A Super Hero Turns Seven

Baby Alex

Handsome first grade boy!

On December 26th, 2004 Jacob and I were at his parents' house for Christmas.  We exchanged gifts with his family, ate a lot of junk food, and watched Dodgeball.  The next morning we got up ridiculously early and went to the hospital to induce labor.  It was our first child and we didn't really know what to expect.  Sure we had gone to the birthing classes and all that fun stuff,  but even still, we were embarking on a whole new world.

After inducing labor the doctor discovered that Alex's head was shoved all the way back and stuck under my pelvis.  He told us what was going on and said, "I would recommend doing a C-Section otherwise there is a good chance his neck will be broken in the birthing process.  Would you be okay with doing a C-Section?" This question struck me as funny--if my child's neck could be broken then why wouldn't I be okay with a C-Section?

So, we went into the OR and had a C-Section.  Alex was born at 10:16 am on December 27, 2004.  He was perfect and very observant. He would just stare at Jacob as if he was sizing him up. One night while we were still in the hospital we noticed that Alex had stopped breathing and was turning blue.  Jacob ran down the hall and loudly announced to the nurses that our baby wasn't breathing and was blue.  Three nurses rushed in, said nothing, grabbed Alex and hurried him out of the room.  The next few minutes seemed to take forever.  We didn't know what was going on or if Alex was okay.  Finally, after what seemed like hours, a nurse brought Alex back to us.  She told us that they had to hook him up to a machine and clean out his airway--she then showed Jacob how to do it if this issue ever came up again.  We ended up staying at the hospital 4 days because of all of Alex's issues--many of these issues he still struggles with today.  His life is filled with occupational therapy, speech therapy, and doctors appointments. He rarely complains and is always ready to try his best no matter what the situation may be.  He has taught us so much about persistence and staying positive.

I can't imagine a world without this amazing little boy in it.

One Month Old

I should have posted this yesterday--now I'm a day behind.  Better late than never, right? Yesterday marked one month since Kaitlyn came into our lives. I can't believe it has already been a month since we went to the hospital to bring her into the world.

She is doing a lot--she smiles quite a bit (especially at her brothers).  She has been rolling from her tummy to her back for a couple of weeks now and this week she rolled from her back to her tummy for the first time. Alex and Logan don't understand why Kaitlyn doesn't play with her toys and it really bothers Logan that Kaitlyn can't eat food.  Ha. We keep telling them that she will be doing all of these things before we know it.
She is a sweet baby who likes to cuddle and is very vocal when she is unhappy.  LOL  We look forward to watching her grow and experiencing all these firsts with her!

Dropping Like Flies

Saturday night Jacob and I were watching a movie when we heard Alex jump out of his bed and hurry to the bathroom.  A second later we heard him vomiting.
And so began the beginning of pukefest 2011 in our house.

Alex had a fever and couldn't keep anything down--Jacob and I began using Lysol, hand sanitizer, and scrubbing with soap like crazy.  My hands are dry, red, raw, an cracked from constantly washing them and trying to keep the germs at bay. Alex was sick all day Sunday and Monday. We tried to keep Logan away from him (which, if you know my two boys, you know that is a hard thing to do). Yesterday Logan came to me and said his tummy hurt.  "Oh, no!" I thought.  He laid down for about 5 minutes then said he felt fine and was hungry.  He had Spaghettios for lunch and I suggested he try some crackers just in case.  A little while later he told me again that his tummy hurt so I made him lay down in his bed--where he fell asleep.  He slept for about an hour and then I heard him crying. I went in his room and the smell hit me in the face the instant I stepped in--then, I saw just how bad it was . . . or so I thought.  It was all over Logan's face, his clothes, his bed, and the floor. The funny thing about being a mom, at least for me, is that I can be totally grossed out when some one vomits, but when its my kids I just want to clean them up and make them feel better.  Yes, it grosses me out but not to the point that I can't help my kids and tell them its okay while I'm cleaning them up (and everything around them). I pulled all of Logan's bedding and stuffed animals off his bed and washed them.  I gave Logan a bath and sprayed down his mattress and cleaned the floor.  I went in to put clean bedding on his bed and that is when I saw it. There was vomit on the wall and vomit on the underside of Alex's bed (Logan sleeps on the bottom bunk).  I stood there for a minute and looked at it in hopes that maybe, just maybe it was my imagination.  Nope. Feeling just a tad overwhelmed I had a quick, "This is so disgusting and I'm sick of it" cry and then cleaned it up and put Logan back in his bed. I set a trash can beside his bed and told him to use it if he didn't think he could make it to the bathroom.

Keeping Logan away from Kaitlyn has been a new challenge as well. He adores her and wants to check on her, kiss her, touch her and I won't even let him 5 feet from her.  It hurts his feelings but he says he understands.

Alex is feeling better today and now Jacob is sick.  *sigh*  I can honestly say I'm ready for this week to be over.

Update on Astley Kids!

Logan wearing the crown he made at school today.  He was very proud of it.

My big 1st grade boy.  He has come home from school every day for the past week with at least 2 spots (they get a spot for good behavior).  Today he also brought home a Happy Note from music class for good behavior.  I told him we were proud of him and he said, "Why?  Its not that hard to be nice."  Ha.

Kaitlyn--she will be a month old next week.  I can't believe it.  I know it flies by--I can't believe Alex is going to be 7 in a matter of days.

It has been interesting adjusting to having three children instead of two.  Everyone told me that its harder to go from one child to two than to go from two to three.  When we went from one child to two Alex was 15 months old so we had two babies at once. In that sense adding Kaitlyn to the mix is easier in that Alex and Logan are older and love to help with her.  They are more independent and don't need constant attention like Kaitlyn does. In other ways it is harder because we have homework, reading, therapies and a number of other things we have to do every day/week and adding Kaitlyn to the mix makes all of that a little more challenging.  I am happy to announce that the boys were on time for school every day this week (it was my first week to do it all with no help) and we were only 5 minutes late to speech this morning before school.

We discovered this afternoon that Logan had gone to school with a Jacob sock in his coat.  He apparently wore the sock in his coat all day and didn't realize it--although he said he did fell something weird in his coat today.

I am looking forward to Christmas break--two weeks without having to rush around every day or work on homework. Every December I make sugar cookies with my boys for Santa and we watch Christmas movies together.  I am looking forward to doing these things with them this year as well. Things are busier than usual, but I still plan to make time to do all these things with the boys--one day they'll be too big and won't be interested in doing them with me so I plan to enjoy it while I can!

Busy and Blessed

The heading on my blog says, "Blog of a Super Mom."  I didn't put that there--my best friend did. Apparently she thinks I am a super mom (or have the potential to be a super mom) or I don't think she would have put that.  Every time I come to my blog to update it or just look at it I see that heading and it makes me smile.  The one thing I want to be in this life is a good mom.  I want my children to come first and I want to do all I can to give them all they need and keep them healthy and happy.  THAT is my job and its one I take very seriously.

We are usually pretty busy but the busyness factor has been increased a few notches recently. Going from two children to three children didn't really add a lot of stress, but it did make us busier.  We are all trying to get used to new routines and I have less free time than I once did--we wouldn't trade it for the world though.  The boys have been awesome!   They think Kaitlyn is the best thing in the world and they are so helpful with her.
We are getting ready for Christmas, working on Alex's birthday party, trying to find a pediatrician for all three of our children in the Edmond area, Kaitlyn has to have an ultrasound to check her kidneys, and Alex will have surgery in just a matter of weeks.

There is a lot going on and we are very thankful for all the encouragement, help, and support we have received from family and friends--help with Kaitlyn, friends bringing us breakfast and coffee, friends offering to help after Alex's surgery.  We are very blessed and I thank God for each and every one of you!

Christmastime is Here!

What did we do before we had children?  Last night we loaded up all three kiddos in the van and drove around looking at Christmas lights.  Kaitlyn slept through it all, of course, but the boys LOVED it.  I enjoyed their reactions.  "There's some!  Look, there's some more!  Look at those!"  They really enjoyed it, which makes Jacob and me enjoy it.  I remember going and looking at Christmas lights when I was little. Its one of those special things you only get to do around Christmas time--part of the magic of Christmas that children love.  I'm so glad we are able to share these things with our children. We grabbed McDonald's on the way home and let the boys stay up a little late.  I can't believe its already Christmas.  We have gifts to make,  gifts to buy, cookies to bake, parties, and numerous other activities going on.  Its nice to stop and enjoy doing things with your children and try to see the magic through their eyes.  I love this time of year and can't wait to do more fun things with them!

Kaitlyn snuggling with Jacob

The boys enjoying their McDonald's Happy Meals after looking at Christmas lights.  It was a fun evening!

Kaitlyn bundled up to take Alex to speech at Sensational Kids.