.a peek inside the thoughts of a stay at home mom....

a peek inside my thoughts on motherhood, life, love, and anything I decide to talk about!

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Time to catch up!

Let me start by saying that I am so sorry it has taken me forever to get a new blog up! I already have some pretty loyal readers that have been asking why I haven't posted in awhile. :o) So, this post will get you all up to speed on what's been going on since I last posted.

Well, on November 19th ( about 4 days after I posted last), my nephew, Everett  James was born at 10:30am! 8 lbs 7 oz. 20.5 inches. 10 fingers, 10 toes, and absolutely PERFECT! For those of you that have been reading my blog (or even those who haven't) I posted an entry titled : Angel babies in heaven...and here on earth.  This was talking about my nephew, Aaron (who turned 2 on Dec 2nd) that became an angel 8 hours after he was born, and the anticipation of the arrival of Everett James. You can refer to that to get up to speed on Aaron's condition.  November 19th was a very emotional day not only because a new little boy was born into the family, but because he made it into this world so safely, breathing fine, perfectly healthy all with the help of his Guardian angel big brother, Aaron!

I will only speak for myself when I say this (but perhaps others have felt this way too) , but when I was pregnant with my son (who is now 4) I took for granted that he would be healthy when he was born. Why shouldn't I automatically assume that there would be no complications? Every doctor visit went great, ultrasounds all checked out. Thankfully, everything was fine when he was born. However, what I came to realize though is that in life you can never just assume ANYTHING.  My sister's first child was fine...perfectly healthy and we just assumed that the second pregnancy would go the same way.  Then, Aaron brought around a new way of thinking. To expect the unexpected. I'm not saying that everyone who is pregnant should be a frightened mess in worry while they await their new arrival. It should be a happy time no doubt. All I'm saying is... when this happened to our family, it really made us all appreciate life. I think in life we all go through the motions at times and just expect the things that are supposed to happen (like pregnancy, childbirth, etc) to just all go so smoothly and it usually does. Then, there are a special set of circumstances that really make you step back and reevaluate life. Well, that's just me anyway.


So, needless to say the day Everett was born we were also thinking of Aaron. We were all so overjoyed and relieved to know that our new little miracle was perfectly healthy, and that the only place he would be going would be home with his parents and big sister. Even though it was a joyous time, it was also a very hard and confusing time as well. When I got the call from my mom that Everett arrived safely, I felt relief as I mentioned but also a sense of loss all over again. I thought of Aaron and it felt like the breath had been taken out of my lungs. Almost like I found out he passed away all over again. In the midst of my hard silent cry, I felt a warmth surround me. It was comforting and calm. I calmed down  and got myself together. Then, I thanked Aaron. I thanked god. I thanked anyone "upstairs" that helped aid in Everett arriving safely. All throughout the day I was mixed with excitement, joy, and then sadness and loss. Every time I would get that little twinge of heartache I would feel that presence again. Reassuring me that Aaron was ok and that EVERYTHING was ok. I would like to think that it was Aaron with me... or perhaps someone else. Whether it sounds crazy or not, it comforts me to know that a higher power was with me that day, not letting me be consumed with the loss of Aaron but helped me to remember him and yet be so so happy and elated about my new nephew being born!

When I saw Everett for the first time it was so wonderful. I thought I would be a complete and utter mess, but surprisingly I kept it together. I was just overtaken by his beautiful little face, his wrinkly hands and feet. Just completely in awe of this little miracle God blessed this family with. I haven't seen him as much as I would like to since he's been born. Unfortunately, life and child illness(the flu) and such as gotten in the way. However, I talk to my sister nearly everyday and happy to report that he is still doing well. Getting very big, nursing well, SLEEPING well! LOL! His big sister Ava has had a time trying to get adjusted to him but all in all she is a good big sister that loves her brother very very much!  I now present (about 6 weeks late...) Everett James!


Since his birth here is what has happened. About a week before Christmas (  I think it was around Dec 16th or so) My poor babies came down with the terrible intestinal flu that has gone around. Nathan was the first one to catch it on a Thursday. He started with the poops... then the vomit. Oh boy!  Friday night around 11:30 pm  my little girl was up next. She had a puking marathon every half hour to hour from 11:30 pm to 2 am.  She seemed to bounce back pretty quickly, however, Nathan is a different story. It just wanted to hang on to him for some reason. He was sick for about a week luckily we was feeling much better by Christmas. I even called the doctor a few times and asked that now that the puking had stopped and he just had diarrhea every now and then (about once every other day) would he be ok to see the rest of our family on Christmas Eve and Day? I was informed that as long as he has no fever, he is holding food down, and for the most part is acting like himself again that it would be ok. Even with the pooping he was having here or there. Just be sure to wash our hands well and not share food etc. etc.  So, we saw our family Christmas eve and day and had such a wonderful time! That Monday I found out that almost everyone we had come in contact with on those days is now sick!!! That is crazy...I feel so bad and I didn't think Nathan would still be that contagious. I went by what the doctor said and thought everyone would be ok. So, now our plans for New Years are shot because all of our babysitters (family members) are sick and I just want to air on the side of caution and not have anyone else around them too much at least for the rest of this week just to be sure they are ok and not going to get anyone else sick. 

This Christmas we pretty special though (despite the illness everyone contracted later on) because it was my daughter, Madeline's FIRST Christmas! Also, this was the first year that Nathan really figured the whole Santa thing out and was anticipating his arrival greatly! We got a new tree this year, Nathan helped pick out the decorations, we baked cookies for Santa. He had me write him a letter (in his own words) and set everything up for him the night before (including reindeer food) This was also the first time both of the kids visited Santa. Nathan would always scream at the sight of him in the mall in years past... but maybe because he was a big brother now, things were different. He was very excited and so willing to show Maddie that Santa was a nice guy and just like a grandpa! However,  Madeline had a different opinion of Santa. While we were waiting to get their picture taken, Nathan was chatting it up with Santa while Maddie was giving him the "evil eye" safely in Daddy's arms. Then, it was time to sit on the Fat Man's lap. Oh boy, that did not go well. Nathan did great! Maddie...well, see for yourself: 

This is the greatest picture ever! We have it in such a cute frame too. Then, you get close and see the horror! It always makes me smile!  Despite Madeline not being to fond of Santa, he treated her well on Christmas. :o) Maddie had such a good time on her first Christmas. She did get a bit overwhelmed though because of everything going on but it was still a great time for everyone.  Nathan enjoyed himself too of course! Here are some pictures of our Holiday:
Nathan at Grandma Paula's house on Christmas Eve

Madeline getting great to open presents at Grandma's house on Xmas Eve!
Our happy little family on Xmas Eve!
Me and my love
The letter Nathan had me write to santa

The milk, cookies, and reindeer food Nathan set out for Santa
What Santa left behind
On Christmas morning before the kids woke up

My babies posing with their pillow pets
Patiently waiting to tear into those gifts!

excitement!
Besides ringing in the New Year on Friday, we are anxiously waiting my daughters 1st birthday on Jan 5th! Then, on Jan 15th my husband turns 30! We have a busy busy couple weeks ahead but they are going to be amazing. Now that hopefully the illness is out of the way we can just have a great time! :o) I will post on these events I'm sure, and I will start keeping more regular posts too!

How did everyone's Christmas go? I would love to hear from you. Or, just anything in general that has been going on since I've been on away. What are everyone's plans for the New Year? Resolutions??  I hope everyone has a fun and very SAFE New Year!!!