1st Christmas

For the last few years we've always been traveling on Christmas, so we like to celebrate just our wee 4 before we take off. It's such a frenzy, I almost didn't get any pictures. 

The kids were very excited about a basketball hoop, Repunzel doll and Hobbes got some dinosaurs. 

Snow Day

I say Snow Day in relaxed terms, they don't really have typical snow days here with school closures etc. unless we're talking 2+ feet of snow overnight. It snowed a few times in November which was fun, but it quickly melted before we could really play in it. Now…it's so cold (0-25degrees) each day we can barely stay out long enough to get some play in before we're all frozen! 

So the kids have been getting creative with their indoor play. Surprisingly Hobbes loves to be pushed around in the play stroller, and unsurprisingly Hayley loves to push him! 

I had a "Christmas Story" movie moment when getting the kids ready for snow. I felt like the mom in the movie tugging boots andbundling Ralphy until you could barely see his face and by the end of it he could hardly put his arms down. Got my own little "Ralphy" here but boy he loved rolling around and tromping in the snow. 

It was pretty cold. He got upset if the snow actually touched his skin, but he was rolling and falling all over it so... we only lasted about 5min. 

The kids love playing with the "spaceship" box, and sharing with friends. 

Watching the snow fall.

I got new boots and Hayley thought it was hilarious to wear them. It was almost a transformation when she had them on, completely silly doing moves I have never seen.

Hayley is very excited for our Christmas trip to see both sets of Grandparents. So since we have blocks that count down to Christmas, I showed her how to make a paper chain as a countdown to 

Grandma's houses'. 

Timing is Everything.

The kids really didn't get the whole daylight savings thing and were up and at 'em as usual. 

So instead of sleeping in an extra hour, we made a spaceship with the extra time so Hayley could travel wherever she wanted. 

When I was in pre-school I remember decorating a box (not so glamorous, we're talking a couple buttons and a plastic lid to steer) but I loved the imagination it brought and knew I wanted to try it with Hayley. She had a great time telling me where to glue things and deciding how many buttons (fuzz balls) to glue on her dashboard.

Sunday best.

She even let Hobbes sit in it for a minute.

Timing is everything. 

Later that day… Hobbes' asthma came back in full force and he could hardly breath. It was scary, we called the Dr. and she advised us to take him in to the ER to make sure his oxygen levels were ok. 

After being thrown up on, turns out you can't swallow medicine when you can't hardly breath. I changed my shirt and his clothes and headed in, luckily Sky was home and stayed with sleeping Hayley. 

He wasn't doing good, but thankfully didn't need oxygen. They did a chest x-ray

 (which for babies is an awful contraption that traps their chest and holds their arms up in the air.) 

which showed bronchitis. They quickly did a breathing treatment, (albuterol via nebulizer). Which wasn't slowing him down any, at this point he was breathing 70+ respirations a min. 

(20-30 is the norm.) So they gave him an oral steroid to get the swelling in his throat to go down, that helped some, then they did another breathing treatment. 

At this point his breathing has slowed down to about 58, so they decided to keep him overnight in case he flared back up and needed oxygen. So we took a ride on the bed to our new room. Hobbes was such a trooper and was playful and happy for the most part despite being sick and struggling to breath. 

This is a hospital crib/jail cell. Luckily he didn't mind the

 metal bars and we were both able to get some rest.

Skyler brought Hayley in as well as some clothes and overnight items for Hobbes and I. She was scared and didn't like being at the Hospital. It didn't help that Hobbes threw up again on the bed while she was there. She instinctively ran and hid in the corner on the floor. :( We convinced her that he was alright and that the Doctors just wanted to make sure of that. 

Monday morning one of his regular Dr.'s came in and checked him out and gave us the green light to go home. He still sounded awful but was responding to the steroids and albuterol well enough to go home. That night Skyler flew out to L.A. for a work conference. 

Tuesday, I took Hobbes in to be checked. He still sounded awful but is improving slowly with the meds. And….he has an ear infection. Hobbes is one special guy though and was perky and giggly with the Dr. You'd never have guessed he was sick. 

He's doing much better each day but hates taking his inhaler. They've diagnosed him with asthma for sure this time and he'll be in his flovent all winter. 

Happy Halloween 2013

What a week. We attended our Wards' Trunk or Treat Tuesday, then since Skyler was working Wednesday I decided to crash our old Student Wards' trunk or treat. 

Thursday was PJ day at Hayley's school, this time for real, not like last week when I thought it was and sent her in footie jammies. Oops. She got off the bus, no smile and said straight faced:

"I was the only one in pj's. It's next week. All my friends kept asking me, why are you in your pajamas? and I didn't know, so I said nothing."

After a quick nap, yes both kids nap at the same time most days (huzzah!) We headed over to Beasley coliseum for some carnival games. The sororities and fraternities had set up tables with games and candy for the kids, it was crowded but doable, and the loved it. 

Afterwards we had festive dinner with friends, "mummy" dogs, mandarin orange "pumpkins",

 pear "fingers". Then we headed back out for "real" trick or treating in a residential neighborhood. 

Hayley as Cinderella

Hobbson was a speedy green Turtle. So speedy in fact I couldn't get a good shot of him. 

Happy Halloween!

Sick Day and Apple Picking

Hayley…then Hobbson…then Skyer caught "the bug" going around. 

(I was pounding Emergen-C packets and thankfully didn't catch it, someone's got to take care of everyone right?!) So we had a sick day and made the living room into a fort. 

It was so fun, the kids loved it and it took Hayley's profound sadness of missing school away. 

We made it down to Bishop's Orchard in Garfield the last weekend they were open to pick apples and press our own cider. (Which you have to wait FOREVER to do, but it sure is good.)

Hobbson doesn't really go for apple slices but if you give him a whole one, he'll sit content for 30-40 min and chomp on it. It also beats the red potatoes he keeps finding and chomping on. 

Hayley was my helper as we prepared all the apples we picked and got from Grandma Katie and Grandpa Daves orchard when the kids visited them.

Hayley loves having jobs and helping, (I need to capitalize on this more) so she would hand them to me, I'd peel and hand them back, she'd sort peeled and not. Then she'd hand me the peeled ones for me to cut/core and I'd give her the pieces back for her to put in the lemon water. The next day I made applesauce in the crockpot and she was thrilled to have seen the process from apple to yummy applesauce. She was extremely interested in the canning process too. 

(Ignore my swollen tummy. Still healing, see last post for details)

I love traditions. 

He's still climbing into/onto everything.

Pumpkin Patch

WSU has an orchard and they had a Fall Festival, hay rides, playing in the hay, picking pears/apples, pumpkin patch, face painting. This was right in-between Saturday General Conference sessions it was perfect weather and the kids loved getting messy in the hay. 

I tried my best to get a good shot of them "in a pumpkin patch" but truth be told, its pokey and they hated it. This is pretty much how it went. 

Sunday after conference we drove down to Klemguard Park about 20min out of town. It is beautiful and huge and there is hardly ever anyone there. The kids loved getting some energy out.