Together Again

Cole hanging out with Daddy

Carson feeling much better
Watching Saturday morning cartoons together

What a difference a week makes! Carson was so happy to get home Friday night. We took a few pictures Saturday morning of him back with his brothers! He missed them so much, you can just see the joy in his face now that he is home. Cole is still sick, but seems to be improving. Marcus is doing great. We are so thankful that Grandma Kelly was able to be here to help us out. She left this morning, and it was a teary goodbye all around. I loved having her here, not only as a help to me, but also another adult just to visit with while Levi is in school. God has been so good to give me such great parents, then on top of that to give me wonderful inlaws...so much more than I deserve. Again, thanks Grandma Terri! We love you!

Good Saturday

Wow it was sure nice to sleep in our own beds last night!  Carson and Cole slept all night long, then got up this morning and both seemed to be better.  It wasn't long before they were both worn out and took a long morning nap.  Cole got sick during that, but other than that one instance today he has been ok.  We haven't fed Cole anything much today, just pedialite.  Carson is still doing ok with the foods, his only restriction is fatty foods and dairy products until his issues all seem to be resolved.  He had a smile on his face ALL day long, and seemed SO happy to be back at home with his brothers. One thing that we noticed during our time in the hospital this week is that the twins really missed each other.  Levi said Cole would get up from a nap or something and just walk around the house all sad, looking in every room and yelling for his brother.  Aside from not feeling good, Carson just seemed to have a sadness about him as well.  One night Levi came up to the hospital to switch with me so I could go have dinner at home with the boys and Grandma Kelly, then get a shower and go back to the hospital.  He brought Marcus with him to see Carson at the hospital and Carson's face just lit up when he saw him.  It was sweet to see!   We've all just been taking it easy at home today  (except Levi, he studied all day).  Thank you for your prayers and love.  

Our CRAZY week...

I guess this post isn't very timely, so please forgive me.  We have had a really tough week as Carson got sick on Monday with vomiting, fevers, etc.  By Wednesday it was still going on and we tried to get in to see the doctor.  They were not able to see him until Thursday, but Levi and I felt like he was going downhill so fast we couldn't wait for Thursday to get him in to see the doc.  By noon Wed we decided to get him to the ER as he was acting very  different than usual, crying uncontrollable with no tears, and his lips were very chapped (one of several signs of dehydration).  I took him while Levi stayed with the other two boys.  Levi's Mom hit the road and was able to come up and help us out.  She was able to get here by 10 pm Wed night and has been such a blessing to us.  In the ER the doc's felt like not only was he dehydrated but we might be dealing with something serious by the way Carson was acting.  I pretty much wrestled with him while he screamed and fought me all afternoon, all the while getting IV fluids and other tests done.  It was like Carson didn't even recognize me.  The doctors felt like he was hallucenating some due to dehydration.  He had blood tests done, a chest and abdomen xray, etc. Everything came back good, but he was very dehyrated and they wanted to admit him to the pediatric unit.  The vomiting pretty much stopped that day, then he had constant diarrhea and high fevers.  He steadily improved and within 24 hours of being in the hospital he looked SO much better. 

The doctor thinks that Carson obviously has some GI issues and possibly a secondary issue as well.  Things seem to be improving, his IV came out yesterday and he is holding his own with taking in fluids.  Today he ate food for the first time since Monday. OnWednesday in the ER he weighed 19 lbs, which was 3 lbs lighter than the week before at his 18 month appt.  He looks 100% better and everyone at the hospital encouraged us that we did the right thing by bringing him in when we did.  One doc said he could have started seizing with much more dehydration.  I'm so thankful that wasn't the case and that there seems to be so much improvement.  In fact, it is now 9:45 p.m. on Friday and we just got discharged from the hospital and got him home and in bed.  We've pretty much been at the hospital constantly so this is the first chance I've had to post on here about what's been going on.  It will be nice to sleep in our own beds and have everyone under the same roof tonight.  We are so thankful that Carson is ok.  

Today Cole started throwing up and continued with it all day long.  So, here we go again! :)  He is much different than Carson in that he still wants to drink lots of fluids, so hopefully we won't get to the point of dehydrating like we did with Carson.  Please keep them both in your prayers.  We would really appreciate this.  Marcus is doing great!  He is feeling fine and has been a big help to Grandma Kelly.  I hope all of this makes sense...I'm think it's kind of scatter brained....I'm tired...ok, good night.

Fun Weekend

Carson and Marcus on the roller coaster ride (actually you watch the ride on the screen while your chair moves...)
Giggling...
Cole
Daddy and boys playing games
Carson climbing up the slide

Marcus playing a game
Cole climbing
Cole sliding
Carson having a good time
The twins

Cole giving his Mommy sweet kisses
Marcus coming down the BIG slide!
Cole sliding
Marcus and Cole playing together
Smiley Cole

Marcus and Carson riding a car
Happy boys
Marcus on the little slide
Carson
Carson with Chuck

Carson having a good time
All three boys on the merry go round
Cole enjoying the merry go round
Carson is thinking, "I can't believe you are seriously crying!"...
This weekend my parents came to visit us and we had a wonderful time! The boys were so excited to see them and spend time with them. They got here on Friday morning at 10:00 a.m....yes that's right, that means they left their house at 4 a.m. ( I think they were just a little excited to get here!) We just stayed around here that day, since it was very cold and windy out, and visited and let the boys play. Friday night Levi and I got out and went to a movie which was a nice treat too! On Saturday Mom and Dad wanted to take the boys to Chuck E. Cheese to let them play so we got there when they opened (it's much less crowded to go then). Marcus and Carson just hit the ground running, taking it all in. Cole, on the other hand, is a little slower to warm up to new things. He got on the first ride and cried a little...but soon was running around enjoying himself as much as his brothers. By the end of the time there Marcus had decided he wanted to try to climb up in the big tube that runs along the ceiling and then you come down the tornado slide. He worked so hard to get up there (the steps are for bigger kids so he was barely tall enough to pull himself up) and did such a good job, he loved it and kept doing it all over and over again until we told him it was time to leave. With his tickets he bought some candy, and then made sure he got two suckers for his brothers, which made me smile, he's very thoughtful of Carson and Cole. After all the excitement and pizza the boys came home and took pretty long naps! Mom and I had fun working on baby shower invitations for Alexis. We're so excited to get to meet their sweet baby boy in May! Last night we took Mom and Dad out for mexican food which was also good, then came home and watched a movie.

Celebrating Mommy's 32nd Birthday!!!

Mommy at 6 weeks old
Mommy at 4 months old
Mommy at 6 yrs old with her Dad

Twins enjoying their cake

Mmmmm...
Tastes good!

Putting icing on the "surprise" cake
Marcus icing face
Daddy and his "helpers"
Everyone got in on the action when it came time to ice the cake
Happy Birthday Mom!!!

The Chef is kind of messy
Cole
Marcus
Carson
Hanging out with Mommy!

This is fun!
Marcus and Daddy
Making sure it won't stick to the pan

Taste testing the batter to make sure it's fit to eat...

The Chef in his kitchen
Workin' hard!
Careful...
Carefully reading the directions...
Egg crackin' time!

Well, today is mommy's birthday and she was able to get a morning to sleep-in and be without the challenges of the men in the family as daddy and the little ones managed to keep relatively quiet and out of her hair for once! Marcus, Carson, and Cole all got their cards and presents ready for mommy when she came down for breakfast. Marcus could hardly contain himself and repeatedly wanted to "go wake her up" so that she could open her presents! Cole and Carson for their part tried as best they could to open mommy's presents early for her, but did manage to get the presents into the proper hands (after much prodding and a few tears along the way!) After that, all the guys took mommy to her favorite mexican restaurant for a quadruple date. All behaved well, and fun was had by all. Mommy then had the afternoon to herself for some shopping and time out of the house (cabin fever starting to hit alittle). Friday night, Marcus and daddy attacked mom's "surprise cake" as Marcus called it. House still standing and no fire damage, so all in all a success!!! (Marcus and daddy had the same amount of cake making experience so we managed to trudge through the cake-making process together.) On a personal note, I just wanted to wish my wonderful wife a happy birthday (24 in case you are wondering:-). I love you and am so thankful that I have been able to share these past few years with you! Happy birthday, and how about spending one of these birthdays somewhere warm?! Happy Birthday mommy, from your guys!! Levi, Marcus, Carson, and Cole