Quite a scare.

Wow, Cole gave us quite the scare last week. I took him in for a cough that was getting worse and worse, and once again they did a chest x-ray. In this film, his lung still looked compressed, just like it did a month ago when they said he might have a food allergy that was causing a gas buildup in his belly. Well, since there had been no change in the condition, the doctor was a little worried. After looking at his xrays, she determined that it was not croup or pneumonia, but the wheezing was partially due to his lung not being able to fully inflate. Then she said the words that would make anyone cringe, she wanted to send him to Children's Mercy to get some more tests to rule out a mass or tumor. I felt like a deer in the headlights. I felt like I was ok, but I completely tuned everything out and didn't hear anything else she said. I felt like I was in a fog, til I called Jonny and broke down. I know it wasn't bad news yet, but given my family history, I was so sure that it was going to be awful. Jonny came home from work right away, and we ended up being able to get into Mercy that afternoon. Thankfully Kenny and Courtney were off and came to stay with Aiden. I was so prepared for the worst, I had packed Cole's jammies and his favorite blanket. They ended up doing a couple of ultrasounds and a test called a fluoroscopy. On the ultrasound, they were trying to get a simultaneous look at the lungs in action, because it seemed like one wasn't working as well as the other. This was really difficult, so they had to order the fluoroscopy. The reassuring part was that they could tell via the ultrasound that there were no masses. I felt so relieved at that moment. During the fluoroscopy, he was on a table, with the xray machine positioned over him. On the screen, we could see the image of his lungs working, in real time. It was very clear that one side of his diaphragm was expanding, giving the lung room to inhale. The other side, however, was not moving at all, or if it did, it moved in the opposite direction, pushing up onto the lung. This is a side effect that they frequently see when someone has had surgery in that area and the nerve gets traumatized. So, they know what it is, but not why it is occurring. We are going to go see a Pulmonologist soon to determine what to do next. I can't believe the range of emotion we all went through on that day! Through it all, he was so happy and cooperative and sweet, we are so lucky.

A sweet photo

Oh, I hope they always love each other this much! I just love this photo.

Seasons change, kids keep getting older...

I can't believe that summer is already over. We had such a mild and enjoyable summer, and it was abruptly cut off with a really cold fall! Although I dread the impending winter, I really love this time of year. I am so looking forward to seeing the boys experiencing and enjoying the season and the holidays.

My little Cole is five months old now. This is such a fun age. He is no longer a fragile infant, but a roly poly, happy, giggling little baby. He has finally started rolling back and forth, and holding his head up when he is on his belly. For the longest time, whenever he was on his belly he would just lay his head down and suck his fingers. I was starting to wonder if he couldn't hold his head up, or just wouldn't! This new milestone has opened up a whole new world at playtime! He kicks his little legs and tries so hard to get to toys in front of him. I have a feeling he will be mobile soon! I know Aiden can't wait for that day! He is really good with Cole for the most part, but every now and then he gets a little too excited and forgets how much bigger he is than Cole. It's ok, though, because Cole never gets hurt, and usually thinks it's funny. He can sit up unassisted for a few moments, like a tripod, resting on his hands while leaning forward. He can't do it for long, though, because he will fall over backwards! He has started babbling some consonant sounds, like "mm-mmm" and "huh-huh". I can't wait for him to start saying words, it is such a fun and exciting process! Just the other day, he was sorta whining, and he looked at me and said, "mmuh... mmuhhh". I said, "Did you just say Mama?". He smiled, stuffed his hands in his mouth and squealed! It was like he was saying, "You understood me!!". It was precious He has started teething, and is chewing on everything in sight. The poor guy has had a rough couple of weeks healthwise, too. I took him in because he had started coughing, and within a day it was a horrible, chunky sounding cough and wheeze. The doctor ordered x-rays, and it turned out that he had croup, but it also looked like he might develop asthma. They also think he might have a gluten allergy because his intestine was so full of air that it was pushing his other organs up and compressing a lung! I was told to stop giving him oatmeal, and do rice cereal instead, if anything. Well, I waited two weeks before giving him the rice cereal. Less than 3 hours later, it all came back up, projectile vomit style. It turns out that it had soy in it, and Jon was allergic to soy as a baby and would have the same reaction. Poor kid can't have anything! We go back in a week to see what the next step will be! Even though he has had some issues lately, Cole is just the happiest, sweetest baby you could ever hope for. These days, Cole's favorite things to do include blowing slobber bubbles, chewing on anything he can get his hands on, being tickled and squealing about it, laughing at Aiden, being read to, and rolling all over the floor while playing

Aiden is such a big boy these days. He started preschool a few weeks ago and is loving it. The first few days were a little rough, but not nearly as bad as I expected! He cried for less than 5 minutes, and spent the rest of the time following Miss Jane or Miss Ria closely and getting a hug or a hand hold when he needed it. By the second week, he was an old pro. He would ask me to stay, and his lip would get a little quivery, but he wouldnt cry. Well, just a couple days ago, when I came to pick him up from school, he wasn't waiting there looking for me like he usually is. He was playing at a table, totally enthralled with what he was doing. I came in and sat down by him, expecting the joyous "Mommy!" that I usually get. Instead, he looked up, and matter of factly said, "Hi, Mommy." and went back to playing! I had to do a little convincing to get him to leave! I am so relieved that he is enjoying it, and that I am able to have some one-on-one time with Cole. Since starting school, I am noticing that he is starting to play with his toys by himself for longer stretches of time. He is also starting to do imaginary play, which is fun for us to take part in. I found a cute little play kitchen at a garage sale that I bought and put in the dining room. Every day he is in there cooking us breakfast and pouring us "ginks". While he still has his moments, it seems like the terrible-ness of the twos is starting to wane a little bit. Unless he is overly tired or hungry, you can usually reason with him to some degree. He is also really into helping mommy out around the house, and helping with Cole. He is obsessed with the vacuum and broom, and I think that Santa might have found a working child sized vacuum to leave under the tree this Christmas! He is starting to talk up a storm. I love hearing what goes on in his head, but sometime I just wish I could have a little quiet! He is quite the blabbermouth.

Mommy, thank you for the beach.

As you know, we had our wonderful family vacation to Monterey two weeks ago (from which I will be posting photos soon). Aiden had an AWESOME time, and was so enthralled with the ocean. Since getting home, he has mostly been talking about the seahorses at the aquarium and the plane ride. But, today, when I was tucking him in for his nap, he gave me a hug and said, "love you Mommy, thank you for going me to the beach" Break my little heart! As if I needed another reason to add to my list of why I want to move back home! I knew my little boys were truly California boys at heart.

Aiden - 26 months old

Aiden is now 26 months old, and is growing and learning so much every day! I am just amazed at how fast his language is developing. Just today, he was sharing one of his yogurt snacks with me, and he told me, "careful Mommy, chew it up good!". It cracks me up to hear the things that come out of his mouth! He is starting to correct his baby pronunciations of things, and becoming more and more understandable to people other than family. We are in the process of touring preschools, and he will hopefully be starting sometime this month. I never thought that I would be sending a two year-old to preschool, but I think it will be really good for him. I think he is very smart, and he just soaks up everything that I teach him. He is really interested in reading and learning, as well as tinkering and figuring out how things work. I think the extra stimulation is going to be a great thing. Not to mention, he has had some issues with acting out, and I think alot of the time he just gets bored. It's hard for me to provide enough stimulating activities while caring for a breastfeeding infant. I will definitely be sad when he goes, but I think he is just going to love it. We are getting ready to go on our first family vacation, to Monterey. We are all so excited! We are staying at http://www.montereybeachhotel.com/. I have been teaching Aiden all about different ocean wildlife for the past couple months, so he is extra excited about seeing the aquarium. Several times a day he will tell me, "I go see seahorses and sharks and frogs at the aquarium!". For some reason, he has really become obsessed with seahorses. I really hope they have some sort of a seahorse toy to bring home! I have to admit, I use seahorses the way some moms use Santa. For example, "seahorses don't like little boys who don't listen to their mommies!". These days, Aiden's favorite things to do are playing outside on his scooter with the neighbor kids, practicing golf in the front yard (he is actually really good!), playing soccer with Daddy, dancing and singing, making Cole laugh, reading his favorite books (The Tiny Seed, Brown Bear, and Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too?), making racetracks out of blocks, and going on playdates with his little friends.

My smiley baby Cole - 4 months old

I know I always say this, but I can't believe how fast time is flying by, and how fast these boys are growing up! Cole had his four month checkup this week. He is a HEALTHY boy, to say the least! He weighs 18 pounds, 10 ounces, and is 26 inches long! That is in the 95th percentile for both! He has grown three pounds and 3 inches in only 2 months! He is SUCH a sweet, sweet baby. He is very mild mannered, even more than Aiden was as a baby. He reminds me alot of Uncle Chris. He is my good sleeper, sleeping 10-12 hours every night, waking once, maybe twice, to eat. While Aiden loved to be rocked to sleep every night, Cole prefers to be laid down in his crib with his music box on. He will babble to himself or suck his fingers for a few minutes, then fall asleep. It's nice at times, but sometimes it makes me sad, too! I like having a baby to cuddle and rock to sleep! He has really begun to interact more with people and things. He loves to be read to, especially his "touch and feel" books. Daddy lays on the floor next to him and holds the book up above his chest. He gets so excited that he looks like he is doing horizontal jumping jacks! Just this week, he has started to actually reach for the pages himself to touch the different textures. I can't believe he is already old enough to do that! I have also seen the first glimpses of Aiden and Cole actually playing together, where they are both active participants. A couple of days ago, at bathtime, they were doing the CUTEST thing! I am just kicking myself that I didn't have a camera nearby! Aiden was kicking his feet, and splashing around Cole's infant tub. At first, I was telling him not to, as to not splash Cole. Well, I look at Cole, and he is grinning ear to ear, and then begins to kick his legs, imitating Aiden! He stops, and Aiden laughs, thinking it is just hilarious! So, then Aiden kicks again, and this time Cole watches and laughs. They went back and forth, taking turns kicking and laughing for a good ten minutes. It was the sweetest, funniest thing I have ever seen! I am so anxious to see my boys playing together! I know it won't be long, though, til they are having wrestling matches and fighting over toys. Aside from watching and laughing at Aiden, these days Cole's favorite things include reading, bouncing in his exersaucer, chewing his fingers, and basically slobbering all over anything he comes in contact with.

Aiden- 2 years old, Cole- 3 months old

Wow, where is time going? Cole turned 3 months old just a few days ago, and Aiden had his 2nd birthday almost a month ago now. They are both growing so fast. I have really noticed huge leaps in Aiden's development lately, especially in speech. He has gone from speaking in fragments that only Jonny and I understand, to speaking full, clear, and sometimes funny sentences. The entire week before the 4th of July, Aiden, Daddy, Papa and Uncle Kenny would light off a few fireworks a night. The first night, he came home after watching the fireworks, and he just could not get the words out fast enough to tell me all about it. He said, "Daddy say stand back, Kenny hold Aiden! Fireworks go boom really loud! Parachute go up high, go boom, fall down! Tug boat go whoooosh! Car go vroooom! Boom really loud!" It is so funny to see him get so excited and actually be able to tell us about it. We hear about the fireworks every night before bed. He is definitely a little Chretien man in training! We have been working on potty training, and he has been doing awesome! I think I have had to change one poopy pull-up in the last 2 months. He has been dry every night this week, too! Diapers are one part of babyhood that I don't think I will miss! He had his two year checkup last week and is doing great. He is 30 lbs, 6 oz, and 35 inches tall. He lost over a pound, and grew 5 inches in the last 6 months! He has pretty much looks like all boy now, no sign of baby anymore! It makes me sad! He is such a cute and sweet kid, though. We are very lucky. Since Cole has been born, he has definitely had some issues with adjusting. He seems to be coming out of a phase right now, cross your fingers! His favorite things to do these days include playing golf with daddy outside, playing with playdoh, bubbles, riding his bike at Grandma's, riding the carousel at the mall, reciting Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See by memory, and saying Hiiiiii babbbyyyyy Cooooollle every 5 minutes!



Cole is living up to the nickname Mommy gave him, "Cole-ossus". He is all beefcake! At his two-month checkup he weighed 15lbs, 10 oz! He was 23 inches long, in the 75th-95th percentile for both! He is SUCH a happy and sweet baby! As long as he is rested, fed, and clean, he is good to go! He is rarely fussy for no reason, and is a great sleeper. He has been sleeping 6+ hours a night since he was 3 weeks old! Lately, he will sleep anywhere from 8-12 hours straight. Mommy loves this! This past month, he has become very animated and engaging. He loves to be talked to, and gives smiles easily to anyone. He hasn't quite laughed yet, but rather gives a screechy squeal when he is excited and happy. He loves talking to and looking at Mommy and Daddy, but Aiden is by far his favorite. He gets so excited when Aiden is around, and just smiles and squeals at everything he does. Aiden loves having such a captive audience, and is more than happy to give Cole lots of attention. Not to say that Aiden hasn't been having a bit of jealousy issues, but he hasn't had any of that directed at Cole at all. It is very obvious that Aiden is so anxious for Cole to be able to run around and play with him. Lord help me then!! Last night, I had Cole propped up on a pillow in an attempt to take a picture of him. Aiden came in, and I decided to have Aiden try to hold Cole up so I could get a picture of them together on my phone. I got them all situated, with an extra pillow behind Cole for support. Well, when I put my phone up to take the picture, Aiden leans in and hams it up, saying, "cheeese!!". In doing this he lets Cole go, and Cole goes flying backwards.... but he thinks it's hysterical! The picture I caught was priceless: Aiden hamming it up right in front of the camera and Cole flying back behind him, with a HUGE gummy smile. Those little stinkers If I can figure out how, I will try to get the picture on here from my phone!