Merry Christmas!

I will attempt to update all the events of the last two weeks. We had some sick boys with a cough since about Dec 18th. So, the Friday before Christmas, I took them both the doctor to check what the deal was. She said it was just a little cold and that we should be fine traveling. That may not have been the best advice. Sunday we drove to Albany, and the trip was fine, but we noticed that MJ wasn't eating or drinking much (even when we offered him his favorite foods) and then was pretty dopey the whole ride. He was excited to get to Albany and we saw all of the Suarezes except Tabitha and Christian's families. That night, MJ didn't sleep well, had a high fever, coughed a lot and he had a nose bleed. Mario did some middle of the night internet searching and we thought MJ might have pnuemonia. Monday morning he seemed a little better, but then during his nap spiked a 103.7 fever. I called our doctor and she said we should try to see someone. So, we took our sick MJ (they watched Joey for us back at the house) to an Urgent Care nearby. His fever got worse, 104.3, he was so lethargic and drifting in and out of sleep, his oxygen was low and his heartrate was high. It was really scarry. They said we needed to go to the ER, but we could drive if we didn't want to call an ambulance. Well, we got to the ER, they gave him some Motrin and 2 hours later (we were still waiting to be seen) he seemed a little better. By they time they finally saw us, 6pm at night, the Suarezes were ready to go to church (so I bounced back and forth feeding Joey), and MJ looked like a normal sick kid who just didn't want to eat. But they ran blood tests, took a check x-ray, and gave him an IV (he needed lots of fluids). They found nothing was wrong and sent us home. I'm glad he had the IV, b/c I think he was really low on fluid. We got home around 9ish and had to hurry to bed b/c Santa was coming.

Merry Christmas! MJ had to be pried out of bed on Christmas morning (not usual huh?) but then was happy to open presents. Joey was excited for his first Christmas too. He was sick this whole time with a cough, but no terribly high fever and he kept nursing just fine. MJ and Joey just didn't seem to have a lot of energy and napped a LOT on Christmas. Joey had 4 naps, and MJ took one long 5 1/2 hour nap. The kid just didn't look normal. The same was true for Wednesday the 26th and at night, poor Joey was just not comfortable. So, Mario and I decided we needed to pack our sick troop up and go home. Thursday morning we awoke in a flurry (after not much sleep b/c Joey was wheezing and couldn't settle down). We were lucky to get an appointment that night with our doctor at 5:50pm. She saw both of them even though we only had one appointment. MJ had fluid in his lungs and Joey had brochiolitis. So, they are both on an antibiotic and have nebulizer treatments. Since we've been home, they have begun recovering nicely. It must have been hard to be so sick when you were around such fun people and wanted to play. In fact, I'd say they are doing just splendid.

Some downsides to this, we never took a family Christmas picture. We had to cut our trip short. And those days before and after Christmas are in a foggy tired haze that I can't seem to remember. I'm not sure what energy we were running on. But I was so thankful our family was so helpful and understanding. Other consequences of the illness are since MJ was napping so much and had bathroom issues, we kept him in a diaper. We had to re-potty train him, which has been a bit tricky since we also have to force him to drink the most disgusting pink medicing ever created two times a day. (You can only give so much candy and stickers for good behavior). We are impressed with MJs ability to finally drink this stuff, I guess he has learned he's just going to have to do it. This was much better than pinning him down to try take medicine. (He only really likes Cherry Tylenol).

I also learned that the ER really isn't a fun place to be on Christmas Eve (especially with all of the Suarez traditions we were missing). But when it was all said and done, we had a family that was together (and not dying). So we were able to put things in perspective. Here are a few pictures from Christmas morning.

Joey and his cousin Maria

MJ opening his first gift.

MJ lined up all his new construction equiptment (notice the cup of water in the brown box). We had to try to keep him hydrated.

This Little People Nativity was a hit!

Our kids

I'm sure this happens to everyone with children... but it is amazing how after almost 3 years of having kids (1 with 2 children) Mario and I still say to each other at least once a day, "Man, our kids our cute." This must have been part of God's plan. I'll quick update a bit about them.

Joey has been 10 months old since December 9th. He is a little behind MJ in terms of walking (who was walking by the end of 9 months). But we anticipated this with his foot thing, which is fine, now. Plus, all kids are different. I've also lost the bet of when he would begin walking, and it looks as though Mario may win. (He always beats me). Joey is quite impressive on the stairs though. Climbing up is easy (still having an adult spotter is a good idea). Mario has taught Joey how to climb down stairs now. It's so cute! I'm bummed b/c I went to catch a video of it the other day and realized the camcorder was on standbye the whole time. Oh well, I'm sure Joey will do it again.

Both boys have really enjoyed have their dad around for the last 2 weeks. Mario took almost all of December as vacation from work since he had so much stored up and left-over that not all of it could be carried over to next year. It has been nice having him around... I feel like I'm on vacation, too. MJ has really taken to the excitement of Christmas this year. He sings at least 3 different Christmas songs, and recognizes and requests several others. He's equally excited about Frosty the Snowman and Santa (not sure why). We had fun sledding the other day when it snowed...did I blog about that? I hope I did... he really attacked that hill with some authority and would climb on up and go down all by himself.
I shall end with an MJ story which I wouldn't wish upon any parent, but I assume it has probably happened or will happen to all parents. MJ was very tired at bedtime tonight, I thought it would be a breeze putting him to bed. I went downstairs to do some work when I heard him leave his room. I guess Mario and I have done a good job of scaring him into staying upstairs b/c even in emergencies such as this one, he just stayed upstairs in the hallway. My mommy radar was off again, but I eventually went up to check on him, and there he was... poop- all over his legs, in both hands, ankles... and a diaper on the floor. He's taken dirty diapers off before to put the waste in the toilet... this kid does not like having diapers at night. But this was just too gross. I think I made my point clear at how disgusting his actions were. He was whisked to the bathroom for a second shower and bath. And after he was all cleaned he suddenly became the sweetest boy and fell asleep immediately. (sigh)

Oh, I guess I should add my cute Joey story... not disgusting at all... but it inspired me to blog. Joey has a cold (the only one in our family with one at the moment). But this one just sounds so bad, especially at night. You hear him cough and can't help but say "Poor, baby." Well, a bit ago he was coughing so much he woke himself up, so I held him while he finished coughing and then he cuddled with me a moment and fell back to sleep. But in our quiet moment, I had a brief realization of the how amazing Joey's life is, and how blessed we are that God gave him to us. I became a Mommy when MJ was born, so that connection is engrained in me. But here is Joey, another little soul, given to me to care for and raise. I really don't spend enough time in awe of him.

Here are a few cute pictures of the boys from our quick trip to Media.

Busy weekends

Quick updates... wow, this is a busy time of year! Dec. 8th was full of Christmas parties, (we were only able to go to 2 of the 3). First, we were so lucky to be invited by Andrea and Andy Staron to visit the White House. We toured the East Wing and Dining Room/Foyer... I should look at the invitation to see more. But it was so awesome. Here are Andrea and I in front of a display of the White House China for each President.

Small picture of us, but here we are by the Presidential Seal and behind us is their main Christmas Tree. After the White House, we went to the Booz Allen Christmas Party. We don't have any pictures from that event b/c our camera isn't working (thank you Starons for letting us use your camera at the White House)

The last Saturday (15th) we drove up to Media, PA to celebrate Dave's 30th b-day. He and Mario were good friends in highschool and Dave was a groomsman in our wedding. The drive was relatively easy, only 3 hours. We just went up for dinner and back that night, so it was quite the whirlwind. The boys were great the whole time... we were in this awesome brewery in cute downtown Media. Joey almost fell asleep in the corner in his carseat, which is impressive for a 10 month old baby, I'd say. Oh, yes, he no longer actually rides in his infant carseat b/c he's just too big for the straps. But I keep it with me, b/c he loves the thing so much and it's an easy portable crib.

Two is company

.... but I don't want to suggest that 3 is a crowd. I realized the other day how life is perhaps easier having 2 kids rather than just 1. The other day, I noticed how Joey wants to be a part of everything we are doing. Most of his interests seem to be with what MJ is doing. Fortunately for me, MJ likes to play with Joey. They entertain each other well. I then reflected to how life was when it was just MJ and me. I remember how I spent so much time playing with him because he just needed someone to play with. When I was pregnant, I remember thinking how desperately I wanted MJ to have a friend. Tabitha mentioned how her most difficult time as a mom was when she only had one child. Well, now I have 2, and I can see how it is easier in a lot of ways. I didn't think about the effect this would have on Joey growing up. When Joey is bored, he has more people to go find to play with, which gives me more free time. It's kind of nice.

And now I have 3 brother/sisters-in-law as new parents and I get to hear their stories and remember what it was like to be a new parent. (Is this what Tabitha felt like when we had MJ?) I should also add, that baby #1 is very special. They will always be number one. MJ and I certainly had more moments to bond together because for most of the day, all we had was each other... and that was pretty neat. I try to make an effort to give Joey my undivided attention when I can. But I realize, I cannot change the fact that he has a mom, dad, and an older sibling who all love him very much.

They don't seem to mind...

Good friends

To continue my update, I'll share how MJ and Joey have been. Hopefully, they haven't been too disturbed by our major life decisions. They really love hanging out together. Joey continues to be more interested in everything MJ is doing. If either one of them is awake without the other, they look around to see where the other one is. Just this morning I was up blogging with Joey when I heard the familiar thud of MJ jumping out of bed. Immediately, Joey headed to the stairs and started to climb up there to get him. And if MJ is awake and Joey is napping, when MJ hears Joey on the monitor he exclaims "Joey is awake! I'll go get him" and runs upstairs to play with him.

Joey has mastered cruising and even tries to climb things. He can go upstairs with no trouble (but of course still needs spotting in case their is an accident) but that to me seemed an easy feet once they figure out how to crawl. He's excited about bath time and tries to lift his leg over the edge and climb in. That is still too tricky for him. I've been terrible about feeding him baby food lately as I've been distracted. It seemed on our whole trip all I did was nurse him and hand him crackers and snacks in his high chair. This seems to have caused him to need to nurse more at night (pointed out to me by a friend). So I suppose I could work on that. Now that I'm paying attention to it, he really does enjoy eating solid foods during the day.

MJ is doing very well with potty training. I was worried about how he would take the to long road trip, but he did great. No accidents the whole time. I would either have him in underwear or a diaper, but it didn't seem to matter. When we stopped, his diaper was try, and I'd take him in to use the bathroom. Now that we're home he's doing funny things like saying he doesn't want to wear underwear, but I put them on him anyway and he's fine.

I'm still attempting to get them to sleep together in the same room. Any suggestions on how I should approach this? Joey is so good at falling asleep by himself, I just don't want to mess that up. Lately, MJ has given up naps on a few days so at night he falls asleep quickly. Maybe they could do that together?

I suppose I should go do one of the millions things floating around on the list in my head.

Another example of how Joey and my dad look alike.

Serious piano players.

Part of the big crew. How could we forget to take a group shot when we were all together on Thanksgiving?

Did you miss us

We are still alive, in case you were worried. I see it's been over 2 weeks since I did any sort of update, so I have much to catch up on. We've been a bit busy with traveling for Thanksgiving and making big decisions. It was nice to have a 15 hour drive to St. Louis to help talk through some of our big decisions. But if you know Mario and I, we really take time to think through all possibilities before doing something big. We have been debating whether this is the time for us to buy a home which of course depends on several things. The housing market, whether we want to live in Ashburn for a long time, and Mario's career options. I gotta tell you, we still haven't figured it out yet, and are going to revisit our two favorite home today. Perhaps it is best for me to inform you of our decision once it has happened.

Thanksgiving was quite successful. It is so much nicer taking big road trips with Mario and the boys. The boys were great, stops were easier b/c I didn't need to get out a stroller for them, and we could even leave them in the car while we took turns running into the rest area/restaurant/gas station. Plus, it's nice to be able to share driving.

Everyone in my family flocked to St. Louis (we were only there 3 days). Both Erin and Dave and Bobby and Suzanne have homes there. Kathy returned from college, we obviously drove, and my Grandma DeWulf and Grandmother and Grandfather Keppel both came in as well. So, there was lots going on at the Keppel home. My mom accomodated us all very well and turned our home into a cozy bed and breakfast sort of thing. We had Thanksgiving dinner at Bobby and Suzannes house where her parents were staying.

Our camera has been upset with us and sometimes chooses to say that it is out of power when we know the batteries are fully charged. So I took pictures with my mom and sister's cameras when I thought of it. We learned that Joey really does look like me, which since I look more like my dad, would make him look more like my dad as well. I think this picture says it all.

Here are my Grandma (mom's mom) attempting to juggle all of her great-grandchildren.

We rememebered to take one family photo.

I'm not saying Joey doesn't look like a Suarez, but her certainly has a lot of Keppel in him.

Transitions

I've been all about transitions lately. First, the no more diapers for MJ. Which isn't true b/c he still has one when he sleeps. But otherwise, he's in underwear. This has been working very well. Except he's starting to take his new potty training awareness as a way to stay up later at night. I'll put him to bed, and then hear that he's up in his bathroom. He tells me he's busy and has to use the toilet. I've learned to just go downstairs and clean and give him time, b/c I'm not patient enough to wait with him. Every night he's done this, he has actually gone to the bathroom, so he's not joking. But it has been a little annoying. He's still having trouble falling asleep, partly b/c of our movie night on Saturday. Ratatouille is cute, but MJ gets so skittish over anything. I think the way some of the characters yell at each other scared him. He's had a few nightmares about that.

Sunday night I tried to use Joey as a "lovey" to comfort MJ after MJ had gotten out of bed. It was around 9:30pm, and Joey was already asleep in his crib. But I moved him into the crib in MJs room. MJ seemed to like having his brother there. Plus, Joey was able to sleep in a different room. Monday night, I thought I'd try having Joey actually fall asleep in there. But when it came time to put him down, I couldn't do it. He's just so good at falling asleep by himself in his crib in our room, I didn't want to mess with that. But 10 minutes after he fell asleep, I put him in MJs room. Of course, MJ got up and went to use the bathroom, turned the lights on and everything. Sweet Joey was curled over trying to stay asleep, so I moved him back into the crib in our room. I tried again to get Joey in MJs room later, but I don't think it was good for him. I think if I want them to sleep together, at least for now, I'll need to have them both asleep before I make the switch.

The other night I found myself watching Ella Enchanted... how and why this happened is slightly mysterious, and you may laugh. But I was suprised at how my tired brain was able to come up with some thoughts after the movie. If you wanted to watch the movie, you don't really have to, there wasn't much to it. And I don't think I'll be giving anything away by telling you about the girl who's been given the gift/curse of obedience. As I was falling asleep that night, I was reflecting on obedience and my mind began to connect thoughts about married love and the whole wives being submissive to their husbands thing. And it had occured to me, that having to obey something you don't want to do is annoying... but if the person who is asking you to do something is really looking out for your best interest, and really only asking you to do things that are good for you, then obeying is an easy and good thing to do. So, let's pretend God wants me to do be a mom (let's hope - cause the kids are already here), but I don't really want to, I should consider God's infinite love for me and how he would never want me to do something that is not best for me. Therefore, obeying God should be an easy thing to do...trust, obeying...all that good stuff. If only MJ would understand this and just stay in his bed and fall asleep like I ask. I mean, really, I am doing this in his best interest. It's good for him to sleep so he can have energy and play. Ah well...

Honestly, I'm not sure if this makes any sense b/c my mind was babbling these thoughts around midnight as I was trailing off to sleep. But at that moment, it seemed pretty cool.

Here are some shots of Joey making his way up the stairs. Did I mention how on Sunday he got all the way to the top before Mario and I noticed. He and I were workign in the kitchen... MJ was upstairs and Joey was in the livingroom. My mommy radar went off and I thought I should check on Joey. I walk into the livingroom and then hear MJs voice at the top of the stairs, "Come on Joey, you can do it!" And there Joey was, 3 steps from the top. It is a fun game we play now. MJ cheers Joey on and I spot him from behind... but a much better game to play when mommy or daddy are aware of it.

And here is Joey wrestling MJ. Joey really likes his brother and looks around for him if he's awake after his nap but MJ is still asleep. Joey was really climbing all over MJ this time.