Happy Birthday Jacob!!

Jacob turned 3 on Saturday and it was a super fun, eventful day. He didn't complain about his ears once so thank goodness for that! The whole family was here including Nanny and Papa, Grandma and Grandpa, Jacob's cousins Hudson, Hayden and Hallie and his soon-to-be cousins Joshua, Hunter and Brooke (who also turned 3 the exact same day!) Last year, we didn't have any family in town to help us celebrate his 2nd birthday in San Francisco, so Jacob was spoiled with love and attention this year!!

We started the day off by going to the Jump Zone in Southlake for some jumping fun with the cousins. There were a TON of birthday parties going on that morning so Jacob was so confused that all the kids running around there were there to celebrate other kids birthdays and not Jacob's! Whenever they'd announce another birthday, Jacob would start pouting and say, "but it's my birthday!!" I didn't even think that he'd be upset watching everyone else celebrate their birthdays at the same time. We still had a great time and headed home around noon for a much needed nap before the REAL birthday party started at 3:30 pm.

We planned Jacob's birthday party at The Little Gym in Southlake. He took classes there for a long time and stopped when they closed down the location near our house. It just reopened so we jumped on the opportunity to have his party there! Of course it had a Disney "Cars" theme since he is absolutely obsessed with Lightning McQueen. There were 19 kids there to help celebrate!! It was a load of fun and I am so happy we decided to do it there. The instructor was fantastic and all of the kids had a great time. Including the birthday boy -- he was smiling from ear to ear for the entire party! After the party, all the family came back to our house so we could open presents and also have a little celebration for Brookie's birthday. Jacob got so many presents I lost count. Mark and I got him the Leapster game system since he loved playing with it when his cousins (on Mark's side) had visited over Thanksgiving. As soon as he opened it up, he wanted to play with it and didn't want to open anything else! What kid does that??

I was sad to see the day end. Sometimes I think we have more fun on his birthday than he does. :) Now we get to look forward to Maddie's 1st birthday!

At the Jump Zone in Southlake



I love that Jacob is throwing up the horns in this picture





This picture cracks me up because everyone in it belongs to our family -- there were a lot of us!









Party at The Little Gym
























The other birthday girl Brookie!


















There are lots of new babies in my Friday playgroup

Once again, Doctors are not our friends

Exactly one week after Jacob got the antibiotic injections in his leg, he started to complain about ear pain again. This was on Friday, the day before his birthday. I wasn't going to let ANYthing interfere with his birthday, so back to the Doctor we went. Sure enough, the ear infection was raging again in the left ear. Ugh. They decided to give him the antibiotic injections again and start him on another (the 3rd) oral antibiotic. Jacob now thinks that going to the Doctor = getting shots. He was not at all happy when we started to take his pants down and knew exactly what was going to happen. It literally brings tears to my eyes when I think about it! But, it was a necessary evil and stickers and lollipops usually soothe him quickly. They also urged us to take him to a pediatric ENT sooner rather than later. The likely course of treatment will be tubes in his ears.

So, yesterday (Tuesday), we had another appointment at the Doctor for Jacob and Maddie's well visits (Jacob's 3 year check up and Maddie's 4 month check up). When we told Jacob we were going back to the Doctor, he was understandably upset. "Her hurt my legs mommy". I told him that he would not be getting shots this time, but he was very skeptical. When we arrived and Nurse Laura took us all back to the room, he made sure to announce to everyone "Don't touch my legs, okay?" Nurse Laura told him that he was not getting shots, but that Maddie will have to get shots. So then, the whole time we were there, he had to tell every single person who walked in "Maddie is getting shots today, NOT me." Thank goodness he didn't need shots, because it wouldn't have been pretty.

Jacob's stats: 38 1/2 inches tall and 39 lbs. This kid has been 39 lbs for the last year and a half. How is it possible that he still looks so huge when he hasn't gained any weight? I think he's finally just growing tall and thinning out.

Maddie's stats: 25 1/2 inches tall and 15 lbs. 6 oz. She was 90% for height and 85% for weight. She is our big girl!! Both kids are doing great and continue to chart on a steady, healthy curve.

We have our appointment with the ENT tomorrow and I'm anxiously waiting to hear what the next step is. I'm sure it's tubes but I also have a slight sliver of hope that there may be an alternative. I just hate the idea of Jacob having surgery. I know it's a pretty common procedure these days, but I'd really rather not ever have to deal with that.

Sleep? What is that?

So, I have to document the ridiculousness that has occurred in this house in the last couple of weeks. As background, Mark and I have been looking forward to his friend John's wedding in Chicago for months since Nanny and Papa so graciously said they'd come up and watch the kids while we had fun at the rehearsal dinner and wedding. In the last few weeks, Jacob has suffered from a sinus infection (which we now think was RSV), a double ear infection and the stomach flu. Maddie was sick with RSV (very dangerous for an infant.) Mark and I don't even know what sleep is anymore. The only thing that got me through was the famous mantra "This too shall pass." If it doesn't, I will surely die. I don't think you know the true test of being a parent until both of your kids are extremely ill at the same time.

Friday, 1/15: Last day of Jacob's antibiotic for the sinus infection he's had since 1/5. At Paradise Pond that morning, I notice that Jacob is tugging at his right ear a lot.

Saturday, 1/18: Maddie develops a runny nose, lots of congestion and a very wet cough. Jacob is up all night long crying about his ears.

Sunday, 1/17: Take kids to CareNow (a weekend clinic) first thing in the morning. Since we will be flying to Chicago on Thursday, we decide to have Maddie checked as well since she seems to have a cold. Jacob is diagnosed with a double ear infection. Maddie, horribly, is diagnosed with RSV. They prescribe a new antibiotic for Jacob and also prescribe an antibiotic and steroids for Maddie. Leery about these medications for an infant, Mark calls our pediatrician's office and talks to the on-call Doctor. He says their office would never prescribe that course of treatment for Maddie and tells us we should have taken her to Cooks Childrens Hospital. So, Mark packs up Maddie again and takes her to Cooks where they confirm that it's a virus that we have to just watch closely (no medicinal treatment at this time.) We move Maddie into our room for the next few nights so we can monitor her breathing. Jacob starts sleeping a bit better but Maddie is up often due to her congestion. Given that both kids are very ill, we decide it might be best for me to stay home with kids and not take them to Chicago on Thursday.

Tuesday morning, 1/19: Take kids to Dr. Hunt (pediatrician) for follow up visit. Jacob is responding well to the new antibiotic though his ears are still infected. Maddie is clinically the same (which is a good thing). Dr. Hunt tells us it won't be a problem to take the kids to Chicago but we decide to change our flights to Friday morning at 6:30 am so that we can take the kids in for one more follow up check up on Thursday before we fly.

Tuesday night/Wednesday morning: Jacob wakes up vomiting and has diarrhea. This lasts from 3 am - 5 am. It seems to be a 24 hour stomach bug. He gets a fever later on Wednesday that comes down with Motrin. Once again, given how sick Jacob is, we think the chances of me and the kids going to Chicago on Friday is slim to none.

Thursday, 1/21: Jacob is doing much better and eating/drinking again. We take both kids back to Dr. Hunt for their follow up check up and she says she thinks they are both fine to fly on Friday morning. Jacob's ears are still infected but we believe antibiotic is working since he hasn't been complaining about his ears since Sunday and has had no more fever. Maddie's RSV is getting better each day and the worst is behind us (so we think.) We spend Thursday night packing all of our bags for our early flight on Friday morning. Mark's parents have already arrived in Chicago to help take care of the kids while we are at the wedding.

Thursday night: Jacob complains about his left ear before going to bed, then proceeds to spike a fever of 103.5 at 10 pm that night. It takes Motrin, Tylenol, ice chips and a cold rag on his body to get it down to 101. We were very close to taking him to the ER since it took so long to get it down. Once again, we are up all night long and once again, it is clear that I can't get on that plane with the kids. I ask Mark to take a flight later that day so he reschedules his flight for 1 pm on Friday and cancels the other flights for me and the kids. He also cancels the rental car and the hotel room.

Friday morning: My parents are on their way to Dallas to help me with the kids while Mark is in Chicago. Jacob wakes up at 7 am in a full on sweat. His fever has broken and apparently he feels like a million dollars b/c he's running around the house like a lunatic. I am beside myself. We missed our plane and Mark is going to Chicago alone and our sick kid looks like he could run a marathon. I call Dr. Hunt and at 10 am, they tell us to come in immediately. Mark has this crazy idea that maybe, just maybe me and the kids can get on the 1 pm flight with him (I think he's nuts). He calls and finds out that there are seats open on the plane. I rush to get Jacob back to the Doctor and I get pulled over for speeding on the way there. I think to myself "You have GOT to be kidding me". I tell the cop that I have a sick kid in the car and I'm taking him to the Doctor and if he's going to give me a ticket, please make it fast. He respects my wishes, writes the ticket and I'm back on my way in under 5 minutes (jerk.) At the Doctor's office, Jacob's left ear is much worse and is "bulging" which is what is causing him so much pain. They decide to give him antibiotic injections in both legs to knock the infection out. Dr. Hunt tells me that we can still get on that plane at 1 pm!! I thought she was crazy!! Jacob and I rush home and Mark and I decide we're going to do it. We're going to get us all on that plane. I call my Dad and tell him to go back to Houston. We rush like crazy people to get out of the house to make it in time. To save time, we decide to park directly at the airport. We get all our bags (4 to be exact), 2 kids and 2 car seats out of the car and walk into the terminal only to learn that United has changed terminals recently and is now in Terminal E. "You best get back in your car and drive to the other terminal" an agent tells us. UGH!!! Mind you, we have taken the car seats OUT and all of the luggage OUT and 2 kids OUT. Mark runs to get the car and picks us up and we load everybody back up again. We finally get to the terminal, get through security and to the gate on time. You would likely not have recognized us if you could have seen the exhaustion and emotional bruising on our faces.

Jacob's ears survived the flight thanks to an army of Benadryl, Motrin, Afrin, and EarPlanes (ear plugs for kids that equalize the pressure). Maddie was an angel on the plane. We made it to Chicago and we had a BLAST. Hallelujah!!

Murphy's Law...

...rears its ugly head. As soon as I posted my last post about how Maddie has thankfully managed to escape the illnesses that plague this house, she comes down with RSV!! We had a pretty rough weekend. Jacob finished his last day of antibiotics on Friday (prescribed because of the sinus infection he was diagnosed with 2 weeks ago). Well, Saturday night he was up all night long complaining about his ears. The poor kid couldn't sleep lying down. We knew he had another ear infection (almost inevitable given how sick this kid has been). We made an appointment on Sunday morning with CareNow which is a clinic that sees patients 7 days a week. Since it was Sunday, we couldn't get in to see our regular pediatrician.

In addition, on Saturday, Maddie's runny nose and congestion turned into a massive wet cough. Since we are all supposed to be flying on Thursday, we decided to have them both looked at on Sunday. Sure enough, Jacob has a double ear infection. But, more surprisingly, they tested Maddie for Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and it was positive! We were totally not expecting this. This is a very serious infection especially for babies under 6 months. I was beside myself. We now realize that Jacob has probably been infected with RSV all this time, but it only presents itself as a bad cold in older children and adults. In infants, it can greatly inhibit their breathing due to the enormous amount of mucus that is created from the illness. Surprisingly, the Doctor at CareNow prescribed an antibiotic (even though it's a virus and can't be treated with an antibiotics) and a steroid for Maddie. Mark was very leery about giving such a young baby this kind of medicine and when we got home, he put a call into our pediatrician's office so that he could talk to the on-call Doctor. The on-call Doctor basically said that he did not agree with this course of treatment and that we should have taken the kids to Cooks Childrens Hospital from the beginning. Awesome. So, Mark packed up Maddie (while I stayed home with Jacob) and took her over to Cooks to get another opinion. Sure enough, they said that since it's a virus, we need to just watch her closely and take her in immediately if she starts having difficulty breathing.

So, we are at home now paying attention to every breath little Maddie makes. She's sleeping in her carseat next to our bed so that she can be upright (to help clear her head so she can breathe) and so that we can be extra close. Jacob is doing much better on his new antibiotic and we hope it wipes out his ear infections quickly. This probably means that me and the kids will not be traveling to Chicago, but we're waiting to hear what the pediatrician says at our follow up visit tomorrow.

If the kids finally do get healthy soon (which I pray for), I certainly am not going to write about it. Because that darn Murphy's Law will come back to bite us every time...

Spring/Summer where are you?

I would like to be done with Winter please. Can you please go away? Right now? Thanks.

Winter brings illness to this house and I don't think all of us have been healthy at the same time since August. One sickness after another. I can't take it anymore!!!!! Jacob was diagnosed with a sinus infection last Tuesday (10 days ago) and has been on antibiotics. He was noticeably better after a few days on the medicine but now is seemingly worse with a cough that won't quit. This poor kid has been sick with something on and off for 6 months. Part of me wants to rip him right out of preschool and lock us all up in this house until he has to go to kindergarten. But then I think it has to happen eventually until his body develops resistance to these bugs. ARGH. There is nothing more depressing (and exhausting) than a sick toddler. Luckily, Maddie has remained immune to much of it except for some congestion that comes and goes.

I hope warmer weather brings healthier days. Otherwise, I may just go insane.

In other more exciting news, Maddie started grabbing at toys on Sunday! My Dad was playing with her and said that she was trying to grab her elephant toy. I didn't believe him because I've been trying to get her to reach for her toys for weeks! Sure enough, I went over and saw her carefully guiding her hand toward the elephants legs as Grandpa dangled them in front of her. It's so fun to see her growing and developing as she is. She also started laughing recently. Not a big, hearty laugh, but little giggles here and there. I was kissing her feet last week and then would make a funny face and I got a few giggles out of her that way. Then Grandpa was playing peek-a-boo with her at the alterations place yesterday and I heard her giggle from the dressing room! I can't wait to hear her big, belly laugh someday.

Here are some more recent pics of our growing girl







And of course, here's our little man going to bed with Bevo on the night of the National Championship game between Texas and Alabama. Unfortunately, it was a loss for Texas :(

"ICE"

On New Year's Eve, Mark and I decided to take Jacob and Maddie to see "Ice" at the Gaylord Texan Hotel which hosts this event in Grapevine every year. "Ice" is a display of ice sculptures carved by master artisans from Harbin, China. They transform 2 million pounds of ice into a winter wonderland. This year the theme was "How the Grinch stole Christmas". The tent was an average of 9 degrees, so we had to bundle up! Jacob loved it and couldn't wait to go down the ice slide!!

If you are ever visiting the DFW area during Christmas time, this is a must-see!

At the Gaylord Texan Hotel enjoying the massive train set



This hotel was ridiculous!



Jacob loving the train before we entered the exhibit





Jacob wasn't interested in meeting the Grinch so I took a picture of the sign



This is all ice!





Jacob snuggled up in his parka











If you look closely, you can see Jacob and Daddy at the top in line for the ice slide



Jacob at the bottom of the ice slide (I missed him coming down!)

Jacob's 3rd Birthday Party Invitation

Make a Smilebox invite