Both Hands

Bronson turned 10 months old today! I told this to Brilee and she said, "No fair. He is now both hands." This little boy is one of a kind. He is so cute, and so demanding. He keeps us on our toes. His new favorite thing is to pull up on anything and everything. He LOVES the bath still, but now he wants to stand in there, so his bath time has been shortened drastically. He has three bottom teeth, his top two fang teeth, and his front tooth is in sometimes and gone others (his teeth are bugging me bad). One thing I know... we will never forget his first ten months! Love this little man to the moon!

Back At It

I cannot believe my time off is already over. I took three months off, and it feels like I only took off three minutes. This was the perfect time to be home with my kids, and I am so glad I am able to take the time off in the winter. I love my job, and think it is the perfect job for me. I get the best of both worlds. I am looking forward to going back to work, and getting into that routine. I think it works best for our family. It's nice cause it's a hour more with Jake, my kids LOVE going to Grammy and Papa's all day, and I love that I am only 3 minutes away from them.

My last week of FURLOUGH pretty much sums up my last two months. HARD. Poor Bronson has the equivalent to RSV, and he has an ear infection. His tummy doesn't do well with antibiotics, but he really needed them this time. So... we are on day 5. Half way there! He doesn't sleep at all anymore either, which is really a challenge for us. Barry is having some health issues and is keeping us on our toes. So between the two B's we are getting our overdose on stress. But, we know, this too shall pass.

Good news for Bronson is he finally is crawling! He still prefers the army crawl, but he has figured out a normal crawl, a half normal crawl, and a bear crawl. He is so stinken' cute! Today he was on the table and Brilee said, "Is Bronson for dinner?" and I laughed and said, "of course." She said "Well it's a good thing he looks so good." HAHA!

Some other funny Brilee sayings:
Dad do you remember when I was three and the eagle ate the cat out of my hands? (Our bald eagles are back, and we are obsessed)

Mom you have got to quit being such a freak. (Thanks Papa Dickson)

Daddy tell all the kids that I'm in charge and the boss. I bought this house.

Remember when I was three and ate boogers? That was gross huh? (So glad you're four and quit that!!!)

Mom, me and my Dad will just go get a new horse, and that way you can baby-sit Bronson.

Dad says since I'm good and go to bed I can have an inside horse. And I am happy cause I haven't had one for a very long time. He said it can only have one leash though.

This was all today. She makes us laugh like this everyday.

Day of Love

We had such a good day today. Grammy and Brilee had a sleepover in our basement, and I had an early morning with Bronson. Finally around 8:30 I went down to check on them. After Bri woke up we made a pink breakfast (pancakes and eggs), and then Bri and Grammy went shopping. I put B-Man down for his nap, and Grammy called to see what they should do. I told them they could go check out "Operation Strawberry" at Julie's and help if they wanted. So, of course, that is what they did! Jake's mom and sisters took on the job of making chocolates and chocolate dipped strawberries for Jubilee's floral department. It was a huge task. After Bronson woke up I went over too. Right when I go there I offered to take Chaz and Mar to school. I love taking them. Chaz is always so proud, and Mar is always so embarrassed. Bronson and I saw Stac too, so that was fun! I then went right back to Julie's. We worked until it was time for Grammy and Bri to go to Stacia's Vday party with her kids, and Bronson's nap. Jake came home from work so I could go back and help. Granny, Julie, Jenny, Andre, Grammy, and I dipped 2,200 strawberries and 100 raspberries (which were my FAVORITE!!!) today. And I am pretty sure Jubilee sold every last one. The kids all played well together, and did surprisingly well. They were pretty calm until Jake showed up, and then he got them all wild. When kids are wild this time of year you can count on coughing. Lots and lots of coughing. We finally quit with the strawberries, ate a little dinner, came home, put the kids to bed, and can finally relax. It was a great Valentines Day! Brilee was so happy to be able to give her Valentine (Scott Montgomery) a box of chocolates, and her Daddy gave his little Valentine a rose. Best love day ever!

 My babies on our way to Scooter's bday party Sunday. Bri has been making some KILLER wardrobe choices for her parties lately. 

 We made her Valentine mailbox Sunday. She was so proud of it, and I am so proud of her. She is becoming such a beautiful young lady. 

 I got to go with Brilee to preschool Monday morning. It was so fun. The 3-4 year old class is hilarious! Brilee was chosen to do the calendar, and she rocked it!

 These two boys are so cute! Bri is lucky to have them as her friends!

 This little girl cracked me up! She laid there like this the whole story. 

 Bronson LOVES watching horse training shows with Jake. It started last week in the hospital and has lasted. He is entertained (for a few minutes) and laughs a lot. He also LOVES when Jake puts him on the rocking horse. I love watching how happy it makes Jake. 

 These two played well today.

 And these two played and fought well today. ;)

 The madness

 I knew our time was up when I looked at Bri and Chaz laying in the middle of the floor in a sleeping bag almost asleep. Poor kids were worn out!

 This is Bronson's new cheesy smile when I get my camera out. He is thinking he is hot stuff now. He waves, claps, says and shakes no no, and Jake and I both have heard him say a couple of times "whats that?" (Which was Brilee's first words too). 

No Bueno

The last five days have been the scariest, hardest, most trying days of my life. Sunday night Brilee had a sleepover at Grammy's and so Bronson and I were by ourselves Monday morning. I wanted to get all my errands done before she got home Monday. We were at Alco, and I hadn't found what I was looking for. I went to get Bronson out of the cart and he was hunched over and stiff. I thought he was just trying to suck on the cart, until I saw his face. My first thought was "he's choking". I pulled him out of the cart and started swiping his mouth, and hitting his back. I told a girl who was there shopping to call 911. I then cradled him and tipped his chin back. He started breathing, and was acting just fine. I was extremely scared and headed right to Dr. Stakers clinic. Brad, Rhonda, and Dr. Staker took instant care of him. They looked him all over, and decided to do some tests. We did blood work, chest x-rays, and an air way test. Everything looked good. Dr. Staker said it could have been a seizure, or he could have just cut his air off from how he was sitting in the cart. We decided to go home, and hope it was the latter. We ran over to Jake's parents and were telling them all about it. Ann was holding him when he started to do it again. I grabbed him and ran outside. He pulled out of it fast, and Jake and I rushed right back to Dr. Stakers office. As we walked into his office he had another small episode. Dr. Staker was holding him and listening to his heart when it happened. He said he sounded fine, but we needed to get to the emergency room and get a cat scan done. We headed down there where he had another one on our way. The triage lady was on the ball and got us RIGHT back to the doctor. They instantly started an IV in his arm, and got us on our way for the cat scan. They drugged him up for the cat scan, and he was jabbering the whole time. "Dadadada DADADA". They ended up having to sedate him in order to get an accurate scan. Everything looked good. They decided to admit us into the hospital so he could be monitored. We spent two nights being monitored and he showed nothing but a healthy boy. He wanted to play and be down on the floor but we obviously had to keep him in our arms the whole time. He made friends with all the nurses and house cleaners. He was such a joy to be around. Dr. Staker had then come to the conclusion that he had indeed had seizures but we didn't know the cause. He told us it's actually good that he couldn't find the cause because that would mean something bad. He assured us seizures can't kill him, or damage his brain. He referred us to Primary Children's for a fast track appointment with a neuroligist. We got the appointment and he sent us home Wednesday morning. He is the best doctor! I am so grateful he is my kids pediatrician. I was sooooooo scared to be home. I felt like I couldn't breath because I was so overwhelmed with the anxiety of it happening again. I watched him every second of the day. Our appointment was scheduled for Friday (because of a VERY nice receptionist who could hear the fear in my voice). A huge storm was projected for Friday, and so we decided to leave Thursday afternoon. My Mom, Stac, Brilee, Jake, Bronson, and I got to Salt Lake around 7, and we grabbed some dinner. We then went to Bullocks house, and I began counting down the minutes to the appointment. We spent some time at the condo Friday morning, and the rest of the time at the Bullocks. Finally, it was time to head to the doctor! We arrived a hour early. They didn't care, and had us RIGHT back in with the doctor. She acted like this was just a common thing, and completely put my mind to ease. She kept telling me how healthy and great Bronson is (I know this, but I needed to hear it from an expert). I mentioned that his Great Uncle had had a seizure when he was about Bronsons age. She said that explained it. She wanted an EEG done just to prove what she already knew.  Due to the snow Primary's nurses had been realeased early. She called and said "Would you mind staying to treat an ADORABLE baby who is from out of town?" They agreed to it, and I will be forever grateful to them! As we were leaving she said, "I am not medicating this boy unless WW3 is going on in his brain." We got to Clinic B, and again they were just waiting to get us in. He HATED being hooked up to all the wires, and was LOUD about it! The guy nurse said, "So this is the adorable baby?" It was funny. I asked how often they do this test and the girl said, "We've done 10 today...no wait 12 I forgot the NICU babies." So, then I started to realize this is more common than I was giving it credit for. Bronson did the test perfect and fell asleep within five minutes of it starting. The doctor told me to call her when it was finished and she would read it remotely. So, as soon as we got to the car I called her cell. She pulled it up and talked me through the whole thing. She said "Oh at 3:47 he went into his deepest sleep." I knew that was about 2 minutes after I took his bottle out of his mouth. She finished reading it (she talked to herself throughout the whole process) and said, "he is perfect". She told me there is nothing to worry about with him, and the seizures are/were 100% benign. She also said he is at high risk to have more, but he has a "happy brain". I started crying and have never been so happy/relieved in my life. Jake and I (and everyone else) felt like we could climb mountains we were so happy. We spent the rest of the evening enjoying our family, and it was really fun. So, now we are home and I am still nervous. But, it's getting better. He is great, Brilee is amazing, and I am so glad Jake is who he is! We have THE MOST AMAZING family and friends. Mom, you are amazing. I hope to be half the Mom/Grammy you are. I couldn't live without you and your help. You kept Brilee safe and going, while taking care of Jake, Bronson and I too. Granny, thank you for being there for us. Your support and presence helped us more than you will know. Also, you kept us fed with good food. THANK YOU! Papa thanks for being here right after it happened and keeping things calm. Barry and Donny thank you for coming to the ER and helping Bronson and us. We are so grateful for you. Cathy and Roger you are our angels. Thank you for hospitalilty and giving us a comfortable home. You made Brilee feel so special, and she needed that! We love you! Stacia thanks for bending over backwards to take care of Brilee, and be there for us. GMA's and GPA's  and Aunt Jackie thank you for loving us and our children unconditionally. It made things easier when we would talk. Aunts and Uncles thanks for your love and concern too.Thanks for the visits and toys. He loves them! Josie, you are so amazing. Thank you for showing up at the hospital. I was so glad you came. Also thank you and Sham for dinner and all the talks! Thanks to all of our awesome friends! Your calls and prayers got us through. Thomas... BEST COUSIN EVER (I love your sister a lot too)! Pam, you are so amazing. WE LOVE YOU ALL! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

 Our second night in the hospital Jake and Bronson watched horse training videos. Bronson slept surprisingly well in the hospital. The hardest part was BOTH nights at 0400 the nurse HAD to weigh him. I still don't get why... I mean I know he's skinny.

 This is the little cutie about 2 hours before the appointment!

 Brilee loved playing with all of Amy's dolls and hearing stories about us when we were little. (Her favorite thing is for me to tell her stories about Amy, Stac, and me as little girls... her favorite is when that mean fish stalked us in Hawaii for our frozen pea's. I tell her that 5+ times a week.)

Beautiful Day

My little cousin Natalie (who is now a grown-up... weird!) had a little baby girl last week. She posted pictures on Facebook, and I knew I HAD to meet this little baby soon! I was so excited and happy for her and Travis. My Mom mentioned that Nat and the baby would be going up to my Grandparents condo on Saturday, and that she was going to try and go. I couldn't resist the opportunity to go love on this baby either.  So, this morning we loaded the kids up and made the drive to Salt Lake. We got there right after Natalie, Jim, Karen, Travis, and sweet baby Emerie had arrived. We all but ran into the condo to see her. Emerie is BEAUTIFUL and such a sweet little baby. We instantly fell in love. We spent the whole afternoon visiting and adoring the little sweetie (my little sweeties were rather adored too). It was an awesome day. Bronson started getting tired, and so we knew our time had come to an end. We loaded back up, and headed home. The whole way home we talked about how sweet the baby was, and how great Natalie is doing!

 

Last night we were able to have one last shin dig with the Hendersons, Nybergs, and Steffey's before Jake and Jen headed back to North Dakota. It was a fun night. Jaybug kept  the girls entertained all night by teaching them dances, and all the little girls ate it up! We loved watching their dances, but enjoyed visiting the most. We are so GRATEFUL for all of our wonderful friends. 

 Bronson slept for a total of fifteen minutes on the way to Salt Lake. He was a good boy the whole drive, luckily!

 She is perfect, beautiful, and TINY!!! She isn't even six pounds yet. My kids were NEVER that little. Brilee got down to 6.12 (from 8.3) and Bronson got down to 8.10 (from 9.1), and so I was kinda scared to hold her. But not scared enough to not try ;)

 Brilee even got a turn. She LOVED her!

 Same with Stac

 B-Man took a good nap in Grammy's arms.

 Brilee loves that GMA will always give her a diet coke and a cup to "spill" the diet coke into. 

 Both the sleeping babies. Only an eighteen pound difference in the two. 

So fun!