Dad's Cupcakes

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

The kids and I are so grateful for having such a wonderful man in our lives as a husband and father. We are blessed beyond measure and love him greatly. Have a great day, love!

Funny Kids

Kids say and do some funny things...

Julia

While she was staying with my parents, Grandpa decided to go for a short jog. Grandma and Julia stayed outside to watch for his return. After a few minutes out of sight, Julia turned to Grandma and gave her the following advice: "look for a man with holes in his shirt and not much hair".

Jonathan

We have a plastic play microphone. Everyone once in awhile, when music is on, I pull it out of the toy box and sing along. Usually I'm fairly loud and make "silly" expressions with my face and overact just to get a reaction from the kids. My antics are usually met with a "Daaad!" from Julia. The last time I did this Jonathan came over to me, ripped the microphone out of my hand, threw it across the room and yelled, "all done!". 

Hospital Day Two (Again)

It's amazing the difference that antibiotics and a day on fluids can make. As expected, we were sent home today. The length of our stay this time was only 24 hours long.  At least now I can say that the last two April 20ths have been spent in the hospital.

Just like last time, since Jonathan was dehydrated, the nurses had trouble placing an IV. Just like last time, they had to call down a nurse from the pediatric intensive care unit to do it. Like a rock star, the PICU nurse practically walked right up and poked him and walked away.

The night was pretty uneventful. Stacey went home to get some rest from the night before and to get some work done in the morning while I slept at the hospital. This time I was able to lull him to sleep on the couch and then put him in the hospital bed. Last year he was so scared that we had to hold him for two weeks straight even at night. I had to wake up four to five times throughout the night to hold him, get him to fall back asleep, and then transferred to the crib. He kept asking for "Momma" and "Sister".

He kept a drip feeding down overnight as well. In the morning he had a nice wet diaper and a good appetite. He kept smaller feedings down this afternoon at home, but he's still not 100%. We took a pretty conservative approach with bringing him in for 24 hours. He may have recovered on his own...he may not have. All I know is that he went from a lethargic limp noodle to playing in the dirt in the backyard 24 hours later because we brought him in. Like me, I'm sure he's happy to be sleeping in his own bed tonight.

Hospital Day One (Again)

A year minus one day and we're back in the hospital with Jonathan. Same hospital, same date (tomorrow) same building, same floor, same reason. This time we should probably only be here a day (with an overnight stay), so long as he responds to the IV fluids.

As I mentioned in my previous post, Jonathan has been sick for a few days. Yesterday he wasn't even able to keep water down and was very lethargic and sleepy. We took him in to see the pediatrician this morning, and she found an ear infection in addition to his fever and whatever bug he is fighting. 

Last night we were able to drip him some water, and this morning, some food. However, the pediatrician felt it necessary to give him a boost of fluids since he probably wasn't going to get there fast enough. These little guys can dry up pretty quickly. His weight loss of 5% puts him in the moderately dehydrated category.

I feel a bit silly having to bring him into the hospital when he gets sick, but it's not a normal situation. Most kids (like Julia) would be able to eat and drink their way out of this. Even though we have the option of giving him fluids through his button, his GI system seems to be the last thing to come around, making it difficult to keep up with the rest of the body.

After a few hours on fluids we're going to start a drip of formula. If he can keep the food down and the labs are normal enough, we'll probably be sent some tomorrow. We'll just nurse him back to health like normal with his feedings, as long as this boost of fluids that we aren't able to administer at home do the trick.

Porcelain Diapers

The other day Jonathan asked to use the toilet. He added a few drops of liquid but wasn't able to get the other stuff past his cheeks and needed to be cleaned up. It was funny to see him trying, in a weird sort of parent way. His current diet might delay his learning since everything is still pretty soft, but at least he's asking. He hasn't asked since, but I think he's at least gotten the concept. That's a good starting point.

He's been sick for the past few days. There's definitely something going around since we all had it last week. For me it was a sore throat, but Jonathan seems to have a runny nose and possibly something more. His system has slowed down considerably and he's been coughing a lot due to his cold. Both of those complications have made feeding him a challenge, since both cause him to throw up. Even on relatively good days he's done something like drop the iPad on his face, causing him to cry and then give back his latest feeding. We're just trying to manage this time until he gets over this latest illness.

We're probably going to follow through and see a cardiologist just to rule it out. Heart issues can definitely cause feeding and growth issues, so it's probably a good idea we rule it out before he gets too much older.

Cheyenne Canyon

Cheyenne Canyon and beyond... Today Nathan and I were supposed to hike up a 14er, but the winter storm that arrived over most of mountainous Colorado forced us to change our plans. Instead, we hiked up Cheyenne Canyon and hit a few lesser known mountains that literally are in our backyard.

The weather stayed nice all morning but started to turn (as expected) after lunch when we arrived back at the parking lot. Over the course of the morning we had covered 10 miles and seen Pikes Peak from unique vantage points. It was a nice day out, and although relatively tame elevation-wise, still a long day on my feet.

Five Years

I missed it last weekend! On April 7th, we hit the five year mark in our house. We moved in on Easter Weekend 2007 and I haven't stopped improving or building stuff since. Although the list is far from exhaustive, here are a few before and after pictures. The picture of me painting in the office was taken within days of moving in.

This Post Is Drywall

A few days ago I finished up my first drywall repair. It turned out pretty well considering I didn't have a clue what I was doing. Enough mud, caulk, and paint can cover up a lot of mistakes. Most of my mistakes were due to rushing the job and not thinking through or researching what needed to be done - something that I seem to be dong more of lately. I can think of two little reasons why that's the case.

Since my pipe repair stuck out a quarter of an inch, I had to hollow out two areas so the drywall would lay flush. I couldn't fit the piece inside the door opening, so I had to cut it in half. If I would have taken some time to think through where I cut it, I may have avoided the gaps and not cut in the one place that I needed wall to mount one of the shelves.

The texture and paint were pretty easy. Considering a lot of the work is covered now by food and the door stays shut 99.9% of the time, I guess it was a good place to learn from my mistakes.

Easter Picture

Five Game Season

It's now a five game contest. Two months ago Spurs had an outside chance to win the title...now, with five games remaining, fourth place and a spot in the Champions League is up for grabs. When you only win one of the last eight, you drop like a rock in the standings.

I really don't know what went wrong. The timing of our manager being linked to the vacant England National Team position coincided with our recent poor run, but I can't believe that's the only reason we've been playing so poorly. At this point we're still in a decent position with five games to go, since we play the teams in 15th through 18th place in four of our last five games. We have by far the easiest schedule compared to Newcastle and Chelsea and they still have to play each other.

However, the recent run of poor results doesn't fill me with confidence, meaning this race is far from over. I think most supporters have given up the dream of finishing higher then Arsenal, the FA Cup trophy, and third place. The FA Cup and a Champions League spot are still real possibilities, and if so, the season should be viewed as a big success. It's just harder to accept since we were flying so high for almost two thirds of the season.

Easter Egg Hunt

We celebrated Easter over at my parent's house this year. As soon as we arrived, the hunt was on. Both of the kids were really cute, but we all got a good laugh watching Jonathan's reaction to finding an egg. Although the video is a bit long, it's worth watching all the way through. The kids are both getting pretty big.

This Easter was a lot more fun then last year, considering we spent the holiday last time in the hospital.

Hoppy Easter

Large And In Charge

The Jesus Exhibit, coming to a zoo near you. See if you can follow the logic:

Julia's Observations

Polar bears, giraffes, and elephants (very large animals) can be seen at the zoo
We sing "He's Got The World In His Hands"

Julia's Conclusion

"Dad, can we see Jesus at the zoo?"

Princess And Potty

This is what happens when Julia gets a hold of the Toys R Us advertisement in the Sunday paper. She pulled it out of the stack, sat down, and flipped through the pages. Every once in awhile she would point out something that she wanted, but when she saw this doll it was a different story. I was pretty surprised that she wanted a doll, since she hasn't been interested in dolls up to this point.

The next day Stacey took her the store to look at other dolls, but she still wanted this one. This doll came with a sippy cup, soap dispenser, and little toilet with sound effects. We'll see how long she plays with her "princess and potty" doll and if it's ever elevated to "B" status. Here are pictures of the first night. As you can see, the doll has already joined the "inner circle" of stuffed animals and blankets that are allowed to share Julia's pillow each night.

Predatory Practices

Julia decided that we should be rabbits while we were eating lunch. So, she and I munched on our food with our big front teeth and lapped up our water with our tongue. After a few minutes of eating like rabbits she looked outside and yelled, "Oh no! Hide! Here come the creditors!" After having a good laugh, I had to explain that the word she was trying to use started with the letter "p", not the letter "c"...