A few of my favorite things

So this weekend has been a fairly lame one for us as this horrible flu has passed from person to person. I guess I should be glad that it hits us mainly one at a time so there is always at least a semi conscious adult around for the kids. Luckily the Grady's were brave enough to come watch a movie with us which was the most eventful activity of the weekend. What is hilarious though is how much Sam LOVES our whole family being together. He loves it and I think it is soooo adorable. He was holding both Chris's and my hands today as we sat by his train table then worriedly said bro bro (what he calls Liam-- another one of my favorite things). He was getting a little stir crazy by the end of the day and we caught the attached video of him running around his train in circles then flinging himself on the love sac. Don't mind my horrible singing of the Thomas theme song remember I am not well :)

So besides Sam loving our family unity he has also started saying what ever we say, just slightly less coherently. This afternoon when we were changing a poopy diaper he kept saying "gross! Gross" Which I have to hand it to him it was pretty gross. It is so fun that he is talking more and more. On the big boy note we tried EXTREMELY unsuccessfully to put him in a big boy bed so poor Liam can finally get into the crib. We had it all ready with a Thomas pillow and special blanket we made and it did not go well. He screamed and screamed and we ended up not being able to get him calmed down enough to go to bed till about ten. So needless to say we will be holding off on that for a while.

Another of my favorite things is my adorable husband. So tonight after being stuck inside we took Sam and Liam to Waller Mill park to see if we could find some ducks and play on the playground. Some fishermen had a bunch of fish in a bucket so I showed Sam and he looked at me and said "him sad" I nearly died. It was sad seeing the fish laying there gasping for air. I promptly picked him up and we left. Back to Chris though he humored me by going to Panera for dinner. Halfway through the meal he was looking over the receipt and realized we did not get charged for my drink, he immediately went up and tried to pay for it but the cashier said not to worry about it. I know it is totally a tiny thing but it just reminds me that honor and honesty are still thriving, at least with my cute hubby! Well off to watch a nightly Thomas whoo hooo!

The Iron Maiden for Babies

It seems both of my cute boys have inherited my penchant for only getting terribly sick in the middle of the night. With Sam we visited the ER several times in the middle of the night. We became even more familiar with the ER during my pregnancy with Liam. So last night when Liam’s fever tipped the thermometer at 103.5 I thought well at least they already have all our information. Liam has had the same cold that we have all been battling but unfortunately his little body is not as strong yet and he has had a tough time. Because of my over anxiousness to take Sam to the ER, when Liam’s temp. hit 102 I thought "it's okay, its okay" if you take him to the ER all they'll do is give him Tylenol and you will go home exhausted. But this morning when He woke up crying (whimpering more like it-- the saddest sound ever) I thought well lets see what his temperature is at. When the thermometer beeped me back to consciousness I nearly fell off the bed. The poor guy was sweating it up at 103.5.
I woke up Chris and asked him what we should do, knowing whether he wanted me to or not I was going to the ER. He agreed so off I went. He whimpered in the back seat the whole way there and did his little gasp in as I pulled him out into the unusually freezing air. We checked in quickly and they took his temp again—104. Freak out freak out. Visions of Liam having Seizures or brain damage took hold. (Important side note, I have an insane imagination when it comes to worst case scenarios.) The Nurse calmly hooked up a tiny IV so he could get some hydration and medicine. They stripped him down to just his diaper and asked me not to hold him as my body heat would make his temperature rise. All I could think of was that beginning scene in City of Angels where the mom puts the little girl in the cool bath trying to cool her off before rushing her to the ER where-- well lets not talk about it…. Yeah horrifying, this is why I don’t watch scary movies I remember them FAR too vividly.
Then it happened—they told me he would have to get a chest x-ray. Now being the ER savvy mom that I am I knew that meant one thing-- the baby iron maiden. If you have never experienced a baby chest x-ray I am so happy for you and pray that you never do. They wheel out this contraption, the bottom is kind of reminiscent of a saddle where their legs hang over the side. The top is thick plastic which is strapped around the front and back with their arms stretched up over their heads. It is done tightly so that they cannot wiggle. For any mom seeing their baby in that position is horrifying, augmented by the wailing of your poor sick little child. I was pregnant with Liam when Sam had to have one taken, but this time I was able to stand there and hold his little hands that poked up out. HUGE crocodile tears were spilling out and I found myself crying along with him. I am sure the x-ray tech was thinking where is the Father? Surely he would hold it together.
After this ordeal I totally lied and said that he needed to eat just so I could hold him. The medicine seemed to be kicking in so he was finally cooling down. The doctor came back and let us know that he didn’t have RSV but did have double ear infections (as always) and was being hit really hard by this flu and cold going around. He wanted me to stay till his temp was down to 100 and gave us some antibiotics and strict orders to come back in if he didn’t turn around within two days. PHEW. Liam, as usual, was adorable through the whole ordeal, well except for the baby iron maiden, but who can blame him. He talked all the way home then we both crashed for two hours while Chris entertained Sam with his new train set.
It really hit home to me today as I prayed over and over in the car on the way to the hospital that nothing would happen to my boys, (so many moments of enlightenment happen in the car) that there is a distinct possibility that my heart will be broken several times over the span of my time as a mother. This of course is of set by the daily and overwhelming wonderful experiences and it hasn’t happened yet I just was flooded by the intense unyielding love I have for my boys. Ugh I tear up even now as I think about anything ever happening to them. That primal motherly instinct just rages up so startlingly. I truly did not know such an amazingly intense love could exist and it is wonderful. Much to Sams frustration I made him snuggle a little longer with me today while reading a book, then couldn’t help but lay down and nap with Liam. I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father not only for the safety of my boys but the blessing of being a Mother. What a wonderful gift, and I am so very grateful for it.

Just Like His Namesake

I don't know how many people know that Liam's middle name is Harvey... probably as many people as know that his full name is William... not that many. Most of you probably think this is a little bit nerdy for a middle name and wonder why besides a love of a big white rabbit (only those who truly love movies know that reference) would we give our son this middle name. Well besides his Father, Christopher always genuingly looked up to two other men, Rudy Tillmann and Harvey "Grandpa" Hirschi. The later is Liams name sake. Sadly Patriarch Hirschi passed away a few months before little Liam was born so they never got to meet in this life. On this trip to Utah though Christopher Introduced Liam to his sweet wife Louis. These were the cute pitcures we were able to take. Liam being the adorable boy he is smiled and laughed a lot for her. He is a good judge of character already. I truely hope that Liam will grow up to be not only just like his father but also just like Patriarch Hirschi.

Home again home again

Did you just say jiggidy jig in your head? I totally can't say the title of this post with out finishing it! haaa I am so lame. Moving on... we are finally home. It was a great visit to Utah. We were Very spoiled by both of our wonderful families but I was ready for my own bed and the boys to be in theirs! The flight home was, well lets say interesting. We sat kitty corner to a Very drunk women. Oh what time was our flight-- that's right 7:45 AM!!! AM!!! Who in the world gets drunk that early. Needless to say the stewardesses cut her off so then she began ranting about smoking and how she would pay the fine. She kept asking Liam (yes my baby boy) how much longer... and why won't they let me smoke Liam why? To top it all off she was in the exit row. I thought for heaven sakes PLEASE don't let anything happen to us while she is the one in front of the exit :) Sam also nearly assaulted the stewardess when she held Liam for a second. Have we mentioned how protective he is of his little bro? It borders on fanatical. He screamed until She handed him back. Now that we are home the unpacking begins. I really really do not like unpacking. Packing involves throwing everything out of your closet then stuffing it into a suitcase--- easy enough. Unpacking requires, laundry and figuring out where in the world you fit everything before and finding place for the new items purchased. I am also hesitant because we are leaving in a week and a half for Cleveland (sooo ridiculously excited to see the Tillmanns again!!!!) Add into the equation that every member of our family has a cold and you will understand why our home looks like our closet's simply exploded. On a fun and happy note Sam has fallen in love with Thomas the Tank Engine. I now spend my evenings trying to find an affordable compatible train set for the boy. I am trying to attach a video of him dancing to the theme song. He has a new toothbrush that plays this song and he goes crazy every time he hears it. It is a little dark but adorable. Well have to go surf the web for more Thomas deals! Oh yeah and unpack my PJ's.

The Barn

Since the Weather continues to be dismal and seriously depressing here in Utah we decided to take the kids to the new indoor jump place here in Draper called The Barn. They all had a blast! I thought for sure Sam would be to apprehensive and stick by my side the whole time but quite the opposite was the case! I would push him up to the top of the slides (as a side note I will never make fun of the people on gladiator again as they climb those inflatable things, man it was a work out) he would fling himself down before I could even haul myself up! He had great fun bouncing around with his cousins of all ages. My sister in laws and I had a great time helping and watching. It also had the added bonus of tuckering them all out so sam had a nice two and a half hour nap this afternoon. I have included some fun videos of Cooper and Ali sliding and of Liam talking. He is so stinking cute!

This one goes out to Liam

Looking over my blog I feel not enough time has been dedicated to my amazing baby boy Liam. For those of you who don't know, Liam (william) came into our lives only 16 months after Sam and has been a dream since he came into this world. True the pregnancy and birth were mildly horrific but ever since he has been the sweetest baby you could ever hope for. And really it wasn't his fault I couldn't get an epidural and was kind enough to keep it to 45 minutes. Yes I was only in labor for 45 minutes. I thought Sam was an easy baby but that was before Liam. He literally will smile at ANYONE and thrives on attention, but is also content to sit and devour his hand. Today he found his voice. He spent a good majority of his day yelling. Not crying, simply talking very loudly. He thought it was hilarious and obviously gets a kick out of hearing his own voice... a hint of what is to come-- maybe :) He adores his older brother and has shown just how tough he is by surving countless fairly rough displays of affection on Sams part. He really is the type of baby every mother dreams of. As I read through a parent magazine on childrens dispositions every single time Liam was the "easy" baby, and it is so true, he makes it easy to adore him, and that all three of his family members do!

Sam has found Heaven

Today my sisters Claire and Felicity and my mom took Sam and Liam to Discovery Gateway. It is the childrens museum in downtown Salt Lake. My pass for the virginia living museum allows me to get myself and three other people in free whoo hoo! What drew us there though was the traveling exhibit with Sesame Street Called get to know your body. Not only was the normal museum AMAZING but sam was in absolute heaven in Sesame street! He got to go to Elmos world and play the counts organ. It was just awesome. When we walked in the museum there was a TON of really neat things to play with cranes that lifted foam blocks, Jeeps you could drive around and a HUGE water station... what did sam go for first.. of course the train table. I am telling you I have got to get me one of those! I am trying to see when I can go down again before we leave. I think the pictures say it all :)

Cousins are the BEST!

Today was a relaxing Saturday. We had fun digging through everything at Down East finding great deals and lots of fun items. Then we ate at one of my favorite resturants Rumbi's with the Page's. The Page children as soooooo cute! They were great with Sam and Liam even though sam was being a bit of a brat at lunch... What sam be a brat!-- impossible you say :) Then this evening the Pages and the Millers and Reynolds came over and we played the Wii, ate pizza and a ton of treats and watched night at the museum.... well thats what the adults did. The kids had a blast running a muck and playing dress up. Sam absolutely loved it. It was especially nice since Sam has been feeling under the weather lately... I will not go into details but his diapers are not fun-- lets leave it at that. He also took a fun bath with his cousin Bailey who was making him laugh harder then I have seen in a long time. Simeon was amazingly tender wtih Liam and took great care of him for me ALOT today. He really was a lifesaver. I am hoping all this action will make the boys sleep in tommorow. Heaven knows I could use the rest!

Who doesn't love a good nap

Today was one of the most relaxing days I have had in quite sometime. Both Chris's and My mothers were busy today and Chris was at work ALL day so it was just the boys and I. After eating a messy messy lunch of pasta the three of us took a long very very bubbly bath in Chris's parents ginormous bath tub. It apparently took a lot out of the three of us because we all then fell asleep for three and a half hours!!! It was glorious! After waking up and finding that both my sisters and Melony had been trying to get a hold of me (bummer that I missed their calls heaven knows I love lunch's out!!) I was shocked to find how much time had passed by. Then after turning on the news I thought to myself here I am sleeping for hours while most of the country is in a frenzy over the election today. I found myself day dreaming about what it would be like to be back at my old job in DC and how excited and crazy busy everyone must be, (this was augmented when I saw my old boss on TV again). I then looked at my two boys, one with a basket over his head spinning in circles and the other finding that he can blow big bubbles with his spit and thought nothing can get better then a three hour nap and my boys!

Super Bowl Sunday

Today we woke up in Utah to a massive snow storm! It was crazy! Sam unfortunatly caught a stomach bug and thus spent all last night getting sick. Poor chris was his first victim. It is so embaressing but I honestly cannot do throw up. I will just end up getting sick myself. I keep thinking it is a mental thing and get so frustrated with myself telling myself to "buck up and be a good mom". The minute I get around it though blah there I go myself. So poor chris had to deal with him for the majority of the evening. Seen as both boys are still on Virginia time we woke up rediculously early again and got to watch the snow falling in the dark. Poor Chris had to leave for Guard at six and drive on all the unplowed streets. Sam seemed to be over his sickness and Liam seemed pretty content so I went outside to help Chris's dad shovel the insane amount of snow off the driveway before church. Sam decided he wanted to join us but that did not last long. He may look like his daddy but when it comes to climates he is deffinetly his mother's son-- the warmer the better. After about five mins he was following me around whining till I took him in.

Because of the insane weather (some of the valley got 16 inchs!) and Sams amazing stomach pyrotechnics we decided to stick around here for the game. Luckily the Millers and the Reynolds braved the roads so Sam had two of his cousins to play with :) It is great to see family but man am I home sick for Virginias mild winter. And if we ever do end up somewhere it snows ever winter we will be investing in a four wheeler with an attachable shovel!