Redecorating

I'm thinking of redecorating. What do you think? (it's a padded cell)

Liam is the inspiration behind this change. That boy is so fast! He is my first child that has actually made me feel like I had accomplished a major feat at the end of each day I managed to keep him alive. He is the child who tries to stick things into light sockets, who climbs on the backs of the furniture, who runs right in front of speeding cars. Yes, he takes my breath away, and makes my heart stop.

Just the other day, after I took my eyes off of him for a couple of minutes to wash some dishes, I found my computer keyboard missing its 'p' ';' and space bar. Yes, my little tornado actually pried the keys off of my keyboard! Why? Why would he do that? And HOW? He manages, in a few seconds to figure out how to do things on my computer that I have no idea how to do. Once, he got a hold of my cell phone, and managed to lock it. I figured out how to unlock it, but I have yet to figure out how to lock it again, which I really need to do so my phone won't call our pediatrician every time it bumps up against something in the diaper bag. He must be a genius!

I have never needed a leash for the others, but I am seriously considering one for this little guy, just to preserve his life!

So that is why the padded cell just might be the new look for us. I think it might be the only safe option with Liam in the house -- no electrical outlets, no breakables, nothing sharp -- the only way I will be able to relax again. Either that, or wait until he's grown up, but somehow I don't think I will ever stop worrying.

2 Months OldToday my sweet boy is 2 months old. I have decided to do a portrait of him on his birthday each month that exemplifies an event or milestone from the previous month. This past month we spent a lot of time at baseball games, hence this picture.

Grayson has had a rough time so far. This past week we had to have him hospitalized for severe bronchitis. I took him to his pediatrician on Tuesday because he was having difficulty breathing. Both Morgan and I are extremely sensitive to his breathing because he has already been hospitalized once, when he was a week old, because he was turning blue. Our fears for his health played a big role in Morgan's early return from his last trip.

His doctors said that his breathing was not normal, and sent me directly to the hospital. We use German doctors and facilities, because as civilians we are low priority at the American hospital. So I sped to the hospital in Kaiserslautern. It's interesting, I avoid the autobahn usually, because it makes me nervous. But when your child's health is in question, those insignificant anxieties dissolve, and you do what you have to do. (I'll write another post on driving in Germany).

When we arrived at the hospital, they saw him right away. Their first guess was RSV and pneumonia. They admitted us. Because I am nursing they gave us a room with a bed for me.

We spent two days there, during which time he was hooked up to an IV, received regular nebulizer treatments, and got lots of rest. The doctors were great. The nurses were very nice, and we managed to communicate between their limited English, my limited German, and hand signals. I ate in the cafeteria, and couldn't help flashing back to high school as I sat there, all by myself, hoping no one noticed me. What is it about cafeterias?

Well, we are home now, and he is doing so much better. He is still on his medications, and we are doing inhaler treatments.

I know that it could have been worse, and I am so grateful that it wasn't. Nothing makes a parent feel more scared or helpless than their children being sick. I watched my mom as she spent countless hours and nights in hospitals with some of my siblings, and I couldn't help thinking about her, and what it must have been like. I don't think I ever really understood, and I still don't completely comprehend what she went through.

I am now keeping him sheltered from human contact outside of our home. The price I pay for that is cabin fever. Thank goodness for my virtual world in cyberspace!

Happy Father's Day!

I'm studying photography right now through a correspondence course, and I am really enjoying it. I have always loved taking pictures, but now I understand f-stops and shutter speed. So, I was actually daydreaming about this picture during church (tsk, tsk), and had such a vision of how I wanted it to look. Apparently, Liam didn't have the same vision. Oh well . . .

Morgan celebrated Father's Day with breakfast in bed. The kids gave him a new tie. I know, I know -- most dads don't want the cliche "tie" gift. But Morgan really loves getting ties. So I took the kids to pick one out for him last week. They were unanimous on this one. Liam gave it to him, and looked so cute toddling his way to Daddy to hand it to him. We also got him a bouttoniere to wear to church. He was the only daddy at church with one. I hope he wasn't too embarrassed!

He is also now the proud owner of a sabre saw. Don't ask me what it does that his other power saws can't do. He's the handyman in the family, for sure. But I am sure he will create something wonderful with it!

I am so grateful for our Daddy. He wasn't supposed to even be here right now. He wasn't supposed to return from his last work trip until the end of the month. But he made arrangements to be able to come home early because he missed us and knew that I was in desperate need of help.

The Primary children sang to the dads during Sacrament Meeting. Lydia was so cute up there singing "I'm so Glad When Daddy Comes Home." Braden opted out of singing. He just sat next to Morgan. I know he's glad when Daddy comes home, even if he doesn't want to sing about it. Because we are in a military ward, there are a LOT of dads gone right now. It was hard to see the sadness on the faces of some of the moms who are parenting on their own right now. I remember how hard Father's Day was when Morgan was in Iraq.

But I am so grateful that he is here right now. I am enjoying having Morgan home to help me raise our children, wash dishes, give baths, take out the trash. I get so used to doing it all on my own that I am reluctant to accept his help a lot of the time. I guess I don't want to get "spoiled" because it will be that much harder the next time he leaves. But we chose together to have this family, and I am never happier than when we are working together in harmony.

I couldn't have asked for a more loving, devoted father for my children. Happy Father's Day!

Dancing Queen!

Lydia has been taking dance lessons of some sort since she was two. She did ballet and baton in NM, and here she has been taking ballet and tap. She loves to dance. Whenever there is some fast music playing she can be found getting her groove on. Her parents both have two left feet, so I seriously don't know where she gets it! Could it be something like the mathematical "two negatives" rule? I don't know. And the moves she comes up with . . .

These are the pictures from her most recent recital. They used a colors theme, and each number had something to do with colors ("Brown Eyed Girl" "Yellow Submarine" "99 Red Balloons" etc.). Lydia's tap number was danced to "Green Tambourine." If the video turned out I will try and post it, because she was sooo cute!