it was minimal (4 mm too long), it may make all the difference for him.

So she recommended clipping the frenulum, which is a simple procedure (he would be under anesthesia). 

Then we discussed some other issues we've been concerned about.

He has gone from one cold to the next since the beginning of January, yet he's never had a runny nose.  

And he has been so congested, but we can never suction anything out despite using saline drops.  

He has such a croupy cough at night, he doesn't sleep well and he is a mouth breather.

She decided to perform a nasal scope to check and see if his adenoids were enlarged.  

They were 30% enlarged, but not enough for her to be concerned.  

However, as she was trying to put the scope down his nose, she ran into so much mucous and flem she had to suction him out with a hose.  She said it was horrible, and typical of children with very bad re-flux.  

Max has been treated for re-flux off and on since our ENT found cobble-stoning on his airway during his bronchoscopy and surgery six months ago.  The mucus and flem may also be the cause of his problems.

He's a baby who can hardly breath because he's always so stuffed up, and trying to coordinate breathing and eating is extremely difficult.  She put him on a nasal steroid for a few weeks to dry out his sinuses.

And then, we will determine if it is necessary to have his tongue clipped.

We were relieved by this news, and although we don't have all the answers yet, we are so happy that it wasn't worse.  We were imaging some very, very horrible scenarios.  This is nothing compared to our fears.

Thank you to our family and friends who called, texted and commented over the past few days.  

It was so sweet and we know how much you all care.  Thank you again for your concern for Maxwell.  

Feeding Troubles

We've reached a crossroads.  A time when we just don't know what to expect.
We're entering unknown health territory with Maxwell again, and we're worried.
Maxwell is over eight months old and he cannot eat solid baby foods (He can eat dissolve-able foods though).
It's as though he doesn't know how to swallow.  He gags and chokes and tires easy from trying.
When he was almost six months old, I worried about starting solids, but Michael convinced me it was time.
We struggled for about two months, and finally made an appointment with our speech therapist.
She came to our home and did an evaluation for feeding therapy.  At first, everything was going okay.

He was happy and swallowing, but then he started struggling.
She said there just wasn't something right with his swallow.  She said it wasn't a matter of maturity.
His oral mechanics were age appropriate and he wanted to eat.
She wondered if there was a problem structurally.  Something that hadn't formed right.
When he had his feeding tube, he gagged and choked.  He never got used to it, which surprised the doctors.
 Now looking back, it makes us wonder if there was something more going on that we weren't aware of.
So the therapist ordered a swallow study (the fourth one so far) and a follow-up appointment with our ENT.
Michael and I have been worried all along, and she confirmed those fears with her response.
She said there was nothing more she could do, until we had more information.

After she left, I called Michael to tell him the news.  He was very concerned.
I started thinking about going back to the hospital for the swallow study.  The same hospital we spent nearly
a month living at.  I started thinking about our family being separated while Maxwell recovered.
I told myself that I couldn't go through it again.  I just couldn't handle it.
And then an overwhelmingly peaceful feeling washed over me.
And I heard these words, "You can handle it."
I don't know what "it" is.  I don't know what the future holds or what to expect.
But I just keep remembering that feeling I had while standing at my kitchen counter trying to process it all.

And so tomorrow, we go to find out some more information.  We really don't know what to expect.
It's hard not to imagine the worst, especially with all that he's been through already.  Maybe it will be nothing.  Or maybe it will be something so simple, an easy fix.  Either way, we feel somewhat prepared.
And hopefully, we can get this sweet little boy figured out!

That sneaky little leprechaun

Last night, Kathryn made a green shamrock cookie sandwich to leave for the the little leprechaun.

She also left some milk and green peas on his plate, and her pink shoes for his kids.

And then this morning, the little leprechaun visited our house.  

He ate the cookie and peas, drank the milk and took the pink shoes to give to his kids.

He left green balloons in Kathryn's bedroom and he turned the toilet water green.

He turned the milk green too and left green cereal for breakfast.  He's a sneaky little leprechaun!

On a Friday morning

We made cute little people out of Kathryn's lacing beads today.

I was waiting for her to give them all names, and it didn't take long before she did.

 We talked about our vacation this summer, and those who are going too.

 Unfortunately, we just didn't have enough beads for everyone making the trip.

And while I was making lunch, Kathryn decided to jump on the couch cushions.

Yes, she's still in her pajamas, but that's how we roll on Friday mornings (or most mornings and afternoons).

Oh wait, Maxwell is dressed!  At least that makes one of us.

A Crafting Day

Kathryn and I spent the morning in our pajamas working on projects.  

I love that Kathryn likes to be creative, and I'm trying (hard) to foster that creativity.

Some days are better than others.  That brown covered box behind her is her counter/computer.

I almost threw it out yesterday, but she looked at me with complete disbelief when she found it in the garage.  She said (yelled) to me, "Mommy, that's not for recycling!  That's my computer!"  Poor thing.

 So, I had some mother's guilt last night, and thought of some projects we could do together today.

Here was our Shamrock banner we made this morning while listening to the Disney channel on Pandora.

She enjoyed stamping the papers, and it's nice to have a little green around here finally.

 (I made the stamp out of some sponges I had, and then I hot glued it to a scrap piece of wood).

The park makes you smile

We spent a beautiful day at the park with our family this past weekend.  

Here's a video to show what a lovely day it was (song is All Smiles by Jess Penner).

Weekend Review

We spent another weekend driving across the state, visiting family and friends:

1.  We met our newest nephew, Adam.  Michael's sister Kari had him two weeks ago and he is precious, with a head full of dark hair like his daddy.  He is the last of another round of babies, three of which are boys. All the siblings and their children, Dan and baby Seth, Michael and baby Max, Kari and baby Adam (only Joe and little Evelyn were missing).  

2.  The kids and I drove to listen to my nephew report on his mission.  That's hard to even believe (Nathan is only 6 1/2 years younger than me).  He served his mission in Peru and it was amazing to see how much he has grown and changed over the past two years.  He did a wonderful job and we are so happy that we made the trip.

3.  My sister Michelle and I spent the night at my parents home.  The kids had a ball playing together.  Kathryn was her typical self and asked her cousins all sorts of questions.  I think one of the most entertaining one of all was when she asked Lincoln, who is 12, if he'd just gone to the bathroom. He got a good laugh out of that one.

 

4.  My brother Bill is visiting my parents for a few weeks to remodel their kitchen.  He spent the morning telling Kathryn all sorts of stories about the mouse living in the basement and a frog and lizard who were unlikely best friends.  Bill has ALWAYS been an amazing story-teller and Kathryn was captivated.

5.  Grandma and Grandpa Woodland loving on Maxwell.

6.  We stopped to visit some friends on our way out of town.  It has been far too long!

Remembering our First Place

As we were driving home recently, Michael and I began reminiscing about our very first apartment.

It was probably just under 500 square feet.  The kitchen was so small, there wasn't even enough room for a full-sized stove.  It was hard for both of us to even stand in there together.  All the easier to clean though.

Ardeth was our landlady, or AJ as Michael lovingly referred to her.  

For almost three years, we rented the little apartment that took up half of her basement.

She was a very sweet, kind and organized widow who had been renting the apartment forever.

 Actually, she was a fire-ball and was never afraid to tell us what she thought.

She made sure we kept the blinds open, vacuumed enough and swept the leaves in the breezeway.

But of all her renters, I think she loved us the best.  

Michael killed a ton of mice for her when a new construction project began just down the road.

I think that got us started off on the right foot. 

We reminisced about the good old days.  We remembered all the fun we had while living there.

We were newly married, working and attending school full-time.  We were poor and every penny counted.

That was back when our grocery budget was $65 a month.  I know we ate a lot of macaroni and cheese, spaghetti and frozen vegetables.  I usually didn't buy meat and ground hamburger was a rare treat.

We remembered cleaning that little apartment.  We would turn the music up loud and clean together.

We took a lot of walks all around the neighborhood and down to the campus and talked about everything.  

We had wonderful neighbors and made some good friends while living there.

We swept a lot of leaves and shoveled a lot of snow.  We road our bikes, and then had our bikes stolen.

We picked the tomatoes that Ardeth planted just for us.

We convinced her to let us paint the brown paneled walls, put in new light fixtures and a ceiling fan.

We went to the laundry mat every week to do our laundry.

We sat on her deck that overlooked the college area and did our homework on warm days.

We convinced her to let us get a cable line put in for high-speed internet.

We pulled our mattress into the living room and watched movies late into the night.

We had an old blue couch, an industrial table, a full-sized bed and dressers given to us by various members of Michael's family.  We always joke that I didn't come to marriage with a dowry.

We read Micheal's acceptance letter for Pharmacy School on that same blue couch.

There were sensor lights above the front door that always turned on when it was windy.  

And one night, we saw someone running away from our front door.  We always wonder who that was.

We remembered when an ambulance showed up to take Ardeth to the hospital in the middle of the night. 

After we moved to Boise so Michael could finish his third and fourth year of school and clinical rotations, a sweet friend threw me a surprise baby shower, and Ardeth kindly hosted it on her deck.  

She has since sold her home and moved to be closer to her children.  

We send her a Christmas card every year, and she sends us one in return.  She loves that we stay in touch

We loved those first few years of our life together, spent in AJ's basement apartment.

And we love reminiscing about the good old days.

How we spent our day

Michael had the day off yesterday, so we had to think of things to do to keep ourselves busy.

My family kindly accompanied me to Jo-Anns and gave me advice on craft supplies.  I'm currently in the midst of some decorating projects for our home, and I'm almost finished with Maxwell's room.  YEAH!

We met Grandpa Higbee for lunch, and he personally delivered a chocolate egg for Kathryn from the Easter Bunny.  Which is funny, because she asked me just an hour before if the Easter Bunny talked.

We went to four stores looking for new shoes for Kathryn, but sadly, we didn't find any that we liked.

We signed up for Netflix last night.  We've been considering it for a long time, and finally took the plunge.

We're like that though, we think about things for a million years and then spontaneously decide to do it!

But then, it's not really spontaneous, because we've been thinking about it for forever.

How we do laundry

Laundry.  I shouldn't complain about it.  But I'm going to anyway.

It's my least favorite chore at the moment.  Maybe that's why, because it's kind of become a chore.

 Usually, I still need to put a load or two away by the time I do laundry again.

Last time I did laundry, a clean load sat in my dryer for an entire week.  

One FULL week.  I need to make a change. 

A friend of mine once told me that she finally decided not to do another load of laundry until the previous load had been put away.  That way it didn't build up.  And BUILD UP!

I should commit to that.  Then maybe I would feel better about my laundry situation.

But, I do like when my children sit in the laundry baskets while I'm working on the problem mentioned above.  That makes me smile!  Plus, Kathryn loves to help and Max is just too darn cute.

Dear Max: Seven Months

Dearest Maxwell,
Oh how we love you so.  You are such a gem.  Such a treasure.

You have quite personality.  You are such a talker and you're getting nosier by the day.
You've grown a very, very fond attachment to your mother.
So much in fact that you scream for me constantly.

Your skin has always been so beautiful.  Always so perfectly clear and smooth.
But sadly, you've developed eczema on the backs of your legs, in between the chubby little folds.

You've been congested and sick off and on over the past few months.
We hate to hear you coughing and breathing at night.

You've started to get mad when a toy is taken away from you or it falls out of your hand.

You love to wave your arms and you just started clapping your adorable chubby hands.
When you get really excited, you wave your arms up and down uncontrollably.

You are very friendly and you give a willing smile to just about anyone.
Oh how I love that smile.  It's so wide and adorably lopsided.
I love how you pull your bottom lip in and suck on it.  It's very very cute.

Your hair has started to come in and it's slightly darker than I expected.
You babble a lot and it sounds like your saying da da sometimes.
I love your long eyelashes.  They didn't start that way, but they've been filling in lately.

We love you Maxwell.  We love to hear you giggle and coo and we love watching you grow.

Love,

Mommy