Busy, busy, busy....and sick

We've been really really busy around here lately! It just seems like we're always on the go. I don't feel like I have any time to just sit down and blog. I do spend a lot of time sitting in my chair, but it is extraordinarily hard to type with one had while nursing. So it's been a while. As I was looking back through my pictures I just uploaded tonight, all the way back from July 4th, I realized we've been having a lot of firsts. Lincoln's first time in the pool as a 2 year old. Aspen's first time EVER in a pool. Lincoln's first ever water slide, that he did all.by.himself. many, many, many times! And Lincoln's first time ever at the bowling alley. Super cute stuff going on here. Oh yeah, and his very first sparkler experience on the 4th of July. We also built a fort out of a sheet in the kitchen for the first time, and Aspen tried the jumper.

I have to say that I have recently become addicted to Pinterest. It's bad. I know. However, it has changed my life. No exaggeration. I now have fabulous, frugal, ideas to make our home and lives better, easier, and cheaper. A few examples you say? Of course!

I made some yummylicious biscuits using just 4 ingredients...from scratch. If you know me well, you know that cooking is not my forte. But these were good!

I used soda can tabs to make double hangers in the closet to free up some room. Genius!

I shaved my legs with conditioner. Pinterest told me to! Needless to say, I will lighten my packing from now on so that it doesn't include that terrible bottle of shaving cream. Totally unnecessary! Shocked.

I have made my son "muffin tin lunches" because he's a toddler and doesn't eat much.

I helped Lincoln perform his first science experiment with baking soda and vinegar.

I made my own baby wipes. Shut up!

AND here's the big one. I have begun an endeavor in hairbows and head bands. This is seriously my new obsession. I can't go to sleep at night sometimes because I keep thinking up new fun color combinations to make a head band out of! I am making elastic small people head bands of every shape and color. I am also making hair clips for slightly larger people. Or even adults if they so desire. Now I know I made this stuff, but I have to say I'm impressed! I found some online sites for super cheap, quality materials and now I've started a new hobby. Using Pinterest I have learned to make many different kinds of flowers and bows, and puffs to put on head bands and hairbows. Beautiful stuff. And the possibilities are endless! The fabric store is my new best friend.

Yes!! From Scratch!

Ultimately I want to open an Etsy shop and sell them online. Once I get that up and going I'll let you know for sure! Now I spend my days playing with the babies, feeding them, and trying to squeeze out just a FEW minutes to work some magic with my glue gun!! You know you've got it bad when your kids go to bed and instead of just sitting down to watch tv to relax, you're dying to plug up your glue gun. 

For the 4th of July we went really low key this year. We honestly didn't want to keep Lincoln up so late to watch fireworks, and we were afraid he'd be scared of him. He's been very scared here lately of lions and monsters and such and I thought the loud sounds would upset him. He doesn't even like the vacuum these days. Not that he ever did really. So instead of going to the Valdese fireworks like we usually do, we went out to dinner as a family (which was fabulous by the way!!) Evidently on the 4th of July you're supposed to be grilling out with your friends and family. So NO ONE was eating out! We went to Olive Garden and were seated and served right away. Fabulous.

After dinner we went home and let Lincoln experience sparklers for the very first time. He wore his mittens so the sparks wouldn't land on his hands. It wasn't really dark yet, either but it was fun. He seemed to enjoy it. They didn't seem to scare him at all. Aspen just hung out on a blanket and watched the fun from safety.

Anthony's work had a private party for us at a local pool: Kool Park Pool. It's in Hickory and has been around for ages. I remember going with the church group when I was 10. Kaleb had to argue with them about my age to get me in at the discounted rate. HA! Being tall sometimes has its disadvantages. Anyway, that's the last time I was there and I didn't remember much about it except for the super high platform to jump from. It's 15 feet. When I was 10 it looked a whole lot bigger. Anyway, there's a super fun water slide down the whole right side of the pool and Lincoln could climb up and slide down it all by himself. And he proceeded to do just that for at least an hour, and probably 15-20 times.

 Not only that was awesome, but the entire side of the pool where the slide is only has a depth of 1.5 feet. So he could literally just run or walk around playing by himself, or with other kids. It was wonderful! He had freedom to run and swim and explore without me having to hold onto him the whole time. We didn't even make him wear his swim vest because it ended up being too hard to get out of the water with it on. It kept him from bending at the waist and he couldn't get himself up out of the water. He was safer without it.

So we had the whole pool to ourselves, it was closed to the public. There were maybe 50 people there total, including all the kids. So there weren't crazy, loud, big kids running around and causing trouble or splashing or knocking people over. It was quiet, and pleasant, and tons of fun.

Lincoln is the sickly one. He has hand-foot-and mouth. It's not as bad as our friend Ian had it I don't think. Anna posted pictures of Ian's poor mouth a few months ago when he had it, and Lincoln's is so mild that if I tried to take a picture you'd probably just scratch your head and wonder what there was to see. Nonetheless, he's been sick since Friday when his fever spiked crazy high at the restaurant and he threw up on the table. Fun. We rushed him back home and threw cold rags on his groin and under his arms to prevent another terrible febrile seizure. That will now forever be our fear. We got his fever down with medication and cold compress and he slept the night away with no trouble. He kept a crazy high fever on Saturday and needed constant meds and we even did the cold rags again at one point. He hated the rags, but loves the medicine. By Sunday he started complaining that his mouth hurt and he wouldn't eat or drink anything. He'd just hold his hand over his mouth and say "it hurt." After trying every liquid in the house in every cup we own I finally got out the flashlight to inspect. Sure enough, there are tiny reddish white sores all over the roof of his mouth. So sad. We'd already been talking to Anna about his symptoms, and she confirmed it was more than likely hand foot and mouth. Lovely. We don't even go to daycare. Where do we get this stuff?? Fifth's disease, chicken pox, now this?! Really.

  

Today is Tuesday and he managed to drink almost the whole bottle of PediaSure tonight. He will only drink tea otherwise, it's the only thing we've managed to get him to keep trying. I guess because that's normally a forbidden beverage. He won't eat either, so drinking the PediaSure at least gives him good calories and some protein, and sugar. He's eating icee pops and ice cream. That's about all he'll attempt. He just says it hurts. Poor kid. I'm really hoping it won't last much longer. I can tolerate little red spots on his hands and feet...but this sore throat and mouth have got to go. How do you convince a 2 year old that even though it hurts he's got to drink so he doesn't dehydrate? You don't. You just try to bribe them with popsicles.

Right in the middle of a huge laugh!

First time in the fort...and Aspen's jumping first.

Daddy with his babies in the hammock.

3 Months

Wowey Zowey! Aspen is already 3 months old!! 

She is such an incredibly sweet baby. She's calm, quiet, and easy going. She is working so hard this week on turning over from back to tummy. She's so close! I feel like that is really quick! I've gotta get Lincoln's stats out and compare what he was doing and when. 

She is a daddy's girl already. They snuggle together on the couch every night. This is how I find them almost every night! 

We're enjoying being home together. Lincoln often drives me crazy...but he's so much fun. Every day  he says or does things that amaze us. He used the word "necessary" the other day...and used it correctly. It was necessary that he have peanut butter. HILARIOUS!

He's developing an incredible imagination and makes up things to do and ways to play. He has a "new" kitchen set and is loving cooking for us. The problem with this imagination is that it gets him in trouble. I think his imagination is running away with him. He started screaming at bedtime. For several nights he woke up 2 or 3 times just screaming, I'm not sure why. But he acted scared to stay in there alone. He asked to leave the light on, so I found our Vicks plug in that has a green light and turned it on for him. For the following several nights he started screaming about going to bed way before it was even time. He kept telling us he was scared to be in his room. That's so sad! There's not really anything you can say to make him feel better. We were at the ends of our rope...what else was there to try?

The next night Anthony took him to bed and he came out without Lincoln crying. I asked him what he did. "I did the only thing I know to do, when I don't know what else to do. I prayed with him." They had a sweet bedtime prayer for protection and he went right to sleep! Now he asks to pray before bed every night and hasn't had any trouble going to sleep since that first night of prayer! 

Why did it take us so long to figure that out?! We pray about everything else, why wouldn't we pray for bedtime? 

Anthony is doing well. Just waiting for August 7th so he can go back to Baptist for his very intensive testing to see what type of kidney he needs. If you're not an organ donor, please consider it. You could save the love of my life!

Size 2!!!

I know, a funny title, but that's what hit me today. Aspen is moving into size 2 diapers! Wow! Can she already weigh 12 pounds?! Is her belly already so big the size 1 diapers are having trouble closing?! I can't believe how incredibly fast this time has flown by. Lincoln's infancy was speedy, but this is ridiculous!

Aspen is amazing! Incredible! We hit the baby jackpot. She is now almost 12 weeks old and weighs right around 12 pounds. Since she was 6 weeks old she's been sleeping through the night. Here lately we get anywhere from 8-10 hours at a time. She's "talking" all the time now. She will lay around and coo, ahh, ooo, and now she's really starting to laugh! She really tends to laugh alot when you're playing with her mouth. Like if you're trying to get her to take a paci she'll grin with her whole mouth and laugh at you. Or when Anthony's singing her song she'll giggle. (Anthony makes up a song for all of our babies! They just come to him, and Aspen's is totally different than Lincoln's. It's totally precious!)

She rolled over for the first time just over a week ago! :) From tummy to back...that seems way too fast!  She can hold herself up on her elbows and look around for a few minutes at a time now. She seems to like it, I think it gives her a different point of view from all the normal stuff she sees. She is still only breastfed and she's doing great. She's going about 3 hours during the day between feedings. I don't think she's as big as Lincoln was at her age, but I need to look that up to be sure. I just remember him being a chunker pretty quickly! She's more dainty I guess you could say. She still isn't really 'playing' with anything. She can't hold the toys yet. She seems to enjoy looking at lights and fans. She can follow me around the room and seems to notice if I leave. She loves to be held, but she's often just as happy laying in the Boppy or sitting on the counter in her papisan chair.

 Lincoln still absolutely loves her. Not for one single day has he been jealous or hateful. He just fusses if I don't let him hold her enough, or kiss her enough! When we walk into a new place, or even walk into Nana's house he points to Aspen and says, "My sister!" Priceless.

Aspen is still wearing 0-3 month clothes and size 1 shoes...and they fit just about perfect. I think that means she'll be growing out of some of them very soon! We are very well stocked on baby girl clothes up until about 24 months. It's funny how when you have a girl everyone has stuff they want to get rid of. She has been almost totally clothed so far by my precious friend Alyssa Stewart. Her daughter, Ella Kate, just turned 3. She was an April baby too so all our seasons match up. Perfect! I also just started a new stash of cloth diapers and I am really looking forward to them being delivered. There's wayyyy woo much money being spent on disposables in this house! No more!

Sweet girl got her first round of shots 2 weeks ago at her 2 month check-up. She was a trooper. She only cried for about a minute and then pretty much slept the rest of the day away. She got fussy that evening during my super fun Pampered Chef party but thankfully Nana was here to lend a hand. She was 95th percentile for her height, 24 inches, and like 45th percentile for her weight: about 11 lbs 14 ozs.

Lincoln is truly wonderful. And oh so smart! He talks non-stop alllllll day! He's speaking in sentences anywhere from 3-10 words long. Sometimes it's more. We've started spelling things so he doesn't know what we're talking about! He can sing the entire alphabet song correctly, and does regularly. Probably about 100 times just today...... He also loves "twinkle star" and "uffin dan". That's Muffin Man for those not in the know.  Zaccheus is also sung around here daily and he still loves those bus wheels. Some of his favorite toys this week are his guitar, his Lego Duplo train set from Christmas, a Little People construction car set, his phone, and his new ride!

We got him a Power Wheels truck at a consignment sale a few weeks ago and he loves it. He rides around and around the house looking for speed bumps. He's an excellent driver and can steer around all the things in the yard or basement. He also knows that when he gets stuck or can't go any further to put it in reverse and go backwards. It's so funny to watch him drive circles around the house.

Anthony is building him the mother of all play sets in the backyard.

 Lincoln wants to be outside with Anthony at all times. He's learned how the drill works and helped screw in a few bolts. He has his very own tape measure and enjoys pulling it in and out and checking everything. He watches Doc McStuffins on the Disney Channel and he uses the tape measure, and Lile's leash, to give everyone a check up. More often than not I need to go to the hospital. And he says it in such a serious tone of voice! The playset has 3 decks. The first one from the ramp is 3 1/2 feet tall, the middle deck is 5 feet tall, and the upper deck is 7 feet. There is a swirly tube slide from the 7 foot section, and a smaller wave slide from the 5 foot deck. Lincoln went down the tube slide twice on the day Anthony and his dad put it up. But he won't go down it again. Not sure what happened there. Maybe he went to fast the last time he slid and it got him scared. But he will ride the wave slide, and today we even put the pool under it so he could slide down into it. So cute. Eventually there will also be a swing set on the same side as the wave slide, monkey bars opposite the wave slide, and up the back of the 7 foot section Anthony is going to build a super big climbing wall. He wants to make a big one so he will even be able to teach Lincoln how to top rope and belay. Not for several more years, but hey, why not?! Anthony's trying to get hooked up with some tin for the roof. The 7 foot section is the only one with a cover, but Anthony figured that's the one they'd want to hang out on anyway, because it's the tallest and largest of the 3 decks. More room to play. Underneath this grand structure we have planned a small sized picnic table. That way when the kids have friends over they'll have somewhere to rest and sit. If we have a cookout or party the kids will have their own table to eat on.

Lincoln's first slide!

Lincoln is wearing crazy sizes. It's silly that he can still wear all his shorts from last year. So he's wearing 18-24 month shorts. The 2t sizes are all way too big around the waist and they just fall off. He's worn a few pairs, but we both hate them. He spends the whole day walking around yanking his shorts up. No fun for either of us. His 24 month shirts also fit, but he can also wear 2t. The only difference in them really is that the 2t are usually a little longer. Since he's so tall that usually works out just fine. His shoes are a size 8. That's quite large for such a young one. Many of our friends are still in 5s or 6s. I have discovered my children's clothing philosophy: I like clothes that fit. Period. I'm not one of those mommas who buys all their kids' clothes one size too big so they can "grow into it" or get more use out of it. I just don't care. I'd rather both of them have clothes that fit right now. I don't want their clothes hanging off of them. I want them to be comfortable and look nice. And look nice we must, we all wear nice things when we go out. Whether it's just to Wal-mart or to a nice dinner at Kobe, we look put together. I enjoy wearing nice things, and so should they.

Anthony is doing great. He's still doing dialysis at home 4 times a day. It works out great and is very flexible. As you can tell by the craziness of the play set mentioned above that he's feeling fine. Better than fine probably. He's super. We went to Baptist on Wednesday, June 13, for an educational meeting and to get blood drawn. We spent the large part of the morning in a class with an RN talking about how the transplant works, the surgery, recovery period, living donations, and then finally the financial side. All of it sounds good. We are really hoping he can find a living match. This would be best for him because of his age and lifestyle. If he found a living donor he would get more/longer use of the transplanted kidney and he would have less of a recovery downtime. They're saying he'll only be in the hospital for 3-5 days and then released back to normal activities in 4-6 weeks. The reason he'd be out of work longer is for the myriad of doctor's appointments that are required to test for rejection and to monitor that the transplant is working properly. We have given the hospital several names of people who are willing to be tested to see if they are a match. The hospital will then contact them for more information and send them a kit to take to their doctors for a blood draw. If you (or someone you know) would like to be tested please let us know. It's as simple as drawing blood. If it turns out you're a good match there would be other tests, but everything is paid for by Anthony's insurance. Which brings us to the financial worries. That actually turned out to be NO worry at all! Because Anthony has a primary insurance carrier with his work, and he has Medicare as a secondary insurance... basically the cost of the transplant will be $0. This would cover everything for Anthony and any donor. Incredible. Unbelievable. Now if only we'd get on the list! We still have to go back in August for more rigorous testing. This time it'll be x-rays, MRIs, more blood drawn, and all kinds of other things, in addition to meeting with the surgeons. They told us to plan to be there all day, and pack lunch. Fun.

I am well...cleaning out my classroom and packing my stuff away. What an experience that is. After 9 years of teaching the amount of junk I have accumulated is ridiculous! I'm trying hard to let a lot of it go so I don't have to store it all! The building is getting full fast! I'm hoping to be completely finished this week and officially be a stay at home mom. At least for the next school year. Then we'll see what God's plan is for our lives. I will try very hard not to go so long between posts next time, it's very hard to have to catch up! Thanks for reading...and remember, we love comments! <3

Lounging outside on Father's Day. What a beautiful day we had. We spent it in the backyard sliding into the pool! Aspen just lounged around. This bathing suit is so cute it makes me want to cry! :)

Pictures!

Good News!!!

Last Thursday, May 10, 2012, was a big day! We got some very good news and some very good things happen....Here they are in the order of occurrence, not necessarily the order of importance!

1. I quit my job!!!!! No really. I finally made it official and called the county office to have it arranged and went to school to tell my principal that I am not coming back in the fall. This is not a permanent arrangement. Anthony has always promised me I could have at least one full school year off to stay with the babies. I reallllly thought it wasn't going to happen because of this whole transplant business. But Anthony said if I was ever going to be able to stay home it would be now. Who am I to ask questions?! So officially I will not go back this year, and I'll be off for the whole school year next year. The plan is to start back August of 2013. I'm on "parental leave without pay" meaning the school system will hold a position for me for one year from Aspen's birthday. Since I am beginning leave in the latter part of the year the board can allow me to wait to return until August. That way they wouldn't have to find a place for me in March, not to mention they wouldn't have to pay  my salary or any of my benefits until August if they allow me to wait. This still means they would guarantee I have a job...just who knows where. I will have a job when I return, but we don't know where or what. I'm honestly hoping to go back as a teacher's assistant...or find a computer job...or use my masters in technology...data manager. Any of those things would be better than a classroom teacher. So I am now a stay at home mom!!!

2. Lincoln laid down and took a big boy nap ALL by himself! That's the first time EVER he's laid down with his blanket and paci and taken a nap without any sitting with me, or help from me. I was so happy! We had been out running around and got home later than normal for his nap. He was blinking very heavily and asked for his blanket. He climbed up on the couch and sat for a minute...then hopped up and down a few times. Finally he got still for long enough that he just passed out! I was nursing Aspen so I couldn't hold him until I was finished with her. What a big, big boy! :)

3. We have a hospital! Anthony's insurance company finally called him to tell him they worked out a deal with Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center (heretofore referred to as Baptist). That means we can now start the ball rolling! Some time in June he has to go for a meeting/information. He will then be tested, blood typed, tissue typed...etc. When he comes home from that appointment he will have blood vials for anyone wanting to be tested as a kidney donor. They would simply take the vial and have their blood drawn at their doctor's office. The information would be passed on to Baptist and checked to see if they're a match. We can't tell you how excited we are that the insurance is agreeing to pay for Baptist. It's only an hour drive from home and is definitely something we can drive several times a week as he goes for doctor's appointments after the transplant. I am also very glad that it's at Baptist because that's where Anna works. Lord knows I'll need a friend and some support as Anthony undergoes the greatest, most challenging time of his life. Jeromy and Anna live close to the hospital so I'd have a place to crash if I needed it. And if Lincoln does come to visit, he and Ian can spend a little more time together! That's a win-win-win any way you look at it. 

More good news: At his doctor's appointment this week the doctor said that there is no way he'd have to wait the 3-5 years on the transplant list that we've been hearing about. He said Anthony is an ideal candidate: he's young, he's physically fit, he's working full time, he has kids. He's the kind of patient they want to give a kidney to. They want him to be well and healthy, and they want to give kidneys to the people who would most likely have successful transplants. 

This feels so much better! It feels like we're not just in a holding pattern. It feels like we actually have a plan and we are moving forward. So best case scenario: Anthony could have a kidney by the fall if a living donor is found. Worst case scenario: hopefully within a year! Praise God for small miracles!

On another note, Sunday was Mother's Day. Lincoln and Aspen went together to buy me a most beautiful, wonderful new pair of Chacos! Hooray! We went to church then headed up the mountain to spend the afternoon with some pretty wonderful women. My grandmother, my aunt, and my mom were all there and we had a great time. Everybody loved on the baby, and they all just oooh and ahh over Lincoln's talking and his hair! Aspen traveled very well, it's the farthest away from home she's ever been. Lincoln slept the whole way up there, and some of the way back. We are both still thankful we have children who like to sleep in the car and don't ever fight their car seat! My grandmother had been in the hospital from Thursday to Saturday, so I was glad to get to see her and spend time with her. She had an infection around her heart that they couldn't actually see because of her pace maker. They gave her some medicine and kept her for observation but she was alright. She did become sentimental though. As Anthony and I were leaving she hugged me and told me she loved me. Not unusual...then she added that she was thankful she had gotten to see the kids while they were little. Just glad that she could be a small part of their lives. That she wished she lived closer to us to spend more time with them. How sweet, but also how sad. She even said she was thankful to see them because she might not be around next year. That sweet lady needs to live forever! What a precious soul. We're all praying she continues to live her long happy life for many years to come. While we were there I snapped a few 

photos....the one of our 4 generations is priceless.

Oooo I could just eat them! :)

I try to remember to take a picture of Lincoln with Mamaw every time they're together. What sweet memories those will be.

4 Weeks Later

Ok..so almost five. But I'm pretty sure having two small children at home gives me the right to be a little behind schedule!

Aspen Update:
She is sooo fabulous! As of Friday the 27th she weighs 9 pounds, 8 ounces. While we were at support group that day she ate a total of 4.3 ounces. What a good girl! She is still sleeping like a princess. She's usually down for the night around 10:30 and up again between 2 and 3am. Once she's back to sleep then, we're asleep again until usually 6 or 6:30. Just in time for big brother to be awake. She's obviously eating well and nursing is going quite easily this time around. Not that it was hard with Lincoln, but this time I've got some experience under my belt and I don't feel so questionable or worried that I'm not doing it right or that she's not eating enough. As much as she poos we don't have to worry about that! :) She really only cries when she's hungry during the day, or if she's gassy. She's a pretty good shopper because she loves to sleep in her car seat! Thank goodness we've got another happy rider! She's usually great in the car and the stroller. She also LOVES to be carried and held. I've already worn the Ergo more with her than I did for months with Lincoln. She must enjoy the feeling of closeness and being snuggled. Some days I have to put her in a sling and wear her around the house to get things done. I can't just hold her all the time, I need my hands free to help Lincoln, or chase Lincoln, or feed Lincoln. Those tasks are quite difficult if both arms are busy.
She's becoming more awake and alert during the day. The trouble is, I can't let her play in the floor under the play gym without being RIGHT there. Lincoln demands to get in there with her and can't be trusted for a minute!! He does love her. So much he squeezes her! More on that later...
We're just now beginning to move to 0-3 clothing. She was so little that the newborn clothes we had fit so perfectly! The 0-3 is still quite big and I hate that they hang off of her. We'll squeeze at least another week out of the newborns. Maybe even more! Speaking of clothes...it's so easy to get in trouble while shopping for girls! There are entirely too many cute outfits, accessories, shoes, etc that we just have to have! Goodness! I am terribly thankful to all my friends who passed down baby girl clothes though. It really helps keep me from buying tons of stuff. I just remember all the sweet stuff we already have and usually the urge to buy a whole bunches goes away. Usually!
She likes to swing...more than Lincoln did I think. She loves to be patted or bounced, and the rougher the better. She really enjoys sleeping on your tummy or chest. She may be like her daddy, in that she likes to sleep on her belly. We'll see what comes of that! She's eating about every 2 hours during the day and we're taking all the classes I took with Lincoln. Baby massage and breastfeeding support group were so important with Lincoln. Getting out of the house and meeting other mommies going through the same things we are is priceless. And I am more thankful than I can say that we have such fabulous friends and family. Anthony's parents are ready to have Lincoln at a moment's notice. It's so nice that I can spend that sweet time with Aspen, just like I did with him.

Lincoln update:
He is a true 2 year old. He's getting into EVERYTHING all the time! He's such a good boy though, I can't even tell you. He definitely has his moments (don't we all?!) but for the most part he's so good for me during the day. Not many 2 year olds could be trusted without supervision like he is. Not that I'm not watching him, but when I'm stuck in the chair nursing for anywhere from 8 to 45 minutes he's on his own. He brings books to me and we look at them together, he plays with his toys, he goes out on the deck and blows bubbles if the weather's nice. He wanders around the house talking to me and playing by himself until we're finished and I can play. It's incredible! He's not jealous or fussy about Aspen, ever. He loves her so much. All he wants to do is kiss her and hold her. He tells her good night every night, and good morning each day. He holds her hand and finds her paci when she cries. He says she's "purdy." I can't help but fight back tears when he's with her. He just is so precious. Until he squeezes her or tries to poke her eyeballs! Anna says he doesn't realize he's hurting her yet. I'm not so sure! They cannot be left alone for even a second. He'll try to pick her up, take her paci away, or shout at her to wake up. Or he'll just pretty much jump on top of her! I know it's hard for him to understand "easy," or "gentle," or "she's little." But he's trying.
He turned 2 since I last posted! I cannot believe he's such a big boy. It certainly does not feel like it was two years ago when we brought him home from the hospital this small. I cannot imagine my life without him, and Anthony and I often wonder what in the world we did with all of our time before we had kids! We had a VERY small affair with just cake and ice cream. We just invited immediate family and told them to come eat cake! The picture at the top of the page is at his "party."
He is speaking in fractured or complete sentences all of the time. Very rarely does he not put a complete thought together. "I see big truck." "I hold it, remote." "I watch Mickey Mouse big TV." "I want bubble bath, please!" So incredible. Anthony and I are blown away every day by things he says. We play with other kids his age and a little older, and it seems like he's very advanced. There are extremely few things we don't understand when he talks...and almost everyone else can understand what he said without a translation. That's crazy impressive for a brand new 2 year old! He has learned my name is Kyla...thanks to Anthony hollering through the house! If I don't answer fast enough to Mommy he starts yelling Kyla! It's the funniest thing! I tell him that yes, my name is Kyla, but he better call me Mommy! "Ok, Mommy." he says! I could just eat him.
He got a haircut a few weeks ago and it looks soooo good. Still preciously curly, just a little more manageable now! Not quite so much all over fuzzy...but more close to the head curls. Unbelievable! I'm anxious to see what Aspen's hair will do as she grows up. Knowing my luck she'll get Anthony's hair and it'll be stick straight and won't do a thing!

Anthony & Kyla Update:
I am doing well. I recovered very quickly from delivery and have felt great ever since. I told Anthony many times that it was tons easier this time. I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that she was such an easier delivery. Pushing for three contractions, instead of 3 hours!, makes a big difference on the body! Of the 25 pounds I gained while pregnant I've already lost 21. The last four must all be in the belly because it is certainly more squishy than I would like. We've gotta get outside and walk! I am officially at home now. I'm not going back to school for the rest of the school year, I'll just go back and clean up my room. It's a great feeling being at home with my babies! Mommies should raise their children instead of sending them to daycare just so they can go to work. Hate me if you want, but that is truly my heart and I hate that all Moms can't stay home with their sweet babies. It just seems silly to give birth to this person and then give it to someone else to raise so you can work. I am incredibly thankful and our family is terribly blessed to allow me to be home for a while. I know many families do not even have that option to consider.
Anthony is doing great. There's really no change so there was no need to update. He's doing dialysis at home manually (without the machine) just like before. It seems to be working perfectly because every time he goes in for a blood check it all comes back just like it should. The only thing he's still dealing with is his parathyroid. It's still overactive even though he's taking meds to suppress it. The doctor upped his dosage this last visit. If the medicine doesn't help more they want to remove some of it. The parathyroid is what deals with the body's dealings with calcium. That's why his bones were so deteriorated. He can't continue to lose bone mass, so it'll have to be corrected with surgery if the meds don't work. We're praying it won't come to that.
He's still dealing with hospital stuff so he's still not on the "list". Once his insurance works out a contract with Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center that will be his home hospital. That's where he'll go for all doctor's appointments and the transplant. It's also where he'll go to be tissue typed to find a match. Friends and family can't be tested until he's selected a hospital and the insurance has accepted... and then of course Anthony has to be tested first. He's still feeling fabulous and riding his bike 2-3 times a week. He's still not as tired as before and is sleeping so much better. Very thankful for both of those things with a new baby in the house! He's such a great daddy. I couldn't have made it at home without him for those first 2 weeks. That time as a family is the most precious time we've ever had. He stayed home with me and Lincoln too...and that is something none of us will ever forget. Since his employer is fabulous they let him take 2 more weeks with Aspen. What a wonderful time to be able to bond and adjust. We had family outings, sat home and watched tv, ate alot!, had visitors, and just generally enjoyed each other's company. Life is so much sweeter when you're not rushing around all the time. When you have the luxury of taking your time about everything it's all so much nicer and everyone has more patience. What a blessing.

 Sweet bath time baby! Just last week...

This is how Lincoln enjoyed Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on his birthday morning!

Our super-fun birthday gift for Lincoln. 

 Sissy is enjoying the sunshine and fresh air outside while brother plays. 

Aspen's first time under the play gym...Needless to say she wasn't allowed to have fun without Lincoln. She still can't lay in the floor without him being right there.

Oh....they have my  heart! My handsome men on Easter Sunday.

Mamaw came down to meet Aspen! What precious memories.

 Just rocking her pjs!

This kid is such a joy! 

Aspen Ensley Vance

SHE'S HERE!!!

Aspen Ensley Vance was born Wednesday, March 28, 2012 at 3:38 pm. She weighed 7 pounds, 13 ounces and was 21 inches long. She has a head full of dark dark hair, just like her brother! Labor and delivery this time around were very different, and much easier! 

My contractions started getting worse Tuesday the 27th around 7:30 pm. I walked around the house and sat on the exercise ball for a long time. Around midnight my contractions were steadily 5-7 minutes apart. Not terribly painful, but constant. I texted Anna to see what I should do, then called the doctor. Dr. Miletich said it wasn't active labor, just early labor. She wanted me to try to get some rest if I could and call her back if it got worse, closer together or anything else changed. I labored while Anthony slept until about 4 am. At that point I was really hurting and still about 5-6 minutes apart. I called the doctor back and she said to come on into the hospital. I woke Anthony up and we packed up the car. It was quite different packing dialysis stuff with us this time. 

We checked into the hospital around 6 am. I had yucky contractions in a very uncomfortable car seat on the ride there. We stopped at the McDonald's drive through  to eat because I knew they wouldn't let me eat once we checked in. I was only 1-2 cm dilated when we checked in. Disappointing! After all those contractions I surely expected they were doing something...

Of course, contractions got steadily worse. They made me lay in the bed for baby monitoring for at least 30 minutes. Let me tell you, that is the WORST place to be when you're in labor. They wouldn't give me an epidural yet because they didn't want me to not progress. They gave me Staydol instead. After trying to rest a while I was still only 2-3 cm. Dr. Harraghy decided to break my water to see if it would help move things along. BOY the contractions surely changed! They became awful and unbearable! Ohhhhh it was no good! I continued to ask for an epidural! So did Anthony and Anna...bless them! FINALLY the sweet drug man came and gave me an epidural. Ohh sweet relief! 

Once I got to relax it only took about an hour to get to 6 cm. Then about an hour and a half later I was fully dilated and ready to go! :)

The best part of this labor and delivery?! The delivery!!! I only pushed through three contractions!! Yes, you read that right....THREE (3) contractions! After a terrible 3 hours of pushing with Lincoln, this sweet girl felt sorry for me. She came quickly and easily and was perfect!! It was wonderful.

Oh how I cried....but not nearly as much as when Lincoln came in to meet her for the first time. Anthony was holding Aspen when Nana and Papaw brought him to meet his little sister. I just held Anna's hand and cried. Talk about indescribable love... what a feeling, to see your first born child, whom you love more than anything in the world, love on your new baby that you now love like crazy. Amazing. If you haven't experienced it, you can't understand. But if you have...you know how unbelievable it is. 

Our family of four...gasp!

Now that we've been home for over a week we're settling into a routine. She's like a little angel! She hardly cries, she's sleeping like a champion, and breastfeeding is going very well. The crying usually only happens if she's got gas, and that gets taken care of quickly...with many, many diapers! She also cries when she gets super hungry. But most of the time she lets us know it's time just by sucking on her fingers and grunting. She's sleeping fabulously. She's only getting up once a night. There were two nights where she got up twice or so...and I have to say that's pretty perfect! She likes to be swaddled, and I really think that's helping with her great sleep at night. She took to nursing right away. My milk came in fully on Friday and she's been very happy ever since. 

Lincoln absolutely LOVES her! The only major problem we have is that he loves her too much! He wants to hold her, squeeze her, hug her, kiss her, play with her, wake her up....and he just does all of that a little too roughly! He truly does enjoy her being here. He runs around the house looking for her if we've moved to another room. Every time he sees her he smiles and says "Sissy" or "Baby Appen." It's absolutely precious! He wants to hold her every day, and he kisses her a lot. He's learning to be easy and can hold her hand without hurting her. He also is increasing the time he wants to hold her..and seems to enjoy it. He watches us change her diaper and change her clothes and talks to us about what we're doing. You know, we forgot what it was like to have a newborn...but it's harder to have a toddler! All Aspen does is sleep, eat, and poop. She spends a large amount of her day sleeping, or eating. Lincoln on the other hand, is never still...he only naps like 1-2 hours a day. He wants to play with you, talk to you, he needs juice, he needs a diaper, he wants to go outside........ Newborns are easier! Who ever thought I'd say that?!

So we're home and happy. And Aspen is perfect. Lincoln is wonderful and totally not jealous. Anthony is still home with me until next Wednesday. He took 2 weeks off again, like he did with Lincoln. It's a truly wonderful time for our family. To be able to spend the time together, to bond, to play, to figure all this out. It's priceless. We are so blessed. I thank God every day for our life, our family, and our time together. It's truly a magical time.

She got to come home with a bow in her hair!! :)