These two

Today is cloudy and cold outside and we are still fighting these colds we seem to all have, so it's been an inside, snuggled up, quiet day. We painted this morning, had lunch and I put June in her room for some quiet time. That quiet time has now led to a two and a half hour long nap and still going strong. I usually don't get this much quietness anymore, so when I was finished with what I had planned, I realized June and OD were still sleeping and I have a few minutes to myself. I have been taking a lot of pictures with my DSLR lately and so it was in desperate need of cleaning and organizing pictures.

I was going through all my pictures, putting them in the right folder ready for print or hard drive storage when I came across these.... Camera hijack!

My favorite goof balls.

Ya, still sick.

The saying "Sick of being sick" has been taken to a whole new level here at our house! I feel like we have been sick this whole month. Oh Wait! WE HAVE!!! I am so ready for warm weather, for there to be moister in the air and to have a healthy house again! I have gone through a bottle of bleach and countless containers of Clorox Wipes, but the sickness battle continues on. 

*NOTE: Most pics are of Ju Ju's sleeping. 

June, Owen and Myself all had colds at the same time. We were all slowly getting healthier, with just a lingering cough at night. I thought there was light at the end of the tunnel.... Wednesday morning, we all woke up as happy as could be and I thought we finally beat this. We had friends over and played all morning long. June was feeling tired and was asking to go down for a nap... NOT COMMON, In fact we have given up naps pretty much all together, so when she wanted to lay down, I thought it was maybe because we played so much earlier that morning. 

She woke up from her nap, just as hot as can be. I took her temperature and it was at 101. Nothing crazy scary. Then her cough became more flemmy and her nose started to run. Here we go again. 

Well this time has been so much worse. That night she, along with Dan and I, probably got a couple hours of sleep. In the morning she said she was hungry and thirsty but wouldn't eat or drink. Not even fruit loops. She loves fruit loops and so I knew she was feeling really awful. 

I laid her down on the couch and she told me she was hot, hot, hot. I took her shirt off and put her on the leather hoping to help cool her off a bit. We watched a lot of Dora, read books, and Watched Tangled on repeat. (Sally never left her side) 

Her temp just kept getting higher and reached 102.9 degrees. I called her doctor and made an appointment to get in to see her. 

Dan met us at the Dr.'s office just to be told what we already knew. Keep Motrin and Tylenol rotating, with lots of fluids and rest. Well DUH! I was a little bugged they didn't give us any antibiotics, but I really do trust my ped. full heartedly, so we stuck to our schedule of Medication. 

That night was another rough night of sleep. Dan and I took turns laying by her and staying in her room until she fell asleep. Then in between that we fed OD and changed his bum. 

*Side Note: Owen has been amazing and just so calm and happy. I totally have felt like a mother who has neglected her baby because her other baby was sick! It's an awful feeling. 

The next day, Thursday, her fever was not going down. In face it was going up. In the morning it hit 103.8. I called her doc again, because that high of a temp is just too scary for a toddler to have. She told me to just keep liquids in her and keep her responsive when she was at the peak of her medicine. June was pretty lethargic so any activity at all was a good sign. 

She fell asleep and slept most of the morning. I was hoping she would wake up with a broken fever, but nope, it still was at 103.6. She than threw up. I called my Ped again. Same thing. 

Later that night she was feeling a bit better and asked for something to eat. We put her at the table to eat something and she fell asleep. We asked her several times if she wanted to go lay down on the couch, her bed or even mommy and daddy's bed, but no, she just wanted to lay in her chair. At that point I was a wreck, and so Dan asked a friend to come over and help give her a blessing. 

Its so frustrating because her fever will go down with the medicine but you can only give her Motrin every six hours. We alternated between Motrin and Tylenol for a solid 5 days in hoping that her temperature would lower on it's own. 

By Saturday afternoon we were all extremely tired. June wanted absolutely nothing but to be held and sleep in our arms. That is actually not that bad of thing. I love holding my baby when she is so incredibly sick and cuddly, but I now have another babe who needs some attention too. I know, I know, mother of two problems... 

So Dan and I each had our fair share of cuddles with the little sickie. 

Sunday came and her fever was still at 100+ without the Motrin, but by now I was so scared to continue giving her meds because of her poor little kidneys... Ah it was terrible. 

Dan went to his morning meetings and then came home while I went to Church. I had responsibilities that I couldn't get out of.

It was a very cold day on Sunday, so we started a fire and then watched the Super Bowl with just us three. We mostly slept. 

And switched off who would take care of which baby at the time. 

By the end of the night her fever was a constant 100.8 without Motrin or Tylenol. A VERY GOOD SIGN! 

Sunday night, June slept pretty good with just a few panic wake up moments, and a nasty cough that kept her begging for water. At that point I just stayed in her room most of the night just waiting her to need anything. 

Then there is this little guy....

He has been the best baby a mother could ask for this week. He has hardly made a peep and wouldn't cry too hard when I just needed a few extra minutes before I could feed him. He pretty much lived in his bouncer, swing or under his play mat on the floor. He is amazing. I simply just love him. 

It is now Tuesday. June's temperature is down to 99. We are breathing a little easier at our house now. I still am constantly checking her temperature, but we finally seem to be on the home stretch of this sickness. I am just praying that what ever it was, has left our house, and no one else gets it, because I honestly don't think I can go through that again. It was miserable. 

In the end I just want to say how blessed we are to have incredible people in our lives. We were overwhelmed with texts, messages, phone calls, and friends dropping off meals and treats. Also taking OD last minute when we had Dr. appointments and those sending lots of prayers and love our way. It really did help, and it did not go unnoticed or unappreciated! We are so grateful for the out pour of love! 

I am Her Mother

It's 11:40pm. Really, it's not all that late, but I know it's going to be another long night, so I feel like it's already in the middle of the night.

My home is put to bed, everyone is asleep and I know I should be too, but here I sit in June's room on her "reading rug" hearing her try to breath through a clogged nose, a congested cough and listening to her little moans that tell me she isn't comfortable, but her little body just wants to sleep so bad. We are now approaching day 6 of June being sick. I'm exhausted, Dan's exhausted, and Owen has been living in his bouncer or on the floor.

 I can't sleep. Though I have come down with a cold myself, I sit here in her room making sure she is ok because that's what a mother does. I am her mother. I am the one curled up in her bed for just a little bit longer singing "I am a Child of God" and "Do you Want to Build a Snowman",because they are her favorite. Me, as a mother, who cries over her  begging her to just get better, and trying to shake off the awful feeling after taking her temperature for the millionth time just praying that it will be 100 degrees or lower, but yet it stays at 102. A mother who second guesses her self over whether to give it one more day with the meds or take her in. It's what I do. I am her mother. I have watched countless episodes of Mikey Mouse and Doc McStuffins, giving her whatever she asks for to eat just to keep something in her stomach. To not get discouraged in the hopes that she will eat something, but only takes one bite and doesn't want it anymore. I am her mother who has read the same 3 books over and over again because I can get a giggle out of her when I howl like a wolf. Anything to just make her feel a little bit better and happier. It's what you do as a Mother, and though my prayers have been more asking of things this past week, I do bow my head and Thank my Heavenly Father that I can be her mother. That I can do all these things that seem so mundane to the outside world, but mean everything to her, which means they are everything to me.  I am her mother and I am her comfort.

I know she will be ok, but there is nothing more awful than seeing your own child in such misery.

I am her mother and all I want is for her to be healthy and happy.

One Rainy Day

So since June has been so sick this past week... (blog post on that later) I have had time to go through some photos, add a little lighting, make a few black and white and call it a day. It was a cloudy rainy day a while back, and I remember playing on the bed with my babies and wanting to take some pictures of them. So I grabbed the camera and snapped some. 

It's kind of funny because the pics of the two of them together look super awkward.... Owen is basically the same size as June, so you can only imagine what it looks like with Owen on June's lap. We will work on our positioning of those two later. I'm no pro here, so natural posing is what you get with me. 

There are more of June because little OD was being SUPER UNCOOPERATIVE this day, so I think I feel pretty good that I was able to get at least one decent pic of my little boy. 

June was being adorable, as most days. She is just growing up so fast and becoming such a cute little girl. 

I'm so in love with these two. 

In the News

It's not everyday your parents are in the Church news!! The list of the New mission Presidents has been released and these two good looking people are in that list! This whole mission thing is getting more and more real and more and more closer! If you want to read more about the new Mission Presidents, Go to www.ldschurchnews.com 

Love my Parents!!! 

Our Saturday Morning

Just a Saturday morning, June reading "The Friend" magazine to Owen. It's gonna be a great day! 

Owen at 3 months

Dear Owen, OD, Otis, or Owit,

    My sweet boy you are 3 months old today. Already! How time can feel like its flying by is beyond me! Owen, I love you from the bottom of my heart. I just can't get over how big you are for a 3 month old. I hope this doesn't give you some kind of image complex when you are reading this years from now! I like that your such a big boy! You will be a good big protective brother for June! 

 So here is where you are at for a 3 month old....

You are growing, growing and growing. You have hit a few growth spurts where you are wanting to do nothing but eat or sleep! Which most babies do at 3 months old, but there are days where I feel you are constantly attached to me. You my son, LOVE to be held and always be in someones presence. You don't like to be left alone in a room for too long. A good thing, and well... a little bit of a bad thing. I am starting to get pretty good at emptying the dishwasher one handed while holding you. My arms aren't in much need of a workout either from holding you so often. If you aren't being held you love to be in your bouncer. You hate the swing, so the bouncer or on the floor is where you spend most of your days. You love kicking to the point where your socks will not stay on! I'm trying to give you as much attention as possible, but blame your older sister from always pulling me away from you, or not giving us the one on one time you deserve. I am really trying to soak in the night feeding before you go to bed each night. June is already in bed and its just you and me. I try to not get distracted by my ipad or phone. It's our little bonding time that is so rare these days! 

     You are a great little eater. You are slowly, very slowly, starting to take a bottle if it's your last option, but you do take one! If it's not from the bottle it's obviously from me, and you are eating about every 3 to 4 hours, and at night you go about 5. You have put yourself on a pretty good little schedule and I am so thankful for that. It's made getting back to normal life a lot easier knowing what your needs are! I am sure that routine is about to change, but I am thankful none the less. 

     You are still sleeping in mom and dads room and taking naps in your crib. We are slowly starting to adjust you to your own room, but where you are still getting up more than once a night I prefer to keep you in our room. At least until you are down to just waking up once a night. You wake up about 6am but then go back for another hour, then its officially wake up time! 

     I don't know if we made you this way, but you love music. You very much enjoy having noise around you. I have learned that you are calmed by hushed lullabies and nature sounds. It doesn't bother me any, because I find them soothing too. 

    You are super smiley and have a distinct dimple on your right cheek. You giggle quite a bit now and you are very ticklish under your chin. You smile so big when anyone comes into a room, but mommy and daddy get a smile and giggles when we come get you. It's my favorite right now. 

     June can't get enough of you. She always wants to help you in anyway you can and she is always sad when she sees you cry. She loves to give you kisses on the cheek and head and she is always trying to share her toys with you. I hope you two really do become best friends. Even if its to gang up on me, I totally get it! 

She wanted to help take pictures of you today

Owen, you are just my sweet little Momma's boy. You really do love having me around, and as exhausting as it is sometimes, I think I would be very sad if you preferred to be left alone or wanting to be held by someone else. I hope this closeness stays forever.

I love you my sweet baby boy and I am so grateful that you are in our family. It seems weird to think that you haven't been here all along. You just fit!

Love you my sweets!

         Love, Mom