Christmas Day, Part 3

For lunch we went over to my Aunt Roslyn's house to spend time with my mom's side of the family. Before lunch, however, my Grandma had a pinata for the kids. Every year when I was growing up, my Grandma would have a pinata for the grandkids on Christmas day. It is a fun Christmas memory for me, and it was fun to share that tradition with my kids this year. Collin was the youngest one there, so he got the first turn...

Then it was Brynn's turn...
My dad helped the kids find candy from the broken pinata...
Checkin' out the stash...
Meanwhile, Brynn was on a mission to fill her bag with candy...
This pinata was especially fun, because the cones doubled as princess hats...
(or prince hats...)
The pinata finished up just as it started sprinkling. Dave taught Collin to catch the raindrops...
Brynn playing after lunch with one of the "toys" at Roslyn's
That afternoon, the 4 of us went back home to try to get a little nap in. Unfortunately that didn't go as planned. Around 4 o'clock, Brynn started complaining of a stomach ache, and for the next 4 1/2 hours, she was in so much pain that she would scream with any slight movement. It hurt her to sit or stand, so I spent the afternoon and evening holding her and trying not to move a muscle. Occasionally she would start shaking from the pain. Finally I called the doctor on call, and she recommended that I take Brynn to the ER. My mom headed over to stay with Collin so that Dave and I could be with Brynn, and I started getting ready to go. We were so relieved, however, when Brynn started showing major improvement by the time my mom arrived. She was chatting away and started playing with her toys and wanting food again. Obviously the afternoon was not part of the "ideal Christmas" that I was talking about, but she ended up being fine and not having to go to the hospital. I guess she just had a bad gas bubble or something. Poor girl! By that point, we were all exhausted and we were off to bed.

The following evening, we had a Christmas get-together with Dave's family. I didn't get any pictures, but we enjoyed extending the Christmas fun an extra day. We had a yummy lasagne dinner at Cheryl and Jerry's. Everyone was able to be there with the exception of Laurie and her family who live in Michigan (and we also missed seeing Ralph and Ida who live in Utah). We had a nice evening, and it was the perfect way to wrap up our Christmas celebrations.

Christmas Day, Part 2

After opening the gifts Santa left at our house, we headed over to my parents' house to celebrate with my family. It has become a tradition that we all make a big breakfast together Christmas morning. It's also tradition that we blow a fuse with all the electricity being used at once.

My parents during the breakfast preparations...

My sister Alison and my sis-in-law Melissa...
Meanwhile, we each took turns talking to my brother Brian and his family on the webcam. We were sad they weren't able to be there in person (they live in Costa Rica), but we are thankful for technology that allows the next best thing...
After the cooking and the eating of said breakfast, we all gathered in their family room to open gifts. Trance had drawn Collin's name in the gift exchange, and helped Collin open the present. Collin was obviously very pleased...
One of the gifts Trance gave him was a football. Collin was more than happy to spend most of that gift-opening time carrying around the football.
Kisses and thanks for grandpa...
My brother-in-law Travis, Alison, my brother Justin, and Melissa...
Collin checks out one of Trance's new toys...
Collin tests out the new football with the help of his Uncle Justin...

Christmas Day, Part 1

I decided this year was probably our ideal Christmas. We had decided to do everything a little more simple, and it made such a big difference in my ability to relax and actually enjoy the weeks leading up to Christmas Day. I didn't bake anything, we didn't go as crazy on gifts, we didn't make a long list of things we had to do or see. We did tons of fun things and enjoyed gifts, but not to the point of feeling tons of stress and pressure. It was great! I also really enjoyed this year, because my kids (well, Brynn at least) is getting old enough to start to "get" it all. This was her 4th Christmas, and she finally decided she likes Santa. Her and Collin actually smiled and enjoyed talking to the Guy in the Big Red Suit at the mall. When he asked her what she wanted this year, she answered "a little (Christmas) tree in her room with ornaments on it". Easy enough, huh, Santa? Anything else was a bonus for her. She got so excited with every single gift she received. Even the new jammies were a hit with her. And Collin was just as happy. When he first walked into the living room to see what Santa left, he spotted the basketball first, and was content walking around with that during the gift-opening. Brynn would show me each gift after she opened them and make comments like, "Santa left us lots of presents! This is crazy!" So cute!

Dave and I were actually up earlier than the kids on Christmas morning. Neither of us could sleep, and by 8am we were getting antsy to get the kids up and do our own thing before we were supposed to be over at my parents' house. When they woke up, they didn't ask anything about Santa or gifts or anything, so we got them dressed first. Then we asked Brynn if she could remember who was supposed to come over during the night. She paused for a moment and then yelled, "Santa!" So we asked the kids if they wanted to go see if Santa had been by. She said yes, and Dave brought them into the family room. At first Brynn was looking around with a blank expression, seeming completely uninterested. We were confused, until she asked if Santa was out the front door. (She thought we were literally looking for Santa at our house). When we explained that we don't get to see him, and that he left gifts, she noticed the presents and got super excited.

Here they are "looking to see if Santa came by"...

He did!
Collin shows the new basketball hoop he got. Yay!
He was so excited that he ran up to Dave and gave him a hug before getting back to playing...
As mentioned in previous posts, Collin loves hats. He got a few new ones for dress up, including this police one he wanted to immediately wear...
Candy before breakfast? It is a special day! They were almost as excited about the candy as they were the gifts...
Loving her new doll...
Pretty much the entire time we were opening gifts, Collin was carrying around his new basketball...
Pom poms!
Checking out the other doll Brynn got. This one cries and makes other noises. Hmm, a noisey toy? Collin's there!
A bead kit of her very own...(Santa probably should have put more thought into that messy gift).
It was fun having some time together just the 4 of us, and then we were off to spend the morning with my side of the family.

She's growing up

I'm sure every parent does this, but some days in particular I look at one of my kids and get a little glimpse of them all grown up. They will do something or wear something or say something that makes them seem particularly old that day, and I get a momentary sense of panic at how quickly they are growing. Today was Brynn's turn. As I was doing her hair before preschool, she requested two ponytails. She pretty much NEVER wants me to do anything besides a single hair clip, so I don't get to see her in ponytails often. She was so proud of it too. She immediately walked down the hall to Dave's home office, and asked "Daddy, you want to see I'm beau-ti-ful?" He, of course, agreed. Maybe it's the hair, maybe it's all the funny or grown up things she's been saying lately, but I have been getting alot of those glimpses of who she is becoming. I am excited for her and all the amazing experiences she has in store for her, but I am also going to try a little bit harder to appreciate who she is right now. Her meltdowns, her constant clingyness, as well as her sensitivity, her bravery through her fears, her strongwill...they are all part of who she is right now, and I am so thankful for my little girl.

Wow, is it December already?!

Seriously, what happened to November? Oh yeah, Collin's ear tube procedure, Brynn's tonsillectomy and recovery, Dave's sister Laurie and her family in town, Thanksgiving and several birthdays, a nice migraine or two, and the arrival of my friend Kelly's twins (which meant we got to have her daughter Quinci stay with us for a few days). What a month! I haven't been so good with the blogging stuff lately, so I have a ton of pictures now to make up for that.

Brynn's tonsillectomy/recovery: Definitely not fun with a recovery that has gone on forever (2 weeks at home, hurting, etc, followed by another week of soft foods), but we're glad its done and she is sleeping so much better now. Yay!! Speaking of sleeping, we caught a rare moment where Brynn took a nap. The girl NEVER naps. Not for over a year now. With the exception of the day of her surgery, this was the only other nap she had during her entire recovery. It was about 5pm and she had fallen asleep watching TV. Poor thing. We know she is really not feeling well if she ever sleeps during the day.

This little guy also had to suffer a bit during Brynn's recovery. Since Brynn and I had to stay home, that meant that he spent the entire 2 weeks housebound as well. After 2 weeks of popsicles, TV, and way too much togetherness with your mom and sibling, you can see how happy Collin was when we finally ventured out of the house to visit some friends.

When we went to the surgery center to have tubes put in Collin's ears, the anesthesiologist gave us a mask to take home and show Brynn. It was supposed to help her understand some of what to expect before her tonsillectomy. The mask was like the one they used to sedate her for her surgery. You would have thought we gave her a pony or something. She didn't really understand what the mask was for, but she was so excited to have one like Collin. Now our nightly routine includes a "breathing treatment" for her as well. (Notice how Dave transformed Collin from screaming and fighting during his treatments to actually doing them himself. I don't know what the secret is, but I am so grateful for it.)

And yes, after spending way too much time together this past month, they still love each other.

Another random snapshot, but this makes me smile. If you know Collin, you probably know he has a major obsession with hats. He is a bit verbally delayed, but "hat" is one of two words we hear on a constant basis. He notices them EVERYWHERE. If he sees a stranger with a hat, you have to pry him away, because he will stand there pointing at them saying "hat, hat, hat..." You get the idea. He has several hats, but this cowboy hat seems to be a favorite. And he always wears his hats low in the front like that too. Whenever we tip the front up so he can see better, he immediately pushes it back down. So...this is how we frequently see Collin these days...

Thanksgiving/Family in town: For some reason I forgot to take any pictures on Thanksgiving day. We spent the afternoon with my parents, my sister Alison and her husband, and my Grandpa L and Grandma Bertha. We had a yummy meal and actually got to relax this year, because we didn't have any other stops or commitments that day. The following day, we went to Dave's mom's house for our Thanksgiving with his family. Dave's sister Laurie, her husband Jeff and their kids Jacob and Sarah had flown in to visit for a week, so most of them were there as well. Cheryl and Jerry have an amazing backyard, and the kids had so much fun playing together.


Brynn:

Collin with one of his favorite things...a ball:

Dave with his sisters Cyn, Laurie and Kim:
Jake (Brynn loved that he had curly hair like her):
Another of Brynn:
While we were at Cheryl's house, our friend Kelly called and told us that she was in the hospital and they were going to induce her. Her twin girls Luci and Charli were born the following day (Nov 29th). Her older daughter Quinci is one of Brynn's best friends, so we were so excited that Quinci got to come stay at our house for a few days. Quinci and Brynn are only a couple months apart and have been friends since birth, so she fits right in at our house. This was the three kids (Brynn, Collin, and Quinci) watching a movie before bed one night:

On Sunday, Dave's family all came over to our house for dinner. I desperately tried to get a picture of the 4 cousins together. Didn't happen. 4 hungry kids ages 3 and under with the sun rapidly setting are not ideal circumstances for a successful photo shoot. Oh well. Brynn stopped long enough for me to get a quick shot:
Laurie and Jeff with their kids Sarah and Jake:
Sarah:
Another of Sarah (don't you just want to nibble on those cheeks?):


And one final picture, taken at Cheryl's on Laurie's last night in town. Brynn blowing bubbles, Collin watching Sarah watch him (she was fascinated with his paci--and yes, he is almost 2 and still has a paci. The kid isn't sleeping through the night yet, so don't even ask when I'm planning on taking that thing away), and Jacob is playing the guitar with the corn popper toy.
While Laurie was in town, we also went to a railroad themed park, went to dinner several times, and went to BounceU. It has been a fun week, but wow, I'm exhausted just from remembering all we've done this month. Now onto December...

Brynn "got her throat fixed"

Last week we took Collin in to get tubes put in his ears. The procedure only took about 15 minutes, and then he spent about 20 minutes in recovery waking up. We went home and that day he was either really cuddly and sleepy or he was acting like himself, climbing on everything and running around playing. We were joking that we should ask the doctor for more of the gas stuff they used to put him under, because he slept 7 hours during the day, and then slept through the night (yeah, we're back to the sleep issues). Hopefully Collin won't have the same problems with constant fluid in his ears now. Maybe he will even start talking a bit more/better now?

Yesterday was Brynn's turn. We got up before the sun was up and took her to the same surgery center with the same doctor and most of the same nurses, so she could get her tonsils and adenoids removed. Her tonsils have been huge for months now. She hadn't been getting throat infections too much, but she was having breathing obstructions in her sleep from them. As well as the obvious problem that is, it also has meant poor sleep which has resulted in increased problems with her behavior. She has also been getting hurt more lately, because the lack of sleep has made her less careful. It has been kind of rough, and we're just now getting into cold and flu season.

I felt fortunate that she woke up happy yesterday and was being really sweet and happy as we waited before the surgery. When they called us to the back, she refused to wear the gown or socks they provided, and started getting really nervous and uncooperative. However, when the nurses carried her in to have the surgery done, she didn't even cry. They said they were able to get her sedated while she was on a nurse's lap, and she didn't cry then either. We waited for about 40 minutes while they did the surgery, and then got to go back to recovery. She was still trying to come out of the sleep they put her in, but I got to hold her while she did. As she became aware of her surroundings, she kept staring at me and would frequently smile at me. She didn't talk much while she was in the recovery area, but the first thing she said was "I love you" to me (seriously melted my heart!). After she had a popsicle, we all got to go home. She has been doing pretty well considering. I have been warned that Collin's surgery was a piece of cake compared to Brynn's, and that the first couple days after having your tonsils removed are usually easier than days 3-5. I am so proud of her though. She has been so brave, and has been trying to do all the things the doctor asked. I am also so grateful for the support system we have as well. My mom got up early to come over and watch Collin while we were gone. My dad was with us at the surgery center. Dave's mom came over and read books to Brynn and watched Bambi with her. Brynn's Grandpa Ralph and Grandma Ida have called to check on her. My visiting teachers brought us dinner. My friend Kelly has also called to see how we're doing (from her couch on bedrest). I feel so fortunate to have so many people that are there for us, and willing to help us out when we need it. I know tonsillectomies are pretty common, but we have really appreciated the support and concern we have received. It is good to have the surgery out of the way and get going with the recovery. It will be so good to have it all done and out of the way.


Sleeping in the recovery area after the surgery (still not wearing a gown. I guess she was more stubborn than the nurses as well):

Her grandpa helps her eat a popsicle before she got to go home:

My dad with the kids after we got home: