Christmas Time at our house...

This Christmas was an absolute blast at our house this year! Sam was the hit of the day/week! Well, Jake too, but this was our first Christmas with Sam actually understanding what was going on!

He opened every present and wanted to stop and play with each thing... "Open!" And everything that required to be opened also required a knife, crow bar (sp?), etc!!!! Sam got a slide (for inside the house - it's about 3 1/2 ft tall), and he absolutely LOVES it! He and Jake got a wagon so I can pull them around the neighborhood when it gets warmer, he got a ton of books, and a ton of 'educational' toys! One is a video game to play on T.V. and another is a keyboard that fits over our keyboard so he can play on the computer too! Santa was SO GOOD to Sam and Jake both this year! Sam kept saying, "Santa brings presents and toys!"

Jake got a few stuffed animals - one of which lights up and sings... Sam got one too, and he kept playing them both at the same time... very cute... and loud! The other one didn't do anything, so Sam kept handing it to us saying, "Screw driver, fix it!" Love that kid!

Back to the story where Pop Pop took Sam to the farm and took his pants and diaper off and taught him to tee tee in the grass...
I put Sam's tractor shirt on him this morning, and he said "Tee tee shirt!" Took me a minute, but I figured out that must have been the shirt he was wearing that day! Even funnier... he DID NOT want me to put his pants on, and he kept asking for his boots!!!! That kid forgets NOTHING (that you want him to anyway)!!!!!!!

Bo brought Rock Band out to the house.... ooooooo, we are GOOD!!!!!! We formed a band, called Sir Agony - we were later re-named Pure Agony!!!! We all played the instruments, but the basic band was BJ on guitar, Jen singing, and me and Bo on the drums... yes, Bo and I were not allowed to do our own instrument - it literally took us both, and we were STILL the 'anchor' of the band... and when I say anchor, I mean that we were holding everyone else back!!!!!!!! I tried the drums alone, and keeping two beats with my hands, and trying to add a foot pedal in too was absolutely HIDEOUS!!!!!! It was ugly! I have a new-found respect for Ben Hardy!!!! I did get the hang of the guitar, but only on 'Easy'!!!! Oh, and we all took our stab at singing... It was not pretty... I sound so much better in the shower or in the car! Funny, I sound just like the lead singers then... don't know what happened!? It's like you really think you're singing good, then you listen to yourself on the mic, and you realize that you should just mouth the words in church, lest you run off everyone sitting around you... or you're what they joke about at lunch afterwards!!!!!! BJ could rock the drums, by the way, and Jen was a super star singer!

Fun times... looking forward to our next tour...

Oh! And BJ was given tickets to the Chk-Fil-A Bowl (AKA Peach Bowl) where Clemson will be playing Auburn on the 31st... Mama and Daddy have agreed to keep the kids, so Bo, Jen, BJ and I are going!!!! We're so excited! I told BJ I have toyed with the idea of taking advantage of the kids being gone and just crawling into bed and not leaving it for about 12-14 hours!!!!! Nah... I can sleep when I'm dead!!!!! It's going to be a blast!!!!

These are pictures Anna took ( http://www.annacookbrown.com/ ) of us for our Christmas presents to the family!!!! She did such an awesome job! I TOTALLY recommend her if you are in need of a photographer... forget those stuffy studios!!!!

And here is the Birth Announcement / Christmas Card that she designed for us (she really is awesome!!!):

Christmas pictures to come later...

Whirlwind...

So, trying to get ready for Christmas (with these two high-maintenance kids) is a bit of a challenge! We have been super busy! Besides the 'normal' (and I use that word LOOSELY) day-to-day survival, we have celebrated Mama's birthday, I have had a doctor's appointment, Jake has had a cardiologist appointment, we have shopped for Santa (lucky guy - we do all the work, and he gets all the credit!), gone to BJ's holiday party at work,... I can't think of everything all at once!!!

Jake's cardiologist appointment was a bit of a bummer. Dr. Samai wasn't even going to do an echo, but, after feeling his pulses and measuring his blood pressures in his upper and lower extremities, he decided we needed to take a look because there seemed to be a substantial difference in the upper and lower blood pressures. This is because of the coarctation in his aorta (restriction), which was repaired during surgery; it is expected for him to have a little difference. We waited about 10 minutes for the ultrasound tech, but she was nowhere to be found. Dr. Samai knows we drive all the way to Marietta just for him, so he went ahead and did it himself so he could get us out of there to beat traffic (just another reason we LOVE Jake's dr!). The echo showed that, yes, there is a difference - but there's still a wide margin of error with each of these methods. Therefore, we have to go back to Egleston for a heart cath. If they find the coarc is 'back' then they'll do a balloon procedure to stretch the aorta out to help blood flow better. Worst case, that doesn't work (or work for long), and he'll have to have surgery again!

I really believe that this heart cath will either show everything is fine, or that the balloon procedure will be sufficient. The outward signs show that Jake is doing great! Wonderful and scary all at the same time, good because that means he isn't 'that bad' and bad because, if he is having a problem, we can't tell!!!!!!! SO, Dr. Samai doesn't want us stressing over the holidays, nor does he want to wait for three weeks to get this done, so we should be going for this procedure this week sometime!

We were bummed about the news, but are trying not to freak out until we know that there is actually something to freak out about. That being said, I look at my little baby and just hug on him and kiss on him and tell him he HAS to be all right! I just don't know if I can handle all the tubes and wires on my little guy again!?

We all know I am a PLANNER... this is killing me not knowing when this heart cath will be and having to wait on someone to call me and tell me when we are going. Not only is this an involved procedure that will keep us there all day (he will be sedated, but no breathing tubes or anything like that) - we were also told to plan on spending the night! Great! Another reason I need to have my ducks in a row and be able to plan around this day we are speaking of!

All this being said, Jake had a WONDERFUL night last night! He slept for SEVEN HOURS in a row!!! Which means we slept for SIX STRAIGHT HOURS! I feel like a new woman (well, slight exaggeration, but good anyway)! He smiles at us all the time - we have to make silly faces and tickle him sometimes, but he is such a happy little baby boy!

Sam is doing wonderful - Captain Destructo remains at large! He likes to help me pump (Mommy make milk), so he grabs the vacuum handle and cranks it up and thinks it's hilarious when I scream in pain! He has a toy that says that cows make milk, so now he says, "Cows make milk, Mommy makes milk" LOVELY - I'm compared to a cow - AGAIN! Sam and Pop Pop went to the farm last week where he learned to tee tee in the grass (no pictures, but imagine Sam in his boots, shirt and nothing else running around wetting in the grass!) Now, we drive by a field and Sam says, "Tee tee grass." He tried to pick Jake up out of his swing today - just like he sees Mommy do... YIKES! Every time I'm on the 'puter' he runs and wants me to "Pick you up" and "See Pop Pop's airplane"... he's just a cutie! I have a couple more stories, but they would give away Christmas, so I hope I remember them after the holidays!!!!!

God is good, I still say - what a wonderful season to be celebrating that!

More pictures...

Thanksgiving... Brandon (BJ's bother, who is a SENIOR now at FSU) came with us - it was so much fun, and having him there just made it more complete!

Sam and Pop Pop with "Pop Pop's airplane!"

"See Mimi"

Pop Pop's helper!Rico... as in Suave!Our little cowboy! He looks like he actually just stands there for pictures... don't let this fool you!!!OK - I don't care who you are, this is CUTE!!!!!!!

Adopting

What an inspiring and heartbreaking story all at the same time! I can't imagine loving a child and knowing they're "yours" and not being able to hold them, love on them, get up with them at 3 AM every night, etc... My heart goes out to these families that adopt - they have a strength beyond what I could imagine!

www.elliedub.com

Click on Missions to see their video.

Crusty...

I officially have a crusty child! I was hoping to avoid this with MY child, but, no, I haven't! I have put him to bed with peanut butter, jelly and spaghetti on his shirt (don't ask), AND I have been wiping his little nose (to TRY and avoid the crusties) for the past week! Oh! Well! Can't win 'em all!

Jake went to the pediatrician the other day about his reflux. He wasn't sleeping well, and we were/are NEVER able to lay him down - he screams! His little voice is so hoarse - it's pitiful to hear him cry! He had started spitting up more and more too, so I took him on. They won't give medicine, but she told me other things I can do to help, and he should outgrow it by the time he's three months old. Do you know how far away that is? A WHOLE NOTHER MONTH!!!!! Her remedies: Keep him at least at a 30 degree angle at all times - even during diaper changes (OK - you tell me how to change a diaper that a baby is SITTING on, and I'll be happy to do that!); instead of feeding him 4 oz every 3-4 hrs, feed him 2 oz every 2 hrs (ummm... I about started crying here - we are so sleep deprived waking up with Jake every 3-4 hrs and Sam - darn this daylight savings time change business - waking up at 5:45 or 6 every morning... rearing to go, I might add); and add 1 tsp cereal per oz to his bottle (thicker milk will be less likely to come back up than the thin - good thought). So far, it's helping. Jake seems much more relaxed and even sleeps better (the short naps that he chooses to take). I DO NOT wake him to feed him, and I feed him as much as he wants. I'm not stopping him at 2 oz and hearing him cry for two hrs before he can have more! Mommy's intuition here!!!! Doctors operate on averages anyway, so I'm tailoring her advice to Jake's needs! The biggest difference here is that I'm adding cereal to his milk and not taking an hour to get that last ounce down him anymore! =)

This has been a busy week. We went to the dentist - no biggie, but we did it with two kids, and just me and BJ! YAY! BJ went, I met him there with the kids, and he went home with them while I got mine cleaned! I NEVER have cavities, but this time I had two - man, ruined my perfect record! I hate shots, and DO NOT want to get them filled... I will, don't worry! I got my hair done (had help from Mama and Daddy there), we went to church (good Sunday to go - wasn't too crowded!), and we've been relatively healthy - baring a LITTLE runny nose from Sam still!

Sam is excited about Santa. We told him he had to be a good boy for Santa to come see him, so he says, "Sam good, Jake bad" and kisses Santa all the time! We have neither suggested nor prompted either of these responses! Mama brought him a Santa that's taller than he is that was mine when I was little. He takes him everywhere - he is watching Sam sleep right now!

Speaking of sleep deprivation, the other night, Sam started crying in the middle of the night, so BJ volunteered to go take care of him. He still wasn't back 15-20 minutes later, so I went in there only to find them both asleep in Sam's bed. I got BJ up and made him go back to his own big boy bed! Now Sam lays on his bed and says, "Daddy nite-nite." Smart kid!

More pictures...

Sam "helping" Jake swing...
Jake swinging just fine on his own... he loves the fish!
Sam "showing" Jake how to play on his mat... And again... Sam putting himself in Time Out... He knows what he's not supposed to do, so he says, "Time Out," and runs to this spot where he has to sit. I support him in his decisions, but it's quite funny! What do you do with that?????
And we're done....
BJ messing around with Sam - this is the result! The other morning, I was feeding Jake, Sam was quiet, and within one minute (literally), this is what he had done!

What? What are you looking at?Santa's watching Jake (being a good boy =)Sam telling Santa HE'S been a good boy!Again, Sam 'playing' with Jake... he's such a loving big brother!Watching...MAN, I snapped this picture at just the right time!!!! See? He loves his baby brother!This seems to be Sam's hairstyle these days... there just aren't enough hours in the day sometimes... or are there too many????

Tummy time...Our sweet little angel...

And he's spent...

This is what it has come to...

This is what our Christmas decor has come to this year...

Oh! Yes! Those are the BIG FAT colored lights you see there!!!! Trust me, this tree puts the Griswold Family Tree to shame!!!!!

First of all, let it be known that this is our only Christmas decoration - period (besides a wreath on the front door). This is what our tiredness has brought us to - impaired judgement! We went to Wal-Mart and bought the biggest box of ornaments we could find... PLASTIC, hence shatter-proof. We got our little tree out, and that's it! We got new lights and this box of ornaments so we don't even have to venture down to the basement to hunt for decorations, and we're done!!!!! We just didn't have it in us to go all out this year! It's sad, but it actually is such a relief to not have to dread getting it all out then having to put it all back up!

Let me qualify this by saying that I absolutely LOVE Christmas, and I always LOVE decorating my house and getting in the holiday spirit! This year, however, we're just glad to be home and are trying to avoid creating more work for ourselves right now!!!! I figure this was my only chance to get out easy before the boys might remember and hold it against me for the rest of my life!!!!!

More pictures...

Look at that little chunk!

Jake actually looks quite uncomfortable, but he is passed out, and Stormie was in need of some Mommy-love too!!!!

That's all I have right now!? Mama and Daddy still have Sam... I'm getting him back tomorrow - he is over his cold, and has passed it onto both of them! Bless their hearts - I hope they're able to rest a little after I get Sam off their hands! They are the absolute BEST parents/grandparents in the world!!!!!!

Sam can now spell Mimi, Pop, BJ (had that one down from before=), and Tam... I'm telling you, he's the smartest kid ever!!!!!! And he's only 20 months old!!!!