March

March was an incredibly stressful month for me. I spent most of my time preparing for my written board examination as well as studying for midterms and completing my rotation at the VA. Even though it was a busy and stressful time, we still managed to have a little fun. These are from one night when I was trying to get the boys ready for bed they were goofing off and having fun:

Mail Time
It’s always fun to get a package in the mail. Even when I order something online and I know its coming and I know what it is I’m still excited to get a package in the mail. So you can imagine the excitement in our house when the boys got a package from my Aunt Diane in the mail. They were very excited to see the Blue’s Clues books, Mickey Mouse pajamas, and dinosaur stickers, and I was excited about all of the other clothes she sent. Thanks Aunt Diane!!
All cuddled up with their new Mickey PJs and Blue's Clues books:

Spencer fell asleep like this in the chair instead of in his bed that night:

These pictures make me laugh because they remind me of pictures from when I was little running through the sprinklers in our backyard with nothing but a shower cap on because I didn’t want to get water in my ears. Luckily the boys aren’t worried about getting water in their ears, they just thought it was fun to wear it.

February

What should have been a pretty fun month turned out to be a really miserable one. We were excited to celebrate the boys’ 3rd birthday and because it fell on President’s Day and both Matt and I would have the day off, and we planned to have a family party on the Saturday before their birthday which would have been Valentine’s Day. Unfortunately on the Friday before their party, February 13th, both of the boys got sick. We knew right away that it was bad and so we took them to the doctor that day not wanting to wait through the weekend. Of course our pediatrician was not there so we saw the physician’s assistant who told us that the boys most likely had RSV and that there wasn’t a lot that could be done other than treating the symptoms. We went home and had a miserable couple of days with them. By Sunday they both still had high fevers, coughs, vomiting, and an added bonus of green goop seeping from their eyes. I called the on-call doctor who called in a prescription for some eye drops and said if their fevers had not come down by Tuesday to call back. Monday, the boys actual birthday, my parents came over and we tried to celebrate a little. Neither of the boys felt well enough to even get off of the couch, and they wanted nothing to do with their presents, but we gave it to them anyways. I felt so bad for them, they were really sick. These are pics of their birthday, mostly of us trying to coax them into being excited about their birthday. As you can see it didn't work very well.

Tuesday during the day there was a little relief when Spencer’s fever finally came down under 100°. I felt encouraged by the news and decided not to call the doctor thinking Carter wouldn’t be far behind. I was wrong though and we had another miserable night of high fevers, vomiting, coughing, etc. We called the doctor the next morning and made an appointment. I went to school and Matt volunteered to take them in that afternoon with my mom. At the doctor’s office when they checked Carter’s oxygen levels they were in the low 70’s and Spencer’s were in the mid 80’s. It was decided that they would need to take Carter the Primary’s by ambulance because his levels were so low. Luckily my mom was there and she went with Carter while Matt followed with Spencer. There’s nothing like getting a call that your child is being taken by ambulance to the hospital to get your heart racing. By the time I got there both of the boys had been admitted to the ER and Carter was hooked up to oxygen and probes and all sorts of fun stuff. He was not a happy camper when I snapped this picture of him in the ER.


There were lots of doctors and nurses examining him and asking lots of questions. They ended up doing a chest x-ray and finding out that he had pneumonia, and bronchiolitis. They admitted him to the hospital and said he would have to stay there until he could keep his oxygen levels up on his own. Spencer got off pretty easy, they sent him home with a prescription for an antibiotic because he had an ear infection. He stayed with my mom and dad that night. Carter was not happy most of that first night in the hospital. They hooked him up to an IV which he hated, he had the oxygen going up his nose which he hated and kept trying to tear off, he had a probe on his toe to monitor his oxygen levels which he also hated, and then they did a couple of breathing treatments with him which he screamed through and had to be held down. It was awful. They also had to suction him a couple of times with these long tubes the stick up your nose and down the back of your throat. He really hated that too. It was a long night for all of us, but he finally fell asleep exhausted and I rested when I could. I snapped this picture of him late at night with my phone so it’s not the best:

By the next day Carter wasn’t fighting the oxygen as much and seemed like he might actually be feeling better. Matt and I took turns between being home with Spencer and at the hospital with Carter. Because Spencer was sick too he couldn’t come up to the hospital and it was hard because I felt torn between the two of them. It was also hard on them to be apart. While in the hospital they gave Carter a few cars and trucks to play with and Carter set one aside that was for Spencer and wouldn’t let anyone else play with it. He really missed Spencer. We spent four nights at the hospital before Carter was able to come home. Matt brought him home late Sunday night and he was so excited to see Spencer, and his toys and to just be home. It was really cute to see the smile on his face when he walked through the door. The first thing he said was, “Mom, my house is a mess!” And then it was cute to hear Carter and Spencer talk and talk and talk to each other. We all slept great that night and it was a nice feeling to have everyone home. Here they are reunited and having fun.

Big Boy Beds

I'm finally posting pictures of the boys' room. Up until recently they had still been sleeping in their cribs converted to toddler beds. We decided to spruce up their room a little with some paint, new beds and bedding, and a few accessories. I thought it turned out pretty dang cute considering I don't have a lot of decorating skills. The boys are absolutely in love with their room now, and they have slept so much better since the switch. I'm a little sad to see how grown up they're getting. They look so cute sleeping in their big boy beds.

Here is a picture of the work in progress. Matt did a great job with the stripes, despite a few bumps we had a long the way. It's not easy to have an indecisive wife!

Losing Your Best Friend

One day as Matt and I were looking at all of the things we had to do for the day we decided it would all get done much quicker if we split up our to-do list. The decision was made that we would each take one of the boys with us and it just so happened that Matt took Spencer with him leaving Carter and me at home. Carter was little confused by all of this, probably because he and Spencer had never really been apart. I didn’t really catch on that he was upset at first because I was busy trying to get us out the door. But then he came up to me with a sad look on his face and the following conversation took place.

Me: Carter, what’s the matter?
Carter: I just lost him. I just lost my best friend Spepper.
Me: Aww, buddy (my heart melting), he just went with daddy, they’ll be right back.
Carter: Mommy, I’m just so sad. I’m just so sad I lost my best friend.

It was so sweet! As I started thinking back, there really have only been a handful of times when the boys have been apart from each other, and I don’t think they would remember any of them. Luckily the separation didn’t last long, and soon they were reunited. Sometimes there’s nothing worse than losing your best friend.

Christmas

Christmas was so much fun this year. The boys had an absolute blast! They were so excited to see all of their presents. As soon as they were done opening their presents they moved right on to Matt's and then mine. It was a whirlwind day, going from one house to the next, to the next. We were so busy that I didn't even snap that many pictures, and then I left the camera at my Grandma's house and didn't even have it for most of the day. All in all though it was a great day, one of the best Christmases yet!

December

This month started off with mischief. They boys climbed up on the counter, got out every one of my dishtowels, put them in the sink, and filled it with water. They thought this was great fun - anything to do with water and making a mess equals fun, that is until you get caught!

Studying while the boys are around is something I try to avoid for obvious reasons, but during Finals week I didn't have much of a choice. So I got them each a highlighter and a power point presentation and told them to hightlight what they thought the important parts were. I guess it was helpful since I passed all my classes!

Jen brought over a gingerbread house one day to make with the boys. They were interested in this activity for about 15 minutes, which is 15 minutes longer then I thought they would be. I don't think we're going to win any prizes for our design, but it sure was fun!

I wasn't sure what to expect when we went to see Santa this year, but the boys were all about it this year. Spencer was in total awe, he couldn't get enough of Santa. In true Carter fashion he couldn't be bothered with sitting on Santa's lap, he was much too busy exploring his surroundings and touching things he shouldn't. In the end Santa had his hands full, literally.

The boys outside helping Daddy shovel the driveway.

While we were re-doing the boys bedroom we moved them into the spare bedroom. There wasn't a lot of room because we left everything that was in room there and just put up their cribs in the middle. When I went in to check on them before I went to bed I found them sleeping like this. I really wanted to get a picture of it, but it was difficult because there was no where for me to stand. I had to climb over Spencer's crib and stand on the computer desk. Of course it was dark in there so I couldn't see what I was doing and I had to snap about 15 pictures before I got one that showed both of them in the shot. But it was worth it to capture this cute picture!

November

I love that the boys share a room, especially in moments like these when I walk in and they are both snuggled up on the chair reading a book together both wearing their Spiderman pajamas. So cute!

Another pic of them snuggled up together. I know it appears that they snuggle up together all of the time, but they really don't, which is why I can't resist taking a pic when I see it.





Just because my mom doesn't have any grandkids that are girls doesn't stop her from still playing dress up. I'm actually kind of surprised they're not in princess dresses.



Sadly this was the only picture that got taken on Thanksgiving this year (Iknow, I know, I'm a slacker!). I was rolling out the dough for the pie crust that morning and Spencer wanted to help me "rock and roll." We had a busy day going from house to house, but it's always nice to see family and eat great food.






My dad has had this train since he was a little boy and he was so excited to get it out and show his grandsons. Spencer and Carter (especially Carter) loved it. They thought it was so fun to give their dinosaurs a ride on the train around the Christmas tree. Even though the train has been put back in it's box for another year, Carter still asks about it whenever we go over there.

Life Lessons

I've heard lots of stories of people dropping their cell phones in toilets and I've always wondered how that could possibly happen. I found out the hard way a couple of days ago at school. My cell phone was in the front pocket of my scrub top and as I was straightening my top my cell phone fell out of the pocket and plopped right in the toilet. Being the quick thinker that I am I just stood there looking at it wondering what I should do - was there something I could use to get it out, did I have enough time to run and get a glove, should I just leave it there...luckily one of my friends was in the stall next to me to offer advice.

Me: Tina! I just dropped my cell phone in the toilet, what should I do?!

Tina: Hurry and grab it

Me: But I peed in the toilet....

Tina: Hurry before it flushes!!

So I grabbed it. I was laughing hysterically at this point and lucky for me Tina had been in this situation before so she knew what to do. After we washed it off she took the phone apart and helped me dry it under the hand dryer. Then she told me to wait 24 hours, put the phone back together and it should work fine. She was right, it works great! And now I know what to do if it ever happens again, another valuable life lesson learned.

Halloween

The boys had so much fun on Halloween. I was a little worried about their costumes being dorky because I of course waited until the last minute to get them and everything was picked over, but they actually turned out pretty cute. We only took them trick-or-treating to about 6 houses but it still took us forever. They were just so interested in all of the other kids and all of the decorations everyone had out that I would have to drag them on to the next house. It is so fun to see things through the eyes of two year olds, they are so excited about the smallest things. I think their favorite thing of the night was handing out candy to the trick-or-treaters that came to the door. For a couple of days after Halloween every time the doorbell rang they would run to the door thinking it was more trick-or-treaters.

We also had our annual cookie decorating night with Grandma Joy, Jessica, Issac, and Jen at my mom's house. It was a lot of fun hanging out with everyone and the boys had a great time.