Stomach Flu

Last day of November and Wes got the stomach flu.  Blah....Poor poor kid.

We set him up with some cartoon and a Linus garbage can (when I was pregnant with Wes I nicknamed the little garbage can you carry around when you are sick Linus because it's like a security blanket.  You just feel a little safer having it near.)

 

By Sunday evening Wes was felling great and no one else had caught it.  Yay!  

Then half way through Pilates on Monday I realized I was sick.  That was unfortunate.  Brynn got sick later that night.  Nothing makes you feel more like a mom then when your infant if vomiting all over you even though all you feel terrible yourself, and your husband is busy cleaning up the explosion all over the baby's room.  Luckily it wasn't the worst stomach flu, but it took a week out of our Christmas season.

Snacky snack snack

Brynn usually drinks out of straw sippy cups so she needed a little help to figure out how to drink for a cup like this.

Airplane apples.  Whatever it takes to get this kid to eat sometime other then crackers.

Brynn's Surgery

I had been so nervous for Brynn's surgery.  Even though it was a simple procedure I was still nervous.  The doctor uses a probe to clear out and open up the duct.  I was relieved when I found out they only needed to use gas.  The other thing that helped me feel better about it was the constant eye infections.

We had to wake Brynn up at 5:30 am to go to the hospital.  I had been worried about how Brynn would react to not nursing.  It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be because she was confused about what was going on.

It is a fortunate thing that Bret has such quick reflexes because Brynn found an old cracker in her car seat and tried to eat it.  That would have been gross and sad if her surgery had to be postponed because she found an old cracker.

She looked so cute in her miniature hospital gown and socks.  It was nice having it done at the hospital Bret works at.  It was familiar and comfortable.  Brynn had just visited her daddy, who's office was just a few doors down, after her one year checkup.  Bret's boss went in early so he could stay home with Wes.  My neighbor was going to help watch him, but I forgot to leave the car seat.  Still what an awesome neighbor.

The very worst part was when the anesthesiology took Brynn back.  She was screaming and reaching for me, and I had to just let them take her.  I hated feeling like I was abandoning her. 

Luckily, the surgery didn't take very long.  About 20 minutes after they took her back I could hear her screaming at the top of her lungs as they brought her down the hall, and I went out and met her.  She reached for me, but she was mad until I was able to sit down and nurse her.

Brynn enjoyed her apple juice, and I enjoyed having my baby back in my arms.

We were back home by 8:30am.  She fell asleep in the car and stayed asleep for a while after we got home.

Her eye looked amazingly better.

Bret went to work right after we got home.  He told me everyone commented on what an adorable baby Brynn is.  The recovery nurse told Bret that while they where waiting in recovery the anesthesiology mentioned he thought the baby's dad worked at the hospital, but he wasn't sure who it was.  The nurse told Bret that she could totally tell Brynn was his just by looking at her face.  I have always been able to see Bret in Brynn, but I never thought of her looking so much like him you could tell he was the father if you didn't already know.  I can see it though.  Beautiful baby with a handsome daddy.

She seemed happier the rest of the day.  She got a little rash on her body, but I gave her a bath and it went away.

My visiting teachers brought me dinner that night.  They are so sweet and thoughtful.  I am so grateful for all the supportive people who understood my worry even though it was such a simple surgery.  I am also so grateful everything went so smoothly.

Bell pepper Christmas Tree and Homemade Pizza

Wes did a little food play by putting sprinkle lights on a bell pepper Christmas tree.

He is such a big helper with cooking.  He is extra good at helping make pizza.

Aviarey

Because of my stomach pain I took Brynn back to my mom's (she's still can't handle not nursing), and Bret kept Wes at his parents' home.

Friday I was happy to wake up feeling better.  I was worried I wouldn't be able to go shopping.  We didn't end up going until 10:00am, but it was still good to get out.  We spent a ton of time shopping and little Brynn was such a champ.  I was very grateful for the front pack and umbrella stroller.

Meanwhile Bret and Wes went to the aviary with cousins.  They had a great time.

Thanksgiving

The week after Brynn's birthday was Thanksgiving.  I took the kids down a day early so I could spend some good time with my dad.  We had so much fun with Punka and Grandma Les.

It was my in-laws turn for Thanksgiving.  My sister went with her boyfriend's side and my brother is on the other side of the country so Bret's sweet parents invited my mom to Thanksgiving with them.  Having her there sure made getting a family photo easier.  And yet it still a challenge with all the kids wiggling.

Brynn's infected eye.  Still she sure is a pretty little thing.

She did enjoy the food.

I ended up having crazy stomach pains.  It wasn't overeating pain it.  I realized later that it was taking iron on an empty stomach.  It continued to be an issue on and off for sever days before I figured it out.  I was glad it was something so easy to fix, but I was way embarrassed that I had to go lay down.  Plus, I totally missed dessert.

All in all it was a nice day though.  I am grateful for my awesome family!

"What Happened to His Face!?"

My poor kid got attacked by his 5 year-old cousin.  It happened while I was Black Friday shopping.  The story we got was that the cousin tried to pull Wes off the sit-and-spin toy so Wes bit him, and then Wes got clawed in the face.  Poor Wes.  Although I felt so bad for my sister in-law.  She was mortified.

Wes spent the next several day with anyone who saw him saying, "What happened to his face!?"  Also a lot of people accusing our cats.  I would just like to note that our cats are amazing at not scratching even if their tails get pulled (we try and keep cat abuse to a minimum but a cat tail is just so tempting for a one year old to pull).

Food play make the cantaloupe smile and frown.  There is a good view of his scratches. They were deep.  More then 8 weeks later they are still healing.

 

Sweet sleeping Wes, but it's time for his nap to be over.

Brynn helps with that.

Love these two!

Brynn's eye is looking a little better here, but it continued to get better and worse.

Putting Up Christmas Lights

We put the Christmas light up  on a day that wasn't too cold.  I had forgotten how cold it was last year, but cute Wes with his shockingly good memory started talking about the cold air.  I can't remember exactly how he worded it, but he was talking about how last when we put the Christmas lights up last year it was so cold you could see your breath.  He was so cute sitting explaining it.

It was nice that it wasn't as cold this time.

The kids enjoyed playing while they watched their daddy.

 I sure am head over hills for this man.

Too bad stopped working not even two weeks after we put them up.  Bret tried to fix it one afternoon to no avail.  At the least the kids got to enjoy them for a short while.

Brynn's 1st Birthday Party

We held Brynn's birthday party one week after Wesley's.  We decided to do grandparents only.

I did the same recipe for Brynn's cake as Wesley's, but it did not turn out.  It was so gross.  We threw the cupcakes out, and Bret made cupcakes out of box because I was so frustrated.

 

The kids loved hanging out with their grandparents.

Brynn enjoyed her toys.

I think the grandparents enjoyed spending time with the kiddos.

Cake time.

Brynn wasn't sure what to think.  I was surprised she didn't just dig right in.  She usually eats anything excitedly.  She did enjoy painting her knee.

I want you to to eat some cake.

So a gave her a little to try.

Then she decided it was pretty fun to eat the frosting.

She also decided eating her had was a good idea.

She didn't get to the cake part.  It was from the same batch as the trashed cupcakes.  So we gave her a cupcakes

Tune for a bath.

Time for a pink birthday bath.