Q: Where have you been?

A:  One word-

Influenza

Q:  Did everyone get it?

A:  First Tyler, then me, then Robby

Q:  how come John didn't get it?

A:  He was in California

Q:  You mean you were terribly sick with two sick children all by yourself?

A:  YES and it was horrible!  I was so sick and so worried about my baby and so alone and on top of it all we had an ice storm come through which made me worry about all the more about all the "what if's"

What if the power goes out and we have no heat and no humidifier?

What if Robby's feaver spikes and I can't get to a doctor?

What if John's flight can't make it due to the weather and I'm stuck here by myself for one more day?

Q:  Did you guys get flu shots?

A:  Oh yes.  So much for that 20 bucks a pop!

Q:  How is everyone feeling now?

A:  We're all on the mend.  I'll consider it a full recovery when I can breathe out of my left nostril.  Luckily Robby seemed to have the mildest case out of all of us, but of course I worried most about him.

Thanks for asking.

I'll try to get around to posting an update of the better parts of the past week or so soon enough.

A little bit of this and a little bit of that

Thought I'd just do a quick post with a little bit of everything we've been up to this past week.

We had some lovely warm weather come through (of course, now it's freezing again) so I decided to take Robby out for our maiden voyage in the jogger while Tyler was at preschool. I've been on the treadmill a bit, but this was my first attempt at running outside with Robby. It was good for my soul. I felt like me again- same streets, same stroller, same old creek in the handle of the stroller...different baby on board. Oh the miles I logged pushing Tyler in that thing! It was good to be back...much slower now, but good to be back.

Remember this post? Well, he's at it again. John's most recent project at work involves several of these 5 foot blimps that he is programming to be steered by remote control. This was the first one. This picture was taken just after he returned home from Albertson's where they so kindly filled this baby full of helium...sure would have liked to have seen the look on the clerk's face. Of course there's no room to build and store them at work, so they will live in our spare bedroom. Yes, Tyler is in heaven. Just wait until they are all simultaneously flying around my living room for a test flight with the robots driving around on a grid down below. Don't ask me about what he does and why he gets to play with all this stuff for work...I still don't really know.

We've all been love'n lots on Robby, but I'll admit, I've been doing more than my fair share. I just can't get enough of this boy!!! He sure is cute lately with all his smiles and coos. Love it!

Tyler has been totally occupied with all of his toys recently...A true blessing! The other day I challenged him to create "the hall of puzzles." He was up for it and did a great job. In no time at all he had all of his puzzles put together- spanning a good portion of the front entry (I don't think you can see all of them in this picture). Watching Tyler put puzzles together is quite remarkable. He is efficient and accurate. I especially love watching him tackle a brand new puzzle for the first time. It really is amazing. For Christmas he received a Kung Fu Panda puzzle with 100 pieces. In no time at all he was completely indepenent in puting it together.

Sunday

This past Sunday we had Robby's baby blessing. It was sweet and simple. John did a lovely job. We were grateful to be supported by our friends here in Texas and appreciate the Hatch's stepping in and playing the role of "family" as they joined us for Sunday dinner afterward to celebrate.

Robby is a sweet boy. We are grateful for the tenderness he brings to our family. He, like his brother, is another reminder to us that miracles happen...and how glad we are that they do!

A Happy Ending

You may recall this post about my dear friend Jaimi who was beginning the adoption process for a second child.  Well, I'm am thrilled to give you the update and the rest of the story.  For the second time, Jaimi called me out of the blue with the words, "Hi Carrie, just wanted you to know that I'm looking at my brand new baby daughter."  (Her first adoption with Summer was just as quick and unexpected as this adoption was).  

Jeff and Jaimi were visiting family in Utah for Christmas.  While there, on December 30th, Jaimi received a phone call from a case worker in a town a few hours away asking if she and her husband could drive down to meet a birth mother who had delivered a baby girl a few days prior.  They were told to bring a car seat and be prepared for a possible placement.  They met with the birth mother the next morning (December 31st) and were placed with a new daughter, little Gracen, on January 1st. Needless to say, they won't be going home from their trip anytime soon as they will have to wait for a bit of paperwork to clear before they can cross state lines, and heavens knows, they'll be heading home with much more than they came out with!!!

I share this story because I love adoption and I love Jaimi.  I am over the moon with joy for her. Gracie is such a blessed little girl- so lucky to be going to such a wonderful family.  Jeff and Jaimi (and big sister Summer) are so deserving of every happiness they are experiencing.  My eyes well up with tears every time I think of them.     

I also share this story because I want to share the power of opening your mouth.  This adoption happened because Jaimi had an aunt who opened her mouth.  Jaimi's aunt goes to church with baby Gracen's boilogical great grandmother.  During a conversation between the two women one day, Jaimi's aunt happened to mention Jeff and Jaimi (her niece) were hoping to adopt and were in the finding stages of adoption.  Baby Gracen's birth mom had already selected a placement couple, but when that relationship began to sour,  the great grandmother knew just where to find an exceptional couple who might be a possible match- all because Jaimi's aunt opened her mouth. 

If you have any family or friends hoping to adopt, keep them in your thoughts, prayers, and conversations.  You just NEVER know how opening your mouth might change lives forever. 

Don't you just love a happy ending?!? 

Robby

Type fast, type fast, gotta type fast.  I have found that blogging isn't exactly high on the priority list these days, but I really need to do a quick post about our darling Robby now that life has settle down a bit and we are finally getting into some sense of a routine.

So Robby is now 2 months.  I do have to say that the first several weeks of his life were a sleep deprived blur.  He was born just after Halloween and I really don't recall much of what happened between Halloween and Christmas.  There are many benefits to adoption, but I'm discovering that one of the biggest benefits is that you enjoy those first several weeks SO much more.  With Tyler every moment of those first few weeks was quiet, sweet, simple, and joyous.  With Robby, it's a little the same, but harder to find.  I had to work harder to find and feel those moments.  They were mixed in with a difficult recovery from labor and delivery, nursing pains (seriously?!?!), sleep deprivation (which was worse this time since I have a four year old and can't just sleep during the day PLUS with nursing, every feeding it's "my turn"), and trying to divide my time between my two boys.  On top of that, Robby has been much more fussy than Tyler.  I'm realizing now that Tyler was the EASIEST baby...he rarely cried.  It turns out that Robby has a dairy allergy.  We had lots of sleepless nights and many fussy days before figuring this one out.  For a time, I dreaded every feeding just because of the crying, grunting, gasping, choking and spitting up that came afterward.  I just felt so bad for the little guy.  

Fast forward two months and we are doing great.  We have a hold on the reflux by switching to soy formula (to add insult to injury, I don't make enough milk and have to supplement) and I've gone off of dairy.  Plus, Robby just seems to kind of be growing out of his fussiness as well.

He's getting bigger literally every day.  I know it goes quickly, but this is ridiculous!  I just can't believe how fast he's growing.  He's consistently stayed in about the 50th percentile for height, weight, and head circumference.  This is very different from his big brother who is always in the 95th percentile for everything...except head circ...it's off the charts.  

Robby is very smiley these days and it's so fun to see his cute little mouth opened wide in a grin. He's also a very good "coo-er."  John seems to think he's more verbal than Tyler.  I love watching his little bird mouth form different vowel sounds while his expressive eyebrows move up and down.  So fun!   

He is such a joy and has brought so much happiness to our family.  Words can't express how much I love our little Robby bug!!!

With laundry in the background, Tyler in the front ground, and Robby in the middle...this video typifies life at our house these days.

Christmas

Once again we found ourselves headed to join family, friends and colder weather in UTAH for Christmas this year.  It was a bit stressful getting there with presents, snow clothes, and TWO kids, but we made it and it was worth the work.  We had a great time.  

Both boys didn't seem to mind how stressful it was getting everyone packed and ready for the trip.  They seemed to enjoy it all.  Here they both are on the bus to the airport.

Once we arrived in Utah, Aunt Chrissy had lots of fun activities planned.  Here she is bravely attempting cookie decorating with Tyler and his cousins.  Bless her.  Three boys, three bowls of frosting, and lots of cookies...FUN!

The next day we headed out for our daily dose of playing in the snow...thank heavens a series of snow storms provided the back bone for many of our activities.  

John made sure that Robby was involved in much of the fun and games.

Tyler ate half his weight in candy as he decorated his gingerbread house...seriously, more candy went into his tummy than went on that house!

Of course, we headed up to Salt Lake to see the lights on Temple Square.  It was super cold so we made the trip super fast.

During our visit, little Bob and big Bob did a bit of bonding

Christmas Eve finally rolled around and Tyler was delighted to discover that Santa had delivered our dinner right to Nani's doorstep.  

After dinner it was time for more fun and games with the cousins.  (I was amazed that Tyler actually stepped away from Nani's cars in order to participate in Lily's tea party...he loved it).

This year all of John's siblings were able to be together for Christmas eve and Christmas day, so of course we had to take lots of pictures.  This one was taken of all the grand kids (minus Beth who arrived just in time for the big family picture).  It was really great having everyone together under one roof for the first time in years.  It definitely made for a chaotic and memorable Christmas morning.

Before heading to bed, Tyler made sure to hang his stocking right where Santa would find it.

Christmas Eve brought a not so silent night for this little one, but I was glad for the smiles and coos that he gave me in spite of the restlessness.

The next morning Tyler discovered that he had indeed been a good boy and Santa did in fact bring him the Batman Castle that he had been hoping for.  It was magical seeing the look on his face as he came down the stairs...even if he did sneak down the back staircase in Nani's house instead of waiting with all of the cousins to come in from the kitchen.

The next day, we headed for the hills.  We went to Soldier Hallow for sledding.  It was good fun in spite of the bitter cold.  Tyler and I only lasted an hour or so.  Hot chocolate in the lodge sounded like a good idea.

After all that fun, it was time for another trip back to Grandma Marcia and Grandpa Bob's house for some much needed sleep.  

Lucky for me, I have a sweet husband who didn't want my trip to come to an end without a "girl's day out" with my mom and sisters.  He took the boys to the dinosaur museum while I did a little shopping with the girls.  I sure was glad he captured a few moments on film- this was a highlight of the trip for Tyler.  He had a blast!

I also love the picture he took of our boys together.

So there you have it...Christmas in a nutshell.  It was a fantastic holiday with lots of family time and tons of fun.  We're glad to be back to our own beds, our old routines, and our warmer weather, but really...we miss everyone already!!!

Hope your holiday was a good one too!