July 4, 2010

July 4, 2010

Dear Family and Friends,

What a week this has been. It was already pretty packed full of appointments and then I went and added in a few trips to the urgent care just for fun... Monday started the week off relatively calmly. We went to get a few things at the grocery store. We wanted to run out of food, but not too early. We probably hit the pool too. For dinner and FHE we went to a friend's house. She works in Young Women's with me. It was nice to have FHE with another family and see how they do it. The lesson was on God, and learning more about him.

Tuesday was our anniversary! We celebrated by being miles apart and having a very busy day. We had found out that B-man got into a "McGruff Safety Camp" put on through our Sheriff's office. It was so exciting, he had been on the waiting list, and apparently they had an opening. So Tuesday morning I dropped him off with his bike and helmet. He was a little nervous that he didn't know anybody there, but he did great in the end. While he was at the camp I went to my doctor's appointment. I had to take J with me. That wasn't really a problem, but having long arms comes in handy. My arms were just long enough to give him Cheerios while the doctor was listening to the baby's heartbeat. Sadly the appointment had gone much longer than usual, (all of it waiting) and so when I was done I had time to run one quick errand before having to go pick up B-man. He had a great time and was excited to tell me all about his morning. We came home for lunch, and then we got to take B-man to the dentist. He was having more cavities filled and there was a chance that he was going to need a root canal with a crown!!! I was so nervous for him. Thankfully he didn't need the root canal. We are seriously so thankful. There is a chance that he still may need one, but so far so good. I was so excited because he also finished with enough time for me to get to J's doctor's appointment. (Just a one year check-up.) We went straight to the doctors for J with B-man's mouth still numb and everything. As I was signing in thinking how great it was that the timing had worked out so perfectly the receptionist informed me that we were an hour late. Somehow I had written the time down an hour later than it actually was. For a few minutes we thought we just had to leave, but thankfully the doctor had a no-show and we were able to get in. Another miracle for me that day. J got all checked out and was doing well, although he then had to get four shots. He wasn't happy about that. He was 31.25 inches long (95%) and 22 lb 3 oz (40%). After such a long busy day we were very happy to come home and have a relatively quiet evening.

Wednesday was another busy day. B-man went to Safety camp and then I dropped off J at a neighbor's so that I could go get a sonogram. When I got to the sonogram place I tried to get M on the phone, but there was no cell service. I was a little nervous to be there by myself, but I was easily distracted by getting to see our new little BOY. He was so wiggly and cute, doing flips and moving all over. I think everything looked okay because I haven't heard from the doctor that anything was wrong. I will admit to being surprised about the boy, but we are thrilled. B-man has said all along that it was a boy. I called M the minute I left the office. I then headed home and put J to bed while I worked on a few things around the house before going and getting B-man. The rest of the day was pretty quiet. That evening I did get a babysitter and I drove up to Girls' Camp for the evening. I picked up a girl and drove with her. She had gotten sick and went home the first night, but then rebounded and wanted to go back. It was a good chance to get to know her on the drive. We arrived just in time for dinner. After eating and visiting we went to a big musical program. The program was wonderful, and then I drove over to the spot where all the girls were doing star gazing before heading home. The time went super quickly and it was fun to see all the girls up at camp. Our girls were all getting along and having a good time so that was wonderful. When I got home I was so thrilled to see that the babysitter had gone above and beyond in cooking and cleaning. It was so great, and exactly what I needed. I really didn't want to have to clean up dinner dishes before heading to bed.

Thursday was productive day. I got a lot done in the morning. That afternoon B-man to play at a friend's house. He was so excited to go over, and even more excited that they went to a water fountain nearby where the water squirts out of the ground. Within thirty minutes he had somehow tripped and fell splitting open his chin. My friend was so mortified that it had happened on her watch. After figuring out insurance I met them at their house to inspect B-man. His chin wasn't bleeding very much but there was a good chunk out of it. I decided that I had better be safe than sorry and headed off to the urgent care. I was very happy that we didn't have to wait very long and got straight in. Although if I never have to fill out the medical history forms while holding a wiggly one year old again, I would be very happy. After a quick exam they said it didn't need stitches and closed it up with a few butterfly bandages. B-man was very happy that he wouldn't need stitches, but he wasn't very thrilled that he couldn't go swimming. After the doctor we came home worked on cutting some fruit and then went back over to our friends that had him over to play. They very graciously invited us to dinner and it was much appreciated. It was great to not have to cook and have some people to chat with and pass the evening.

Friday was the last day of Safety Camp. They had a little graduation and explained all the things that they had talked about and learned. After the graduation we went to get the car's oil changed and tires rotated. B-man thought it was fun to have a little picnic in the waiting room while watching one of the World Cup games. The rest of the day we spent our time working on the house, and trying to get organized for our trip. I packed up a lot and worked on laundry.

Saturday I was up and going early. J had a pretty good runny nose and when I took his temperature he had a fever. That complicated things because I had already told B-man that he could go to our ward party for the 4th of July and participate in the bike parade for the kids. In the end we decided to go and not stay long. We loaded up, J was in his stroller which kept him from other kids and then B-man was in the parade. We ate quickly and then B-man stayed while I went home with J. J went down for a nap and I worked on more things that needed to get done before leaving. I got so much accomplished while B-man was gone that I started to feel too confident. B-man was brought home by some friends, and then J woke up a little later. Once J woke up I realized that he had taken a definite turn for the worse. His temperature had gone up a lot and he was breathing fairly quickly. After a lot of internal debate about whether I should take him into the urgent care, or just try to get him through until my brother could see him the next day. I decided that I had to take him in. So we loaded everyone up into the car and went back to the urgent care. I was not excited to fill out more paperwork while trying to keep J happy and contained. The doctor said that he had two infected ears. I was happy it was just ears, and that the rapid breathing wasn't more serious. Apparently when you have a fever that can cause you to breathe faster. We then were off with prescription in hand to get it filled before the pharmacies closed for the holiday. The first place we went to was already closed, I had just missed them, so we then went to another place to have it filled. Finally we went home for a dinner of leftovers and other things I needed out of the fridge. I got the boys to bed ASAP and then had to finish all the preparations for leaving. I got it all done, and finally make it to bed.

I didn't sleep very well, I was nervous about getting enough sleep and getting up early. I woke up before my alarm and finished loading the car and packing the treats. I then woke up the boys. They had both slept in their clothes so that we could just walk out the door. We picked up a very kind friend who then drove us to the airport. We flew out of DCA which is further away, but everything went super smoothly. I ran in and checked the bags, and then came back to get the boys and the snacks. We made it through security, although I did learn that yogurt is considered a liquid. They took two and let me keep one because they were nice and I apparently looked safe... I was really happy about the one. I hope they enjoyed those yogurts on their break. The flights all went really well. I couldn't have asked for better. It is still exhausting and a lot of work to fly with kids, but the ears didn't bother J, and he took two short naps during the long section of the flights. We even got in early and had all of our bags. I kept hoping that the people around me knew how lucky and miraculous of a flight we were having. I am not sure they appreciated it. But I sure did! We made it to San Diego by 11:00 am which left us with plenty of time to enjoy the 4th of July. My sister and her friend picked me up and helped me get the bags to the car. We then went home and I took it easy with J. B-man went to church with his uncle and when they got home we had a yummy dinner. I put the boys to bed early, and taped some fireworks on the t.v. for them to watch in the morning. At the last minute I went with my siblings to go watch some fireworks nearby. We stayed in the car, but it was still a fun show. I love fireworks. It was a long day, and I was so happy to be in bed.

We love you all!
R, M, B-man, and J