Back to the ER :(

We headed back to the ER last night at about midnight. It was our third trip for the same thing with Zach. Again we have croup. I don't know how many of you have had a child with it, but it is a horrible feeling when your baby can't take a deep breath and it telling you that his chest hurts. I called nurse advice first and she said he needed to be seen but whether we would drive him or call an ambulance was what she was trying to decipher. We did a few of the recommended things and decided it was safe for us to bring him in. He was getting air enough to request ice cream and complain about the cold freezer. At the ER they gave him an oral steroid and we were set to leave when he said his ear hurt. He hadn't complained at all. Come to find out we have yet another ear infection with tubes. So today we have to start the butt load of antibiotics, oral steroids and we have an inhaler now just in case. I am praying it doesn't turn out to be asthma. My little sport nut would go crazy if he had to be inhibited. In other news, Andy's friends just attended their 100th consecutive Oregon Ducks game! That is quite the endeavor! Even the away games! They even made it on to a local radio station. Congrats to them!


This is Ava in her new Emerson College bib! This is what us alumni get from them when we have a baby :)

Just like Daddy!

This kid cracks me up!

Babies for Obama

Not sure if you know this, but my husband is a republican and I am not. I am brainwashing the kids to follow my hippie, union member ways!

Annoying!

Andy has just informed me that he will have to go to Israel in December. Come on! Seriously?! First Greece, then New Orleans in September and now this too? I guess I signed on to be a single mom without knowing it. I thought I was good because he was done with the Navy when I met him. Guess I was wrong.
Also want to say Happy Birthday to Laila Rose who is two today and Addison Emme who is now less than 6 hours old! Welcome to the world, Addy!

http://www.team-angel.org/

About Greece and Strawberries

It looks like Andy's trip to Greece is official :( I will be a single mom for at least 7 days while he is gone. And it will be on Zach's birthday to boot, meaning we had to postpone our trip to Sea World. This sucks! We also brought the babies to doctors appointments this week. Ava had her 4 month appointment and she weighs 15.4 lbs. I asked what percentile she was in and the doctor said, "big!" Haha! 75th-90th % for weight. She also had to get a bunch of shots, which is always hard on both of us. It was far worse than getting her ears pierced. We also brought Zach to this appointment due to his crazy rashes. It's just as I had suspected, he is indeed allergic to strawberries! That sucks too. He LOVES strawberries and anything strawberry related. He can't even have neopolitan ice cream. The doctor said he will most likely not grow out of this because it is just like peanut allergies and it will get worse with prolonged exposure. Well, I can't seem to recall the rest of the week right now because I am exhausted. I did have a chance to go to breakfast and for a pedicure this morning with a friend though. Andy feels horrible about leaving me so he is being super nice :) He told me to get it all in before he has to leave so I am living it up!

Zach at 4 months

Ava at 4 months

4 months old (2)

4 months (1)

strange rashes and rocking chairs

This has been a nice weekend. Yesterday we had Ava's 4 month pictures done, went to Sophia's 1st birthday party and I was able to visit with my Aunt's for a little bit over dinner. After all was said and done yesterday I noticed that my son had a strange rash all over his face.


It looked like welts that were red and raised up. I took pictures because if I just tell the doctor then he will say he would need to see it. He has been getting rashes in weird places for a while now. I suspect that most of them are from the extreme temperatures, but this one last night was weird. Maybe a food allergy? To what, we have no idea! Today was a more leisurely day. Andy went to pick up Ava's new rocker and it goes with her room very well.


I also FINALLY put her name letters up over her bed. It looks super cute and girly in there now.

into rules!

1. If I like it, it's mine.
2. If it's in my hand, it's mine.
3. It I had it a little while ago, it's mine.
4. If it looks just like mine, it's mine.
5. If I think it's mine, it's mine.
6. If it's mine it's mine, if it's your it's mine.

I know I already posted today, but this was hilarious! I found it on one of my fellow mommy groupers blog. I consider it to be the rules of Zach (and probably most almost 2 year olds!)

About observing traditions

Think of me what you will, but today we got Ava's ears pierced! They are so freakin' cute and I am very glad that I didn't let anyone change my mind. All my life I have just viewed it as something you do when you have a daughter. Some of my friends feel differently. She was such a trooper. She wimpered a bit for the first one, but with the second one she realized what we were doing when we were holding her arms and head so she cried more. She got over it in a minute or so though and was back to her smiley self! These pictures were taken about a half hour later and she was fine :) The earrings they have these days are great too. No twisting them or over cleaning them. Plus they make the likelyhood of her developing a nickel allergy a lot less. How many of us can ONLY wear 14 carat gold?! Quite a few, I am thinking. These are the perks of not taking her to Claire's, LOL!

Ava is finally enjoying tummy time! I thought she was going to hate it forever, but I got a pleasant surprise in the last few days when we tried it. She actually smiled!

Nothing new

Nothing really new to report today. Just working and living :) My aunt from Alabama is staying with us for a few days so we are thinking of fun things to show her in the area. I did get a couple of good bath time shots of Ava that I will post soon. We're going to see Allie on Sunday so there will be bunches of new pix sometime next week!

all about the animals!

Today we celebrated our great weekend by going to the Zoo! Zach used the potty and Ava is 4 months old today! They were both so good, but we knew we had to keep our adventure short and sweet. We did get in the big animals like the elephant, zebras, gorillas, giraffes etc. It was our first trip to the LA Zoo and it really wasn't that bad and only $12 for adults to get in. Can't beat that! I think it was great for Zach to see these animals somewhere besides the TV or in books. He didn't understand it at all when I kept telling him where we were going. Once we got there he was just in aw at all of the different animals. He kept wanting Andy to pick him up so he could get a better view. A good time was had by all (inspite of the heat!)

Full of Pride!

Today was an exciting day in our house! This morning Zach and I went to barnes and noble to buy "Once Upon A Potty." We probably read it about 3 or 4 times throughout the day. We read it just before bed (both Andy and myself because he wanted daddy to read it too.) We brought Zach into bed and he started saying "poo-poo" so we asked if he wanted to go on the potty. He said yes. We put him on his potty with his diaper still on, but he didn't go. I thought maybe we should take off the diaper to see if it worked. I left the men to their business and a few minutes later I hear that he did go on the potty! I was so excited and he was so excited. He looked at it and said "ewww!" It was a great day at our house :) My life is so different than it was just 3 shorts years ago, LOL!

thieving!

Stole this picture from Erin again. I forgot my camera and the kids were so funny in their ginormous diapers! This doesn't tell the whole story. I am truly amazed at how much they can hold. How is it that they leak at night?????

boring

So far this week has been boring. Besides getting myself dehydrated yesterday there is really nothing new to report. No news can be good news! Enjoy the rest of the week, hump day is almost over!

Artsy!

Yesterday we went on our date to Laguna Beach to see the Pageant of the Masters and the Festival of Arts. This was our fifth year going and I just love it more and more each year. The first year we went we found this little alcove off to the side of PCH and from it you could see the most beautiful wedding spot. That was in 2004. In 2005 we ended up getting married at just that spot! Thus, the pageant is very special to us because if it weren't for this special event, we wouldn't have found that special place. In 2004 we decided to make it a summer tradition so that we would always have an excuse to get to Laguna each summer. Andy did miss one show in 2006 because of work travel, but I was able to bring Karen as my date along with a couple of our good friends. We try to expose different people to the event each year because so many have never heard of it and it truly is a site to see! The show takes place as soon as it is dark and consists of living art. You really have to see it to understand. But if you would like to go you must purchase your tickets in January to get good Saturday seats. Our date was great! We shared our time with Karen and Pete and we always love an excuse to hang out with them. It was weird having no babies in the car though. I kept turning around on the drive down to check on them because they were being so quiet! Hahaha! Two of our other good friends watched them for the day and said they were very good. You have to wonder if people are truthful or if they just don't want to make you feel bad because your children are stinkers! Or if your children are truly angels for other people, but just not for you!

These pictures were taken in that special alcove overlooking our wedding location. There was a wedding going on and it made me really nostalgic. I can't believe it will be 3 years next month!

Oops!

This is one of my favorite pictures from the day and I forgot to add it into the video. Zach did great with his first haircut and we didn't even have to sit with him. He started getting a little antsy towards the middle and rather than have a mullet, we gave him a sucker! Nothing like a lollipop at 9 am!

Zach's First Haircut

Prayers for Angel

www.angelswings708.blogspot.com

This is a blog my friend sent me about her friend and their son. He is going through so much and could really use support (be it through purchasing a t-shirt or just praying). Please look at this story and give your babies an extra big hug tonight before bed (even if they are being a little stinker!)