My Little Smartie Pants

On Saturday I was cooking dinner and Nathan was getting into mischief so he went into his high chair with a handful of fruit loops to keep him occupied.  He sat there quietly while I finished and when I went to check on him 15 minutes later I couldn't believe what he had done.  Nathan had sorted out his fruit loops by color.  He had red, blue, green, yellow, and orange fruit loops, all sorted.  But of course when I went to take his picture he scrambled the fruit loops and laughed.  I'm so proud of my little smartie pants!

New Years Eve

 We partied pretty hard for New Years Eve this year, I'm not going to lie.  Chloe and Brax have been staying with my parents while Megan and Todd are in Vegas and Nathan has loved having them around.  We started it off by playing in the snow which was Nathan's first time.  All of the kids loved the snow but didn't last long because it was so cold outside.

 

Matt, Nathan and I then went with his family to Culvers for dinner and then met back up with my family for our makeshift New Years Eve party!  Chloe was in charge of getting everyone dressed up and passing out the horns.  We then blew the horns and yelled Happy New Year!  At this point it was about 8:00.

 

After that excitement wore off my dad and Chloe pulled out the pots and pans and the kids all banged on them, including Nathan!  We banged and banged and yelled Happy New Year again, this time it was 8:30.

 



Nathan banging his first pan!

 

Then at 9:00 we pulled out the streamers and yelled Happy New Year all over again!  I told you we partied pretty hard!

 

Which was then followed by all three kids crashing and crying and being so exhausted that they couldn't go to sleep.  Which meant we slept the next hour watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse before we put the kids to bed and all went to bed ourselves.  Which was about 10:00.  The neighbors woke us up at midnight lighting off fireworks but we were too exhausted to even care and went right back to sleep. 

This New Years was just so fun.  I can't really explain it but it was definitely right up there in my books.  It was so fun to see Brax and Nathan get so excited by everything we did.  And Chloe remembered traditions from the last few years and made sure we banged pans and blew streamers and yelled Happy New Year many many times.  It was a great way to ring in the new year and I am excited to see what 2013 brings!



Sick Sick Sick

Things have been pretty miserable over at our house for the past week.  Nathan has had a cold, cough, and is getting a molar which has not been going well for him.  I have been deathly ill with a sinus infection since last Friday and have been barely able to function.  And Matt has been miserable because he has had to take care of me and Nathan.

On Sunday I was so sick I couldn't even get out of bed and was too sick to care.  As I layed there hour after hour I could hear my fussy baby crying and whining and my sweet husband soothing and caring for Nathan.  Matt fed him, changed every diaper, rocked him, wiped his snotty nose and comforted him.  He did everything I would have done and didn't even skip a beat.

It really made me think about how amazing marriage is.  Don't get me wrong our marriage is far from perfect but in a way it is perfect.  I have someone that is always on my team.  That is working towards the same goals that I am and that loves the same things.  Someone that can step in and take over for you when you can't.  Someone who will step in without ever being asked.  Someone who gets up five nights in a row with your crying baby and lets you stay in bed and rest.

Matt you did an amazing job taking care of us this past week.  We love you tons and promise to not get sick ever again! (Or at least until you get caught up on sleep.)

Nathan finally napping after a long sick day

New Years Resolutions

I have spent the last few days really thinking about what I wanted to do differently to make 2013 a great year.  When I started thinking about the goals I wanted to set they all revolved around the same idea.  I want to enjoy 2013 and be able to look back at wonderful memories.  So that is that, in 2013 I am going to get out there and make fantastic memories!

• Play more.  Spend less time worrying about the laundry and the dishes and more time playing with Nathan. 
• Get outside.  Take Nathan to the park, go on walks, swimming at the pool and trips to the mountains.
• Work less.  Minimize working late and stop stressing about work when I get home.
• Take pictures.  Tons and tons of pictures of everyday life.  Oh and I am going to make sure to take pictures of Matt and I as well as millions of Nathan.
• Go on three vacations. They can be camping trips, St. George trips, cabin trips, whatever.  But this year we are going on vacations!
• Complete one sewing project and one craft project.
• Blog more. At least once a week.
• Attend the temple 12 times this year.  (I'm not great with the once a month thing)

Here is to 2013, I know its going to rock!

My Baby is a Lady's Man

I was dropping Nathan off at daycare this morning when I noticed a little girl had her eye on Nathan.  As I took off his coat and hugged him goodbye she came closer and waited for me to put him down.  I set Nathan down on the ground and she immediately took his hand in hers and they walked off to play toys together.  What a little stud.

Seizure Update

Nathan has been doing awesome on phenobarbital.  He hasn't had a seizure since the end of August and once his body got used to the medication we haven't had any issues.  One of the downsides of having him on Phenobarbital is required  blood work every three months.  But getting Nathan's blood drawn every three months has been definitely worth no seizures.

Well I took Nathan in two weeks ago for the routine blood work and didn't think twice about it.  Well that is until his neurologist called two days later.  They want his phenobarbital numbers to be between 16-40 and Nathan's last numbers were 22 which was perfect.  Well his numbers have dropped to 14 and he has not gained even a pound in the last three months.  And this is not a good thing.

She was extremely concerned that his numbers were that low and especially that he hadn't gained weight.  It is looking like his body is metabolising the medication too quickly which is what happened when he was taking the Kepra.  And since the little stinker hasn't put on much weight the doctor was only able to increase his medication by 7 mg per day.  We meet with the doctor again in two months and will evaluate his levels then.

Even though we only increased the medication by 7 mg Matt and I are definitely seeing the side effects of the increased dose.  The nightmares, the stubborn attitude, and the tantrums have returned.  And we have returned to being two very tired parents who are having serious flashbacks of our summer of constant seizures. 

It took three weeks for his body to regulate the medication last time and we are hoping it will take less time than that where he is already on the medicine.  The hardest part about Nathan lately is knowing that we are the cause of his frustration and anger.  But anything is better than going back to seizures.  Keeping our fingers crossed that our little monkey will feel better for Christmas!

Zoo Lights

This year Matt and I decided to take Nathan to the Zoo Lights.  We both had never been and decided we wanted to start our own family traditions this year.  Well the Zoo Lights did not disappoint. The entire zoo was decked out in lights and there was Christmas music playing everywhere you went.  Santa was there with two reindeer as well as Christmas carolers dressed in costumes. But Nathan's favorite part were all of the animals made out of lights.  They were absolutely incredible and so fun to see.

 

Lit Up Bridge

 

 The Iconic Lion Drinking Fountain

 

 

 

Nathan would giggle and laugh at all the animals and even though we only made it an hour before we were too frozen and left we had such a good time.  And we will definitely be going back next year!