Operation "Bye Bye Paci"

Begins TODAY! I have had this date in mind for several months and I'm sad that it is finally here! I will be glad to be done with paci's but it is definitely a bittersweet time! I am not looking forward to the possible loss of sleep and temper tantrums that might come from this and I'm sad that it means my baby is growing up but I do love seeing that sweet face and smile without a paci!

We started this morning when I got him out of bed at 8 am! I took his paci out and said we are going to leave this here and he got so sad and stuck that pitiful pouty lip out but we just headed down stairs. It's been almost 2 hours since then and he has asked for it several times but I just keep telling him that we are telling paci bye bye and that he is a big boy now. I have no idea if he understands but it seems to appease him at least for a while.

Several people have told me about the method of cutting off the tip and letting the child decide they don't want it anymore so that is definitely a possibility if this fails and I might do that to get rid of it at nap and night time soon!

I would greatly appreciate your prayers as we make this transition because my buddy LOVES his paci! I don't think it will be too bad during the day while we are at home but it's the times that we are out and he is throwing a fit, nap and bedtime that I am worried about! I will keep you updated on our progress!!

BYE BYE PACI'S!!!

Cute Video

Lately, I have felt like we don't get enough videos of Maddox and I know we will later regret that because home videos are so much fun to look back at!! So, it is my goal to try and do better about that!! Here is a cute little video of Maddox dancing to a Sugarland song. He is so funny these days and just keeps us cracking up...enjoy!

Bible Class

Today I worked in the nursery at church so I peeked in Maddox's class to see how he was doing! I of course didn't let him see me! But I had to take a quick pic of him because I thought it was so funny! It's a good thing he turns 2 in a couple of months because he isn't going to fit on those little chairs much longer! Did you notice how much farther his feet hang down than the other kids?!?! Lol he is just getting way too big!!

Spring Training Trip

Collin and I just got back from a fun little trip to the Phoenix area!! We had originally planned on going with 2 of our best friends Jennifer and Daniel but at the last minute thanks to the dumb IRS that plan was ruined and they ended up not being able to come!! So on Wednesday afternoon Collin's parents came into town, his dad for a conference and his mom to stay with Mr. Maddox, and we headed out just the 2 of us for our little trip. When we got there on Wednesday evening we headed straight to our first of 2 Rockies Spring Training games (although we were late for the game due to a mix up on what stadium the game was at lol). Before the game we had In-n-Out burger for dinner (YUMMM) and then Rockies won so it was a lot of fun!!


On Thursday morning we slept in then got up and drove out to the Talking Stick resort just to check it out. It was a cool place but nothing amazing. We then had some lunch and headed out to TPC Scottsdale for Collin to play a round of golf. Ever since we started dating I have enjoyed riding in the cart and watching him play golf. I don't get to do it near as often I as used to so it was fun to be able to be out there with him, especially since it was one of his favorite courses. That pretty much took up the rest of the day so after the round we may have just stopped at In-N-Out again to grab dinner and then headed back to our hotel.


On Friday got up and had breakfast at Coco's, one of Collin's favorites from California, then went out to the ballpark to see if we could see the Rockies practicing and maybe get some autographs. We finally found out that the actual players that we wanted to see wouldn't be out until later in the day. So we decided to head over to one on of the malls to kill some time before going back to the ballpark. It was a super nice mall and Collin actually bought me 2 new charms that I had been wanting for my pandora bracelet so that was super fun!! I got the blue candy stripe and the pink candy strip glass charms...the blue for Maddox and the pink for Addison!!



After covering the mall we ran back to our hotel to change and pick up our tickets and headed back to the ballpark. When we got there the Rockies were out on one of the practice fields having batting practice. So we waited with a group of other fans in hopes of getting some autographs but the guys ended up going in another entrance so we didn't get any. A guy we had been talking to told us that the guys usually come back out and sign stuff inside the stadium before the games starts so we decided to go in and wait for that. Once we got in we saw that there were a TON of people waiting by the Rockies dugout and hardly any waiting by the Rangers, who they were playing that night. We figured we had a better chance of getting some autographs if we went over there. I ended up sitting on the wall right by the field for about 2 hours just watching them have batting practice and warm up.




I was starting to think I wasn't going to get any and then Josh Hamilton came over and started signing stuff for people. Of course when he did that a TON of people rushed over and started pushing their way up and sticking their stuff out for autographs. He stayed there and signed stuff for several minutes and then decided to quit right before he got to me. I was soooo bummed!! He was the one I wanted the most!!


After he walked off the field I was thinking that was it but I decided to hang out there a little while longer until the game started. Finally the players started coming back out and I ended up getting Michael Young and David Murphy to sign the ball we had bought for Maddox!! That was pretty exciting.



I wish I had been able to get more signatures but at least I got something. The Rockies ended up killing the Rangers 10-1 and even though we are Rangers fans, we have become bigger Rockies fans, so I was glad for a victory!! :D.

We flew home this afternoon and are glad to be back with our little buddy!! I definitely miss him when we are away!! We had a great time just the 2 of us though and are thankful to have had that time before Miss Addison arrives!! It was a great trip and is something that we hope can start to be a tradition for our family each spring!!

Baby Be Blessed

I found out about these precious dolls called Baby Be Blessed from a friend at church who bought one for her daughter's birthday and fell in love with them!! They are the sweetest little dolls and the story behind them makes them even better!! They are all hand made by a group of stay at home moms and while they are making your doll they pray for your child. On the tummy of the doll they sew a patch that has your child's name and a Bible verse of your choosing which is super cute!!

I have always thought it was so neat when parents pick out a specific verse for their children but we had never done it ourselves. When I found out about these dolls I thought it would be fun to pick a verse for Miss Addison and have it put on the doll. And even though we are a little late on Maddox I want to also pick out a verse for him as well but we haven't sat down to do it yet. (I will do a post about his verse when we decide on one!!)

I have heard of people having the older siblings give a gift to their new brother or sister when they are born so I immediately knew when I heard about these dolls that this is what I wanted to get for Maddox to give Addison when she is born. I hope that it will be a special doll that she will cherish from her big brother!!

My friend that told me about the dolls said it takes a while for them to make them so I went ahead and ordered it on Saturday night and there is still a chance that it won't make it here by Addi's arrival but it said 12-14 weeks so it shouldn't come too long after she gets here!! I can't wait to see the actual doll. You get to personalize it by selecting the hair style, hair color, clothing print, and of course name and verse that goes on the tummy.

For Addison's verse we decided we wanted to have the word "grace" in it since that is her middle name. We ended up deciding on 2 Peter 3:18. Today I got an e-mail to approve the patch that will go on the doll's tummy so you can see a little sneak peek of what it will look like. I ended up choosing the "Miss Helen" style doll and I think she is just too cute!!


I am so excited about this sweet little doll and can't wait for it to arrive and for Maddox to be able to give it to his baby sister!!

Sweet Buddy...

Baseball!

Just a little video of Maddox playing baseball! He loves all things sports just like his daddy!!

Addi Update

Last Friday morning I had another check-up to make sure Miss. Addi is growing and doing well!! Everything looked good and I am measuring right on schedule at 28 weeks!! Her heart rate was 150 and they got my lab results back and said my glucose tolerance test looked great...yay!! I'm so thankful that I don't have to do the repeat test!!

I now start going every 2 weeks for check-ups. That makes her arrival seem so much closer!! We can't wait to meet baby girl but at the same time we want to savor these last couple of months with just our sweet little boy!!

Not a Fun Night

I posted the other day about Collin and Maddox being sick and on Tuesday night we ended up in the ER because of it!! Maddox was feeling pretty cruddy that day so I called his doctor's office and talked to a nurse at around 4 pm who said he would either start getting better or much worse that night and if he got worse to bring him in the next day!! Well, he ended up getting WORSE!!! I put him to bed around 8:00 and he would not sleep for more than 15~20 minutes at a time before he would wake up crying!! He had a fever around 102 when I put him down so I gave him Tylenol at that time. He was SUPER congested and had a yucky cough and since he is a paci kid he was having a really hard time breathing!! We kept trying to put him back to bed but he would just wake back up crying! I could tell he was miserable!! We debated whether or not to take him somewhere and finally at around midnight we loaded up and headed to the ER because it was the only place open! Maddox cried almost the entire way there!! Poor buddy!!

They got us all checked in and checked his vitals which were fine (his oxygen level might have been a little low but nothing major). We then waited around for the Dr. Two of our best friends, Jennifer and Danielle, insisted on meeting us up there so we weren't alone!! A PA finally came in (Maddox again cried the entire time we waited) and got all the details then told us what they were going to do. They did a breathing treatment of humidified oxygen to help him out. Then the ER doctor come in just to check him out and she diagnosed him with an infection in his right ear. Then a respiratory specialist came in a did a sinus cleanse (I think is what they called it). The cleanse was HORRIBLE!! I had to put a pillow over his arms and chest to hold him down while a guy put saline solution in his nose and then stuck a tube up it and down his throat to get a sample to test or RSV and the flu!! I was awful!! Maddox just screamed and said "mamma" and it broke my heart!! After that was over he was exhausted and fell asleep in my arms. We then waited some more for the lab results. The PA finally came back in and said that he had tested positive for the flu despite having gotten a flu shot! Bummer!!!

For kids, they don't really do anything to treat the flu because tamiflu makes them sick to their stomach so it just has run it's course!! They did give him a dose of benadryl to help clear him up and help him sleep and also a prescription for amoxicillin for the ear infection. The was not thrilled about having to wake up to take the meds but after he did we were sent on our way!!

He fell asleep right when we got in the car and slept the entire way home. We ended up getting home at around 2:30 am. He still didn't sleep well that night so I ended up getting in bed with him and he finally slept for a few hours in a row. We were all exhausted the next day and just hung around the house for the most part. We made one trip to Walgreens for some popsicles, vapor rub, gatorade, and a battery powered nasal aspirator (that the hospital told me about...it works great too!!) and then a trip to the pediatricians office that afternoon!! The pediatrician wanted me to bring him in so they could make sure he wasn't getting dehydrated because I was having trouble getting him to drink any fluids. We saw the PA and she said he looked just fine and told me some signs to look for and to just keep an eye on him!!

Last night he finally slept through the night for the first time since last week!! It was fabulous and much needed for this tired momma and for him!! He woke up acting like he felt a ton better!! He is still stuffy and has a cough but hasn't had a fever all day!! He took a good nap this afternoon and ate a good lunch for the first time since getting sick!! Hopefully this means we are on the mend!!! Having a sick kiddo is never fun!! Now I'm just praying that I can somehow manage to stay well!! If you think about it send up a little prayer!!

So that was our not fun experience with our sick little boy!! I am so glad he seems to be feeling better!! There is not much worse as a parent than seeing your baby miserable and not being able to help them!!

Sicklies

I have a sick husband and baby at my house right now!! Collin has some kind of respiratory virus and Maddox has croup. Collin started feeling sick sometime last week and Maddox on Saturday. I have managed to stay well thus far but I'm not sure if that will last!! Please be praying for my boys to get well and for me to somehow not catch it!! Thanks bunches!!!

Miss Addison's Room

I have finally finished Addison's nursery!! I love how it turned out and how bright it is with the yellow walls!! I will let the pictures tell the rest since I know that is what you really want to see!! :D

Yay for hair bows!!

The rocking chair will go to the right of the crib but it is still in Maddox's room right now.

I love how her letters turned out!! They were so easy to make and super cheap!! I just hot glued scrapbooking flowers with buttons in the middle of each to pre-painted letters I got at Hobby Lobby (for half price)!! They are simple but super cute, at least I think so :D.

The lamp is another favorite in the room...also half price at Hobby Lobby!!

Now we just need a baby girl to put in this cute little nursery :D.

Patience is a Virtue...

I will just start out by confessing that when it comes to certain things, patience isn't my strong suit. When I get my Christmas money I tend to spend it pretty much as soon as the mall opens!! HOWEVER, this year I exercised a little self control and I am so glad that I did!! I decided that, with my money, I wanted to buy an iPad but I knew rumors that the big announcement about an iPad 2 coming soon were swirling. So this time around I decided to wait it out and I am so glad that I did because I tend to be the person who buys something new and then the very next week the newer, much cooler model is released and I hate that!!

Well today, Apple announced that the new and improved iPad 2 would be released March 11...that is next Friday people!!


Ahhh I am so excited!! I have been waiting since Christmas for this one!! Is it next Friday yet?!?! :D

Glucose Tolerance

I did my glucose tolerance test today and man I am not a fan. That "drink" is just not tasty at all!! I will get my results back at my appointment next Friday. Hopefully, I passed so that I don't have to do the test again!!