Sick Boy

Jack's first guys' weekend away with Daddy and Grandpa Davis ended more abruptly than planned.  As the guys were walking into a restaurant for breakfast, Jack "lost his cookies" as Jason would say.  They thought maybe it was a fluke, so they sat down and gave him some soda crackers.  Unfortunately, those came right back up, too, so they headed home early.

The poor little guy had to ride close to 4 hours home, getting sick along the way.  We did finally get some soda crackers and pedialyte in him that night, which he held down.  We thought we were in the clear until he started back up at 5:00 the next morning.  After heaving 4-5 times, and not getting any fluids in him, he was completely wiped out.  When his eyes rolled back in his head and he went limp like a rag doll, I called our doctor who had me bring him in as soon as they opened. 

Thankfully our doctor recognized how bad he was and sent us to Helen DeVos Children's Hospital for fluids.  By the time we got there, all he could do was lay down.  Thankfully the pedialyte stayed down.

He was so tired that he actually fell asleep sucking on the sippy cup.  We found out that his sugar level was 54 (norm is 70-100) and his bi-carbonate level was a 9 (norm is 24), both of which attributed to his low energy.  He finally got hooked up to IV fluids, but b/c his bi-carb was so low they admitted him to pump him full of fluids overnight.

We have a beautiful new children's hospital, and the ER was amazing.  Unfortunately, though, there were a lot of sick kids in the hospital that day so we got admitted to the old children's hospital, part of Spectrum Butterworth Hospital.  We received very good care from all of our nurses and felt very comfy for being in the hospital.

During this time, Hannah was with us at the hospital as well.  We were sooooo grateful for our friend Kelli who works at the children's hospital.  She came to the ER before Jason got there and took Hannah for me so I could concentrate on Jack.  It was such a blessing to have her there and to know that Hannah was being well cared for.  We just can't thank her enough.

By the next morning, Jack had perked right back up to his normal self. 

We knew he was feeling better when he insisted on getting off the bed and started pulling at the IV.  Such a difference from the day before.  Turns out the doctors think he just had a very bad virus.  So scary.  I pray we never have to go through that again. 

We are so grateful for all of the prayers, phone calls, texts, e-mails, love, and support we received during our stay.  It was definitely a scary time, but we knew we were well loved and felt the prayer support.  Thank you so much!

Pinkalicious!

Hannah and I got to spend a girls-only weekend together last weekend as Jack and Daddy got a boys weekend with Grandpa Davis in Lewiston.

Aunt Courtney and I surprised Kara and Hannah by taking them to see Pinkalicious at the GR Civic Theater. 

The girls were super excited.

This was Hannah's first live show, and she did great!  She sat on my lap making it a little easier to see.  She was captivated the whole time.

Of course we had to have pink cupcakes at intermission.

After the show we went to Big O for pizza.  It was such a fun day!

Tea Party

Hannah and I recently had a special tea party with Grandma Cramer.

She took us to a new tea room in Frankenmuth where little girls and big girls alike can have real life tea parties, hats and all!

Hannah picked out beautiful hats for Grandma and I.  She even got her very own little girl's tea party hat.

Tea is brought in real china tea pots with a different china setting at each place.  We also had a wonderful lunch.

We both thought this was pretty special and look forward to trying it again sometime.

Easter 2012

For the first time since we got married, we stayed home for Easter weekend. 

The Easter bunny paid a visit Saturday night and brought lots of goodies (and very little candy!).

Jack loved his Toby train.

Hannah did most of the egg hunting around the house.  We found all but 1, which I later found in the dog's basket.

Jack was happy to let Hannah do the work.

All ready for church.  We went early and enjoyed breakfast at church beforehand.  It was so nice to have a good breakfast that I didn't have to make or clean up!

Jason's old coat and hat fit Jack perfectly.

Waiting for worship.

We had an amazing service with awesome music to celebrate our risen Lord!

After church we headed to Aunt Carolyn and Uncle Robert's house in Lansing for Easter dinner with Jason's family.

Great food!

Staring contest with Grandpa.

The Easter bunny paid a visit to Aunt Carolyn's house and left Easter eggs for the kids to find in the yard.

Happy with his goods.

Hannah's loot.

A stroll with Grandpa.

Easter Through the Eyes of a Four Year Old

Hannah got a hold of my camera while dying Easter eggs...

Zoo

Last week was spring break for the school-aged kids in West Michigan. We aren't on the school calendar yet, but our friend Claire was off from preschool for the week, so we met up with her, her mama Jill, and her brother Zachary at the zoo one morning.

We checked out all of the exhibits but I only managed to get pictures in the petting area of the zoo.  Both girls were happy to share brushes to groom the animals.

The pigs had rather short attention spans and were not much up for petting.  The girls kept watch from a distance.

Yes, Jack was with us, too.  He actually was very happy to ride in the stroller most of the time, but he was super excited to get out once we got to the aquarium.  He spent the whole time pointing at the penguins and fish.

Now that the weather is warming up and animals are out, we are looking forward to many more visits to the zoo this summer.

Gymnastics

Last week was Hannah's last gymnastics class.  It was amazing to see how much she improved, not just physically but mentally.  She started out as the wandering 3-year old last fall and ended up a rule following 4-year old.  Not only did she learn to walk on the balance beam, swing around the bar, and do jumps on the trampoline, she learned to pay attention, follow the teacher's instructions (most of the time), and interact with other 4 and 5 year-olds. We will certainly miss Miss Kristi.  She was a wonderful teacher, and Hannah loved her.  Overall, it was a great experience!

Princess Weekend

By not having one family birthday party, Hannah's birthday seemed to last the whole month long.  We wrapped up the month with a trip to Frankenmuth.

We had a tired girl on the ride over.  Hannah's been picking out her outfits lately, some crazier than others.  This night, she chose to wear a winter hat and rain boots with her dress.  Sometimes you just have to go with it.

Saturday morning, my mom and I took Hannah and Kara to a princess party at the Bavarian Inn.  It wasn't exactly what we'd hoped, but the girls still had fun.

The girls did a great job of waiting (and waiting and waiting).

After lunch, all of the little girls got to walk the princess runway.  You can tell what Hannah thought of it.

To celebrate Hannah's birthday, she got to help decorate her birthday cake with Grandma.  Very creative, especially the added touch of a grape in the corner.

Since it happened to be Palm Sunday, the Easter bunny paid an early visit and left eggs outside for the kids to find after we had brunch.

Papa helping Jack.

Birthday girl.

22 (1/2) months old

We are busy at our house these days!  Thus, we are 1/2 month behind in posting.  Here's what Jack's up to at 22 and 1/2 months old:

*I was concerned about his speech, but the more I listen, the more I pick up on his words.  He says choo choo, snack, church, Jake, socks, and I'm sure more that I can't think of off hand.  He also tries very hard to repeat after us when we talk to him, and he is even starting to put multiple words together.

*Another word he says is poop, not my favorite of his words.  Today in church, he took a diaper and a wipe out of my purse and told us "poop" as put the diaper between his legs and then lifted his shirt and wiped it with the diaper wipe.  Only a boy!

*Speaking of diapers, he has learned to take his off. Joy!

*He is very good at throwing tantrums.  He gets soooo upset when he has to come inside after playing outside.  Really, about the only way we can get him in is to pick him up and carry him and then he proceeds to lay on the floor and scream.

*He is getting the hang of telling on his sister.  More and more, we are either hearing "Nannah, nooooo" or having him come over to us and pointing at Hannah while whining "Nannah."

*He continues to be a snuggler, especially in the morning and at bedtime.  He will let me hold him with his head on my shoulder and just rock.  Totally melts my heart.

*He loves to bake with me and wants to measure and stir like Hannah.  However, I think his favorite part is taste testing (see picture above!)

*If he wants something, he has started taking our hand and pulling us to whatever he wants.

*He still takes a solid afternoon nap.  Just when I think he can do ok without one from time to time, he proves me wrong with an incredible meltdown late in the date.  That's all right.  We both continue to need his afternoon naps!

*He loves to dance and make music.  We're thinking guitar lessons may be in our future.

It seems like in the past month, Jack has really started to become a little boy, both in appearance and personality.  Although it makes us sad to see our baby growing up, we're excited to watch him grow and learn.