So today we took both of the kids to the doctors. Allyson for her 3 year old check up and Brandon for his 6 month check up. Allyson is 37 inches tall ( a little over 3 feet tall) and weighs 32 pounds. She has had problems with waking up multiple times a night for a while now and the doctor reassured me that this is normal and that it too will pass. It has been going on for months now, so I will be much happier when it finally passes. Besides a little tummy ache here and there she is growing well and has exceeded many of her milestones to this point. No immunizations for her today, which she was really happy about.
Brandon is weighing in at 17 pounds 10 ounces and is 27 1/2 inches tall. HE is tall for his age the doctor has said. He is also eating and sleeping well. No other issues with the breathing thing and in the last week has started talking like you wouldn't believe. Mike thinks he is saying Da da, but I think he is just finally realizing he has a voice and is now starting to scream. It is so cute. 4 shots for him today which includes the flu shot. Then he also got the oral rota virus immunization as well. He is sitting now really good on his own, getting up on his hands and knees and scooting around like crazy. Christmas is going to be so much fun. I was wrapping presents today and he just kept getting into the paper. He is going to love it. Allyson will have such a great time too. She is fully aware now of what is going on and knows about Santa and all. I can't wait.
Allyson's school is closed next week, so Mike and I are planning a little something each day for us to do. We are hoping it stays cold so we can take her to the snow for her first time.
Today was the day we had Allyson's Christmas Party at her school. I watched my sister, Kaycee, yesterday and she was more then excited (Not really) to come with me and help out. One good thing is that she already has said she doesn't want to have kids, but after spending just a few short hours at Ally's school helping out, she is even more stuck on that idea.
We helped the kids make and decorated cookies, set up for their lunch and we even passed out goodies to all the teachers. My grandma and I made cookies, so we packed up those for all the teachers and for the children, I made candy (I guess you would call it candy). You take pretzels, marshmellows, raisans, chex cereal, and then for Christmas I added Christmas tree sprinkles. Then you melt chocolate and pour it over the top. Then I just broke it up and put it in little Christmas bags. Pretty easy. It is great being able to be with Ally in her class. I get to take pictures too, so I try to get all the kids so that their parents can see how the day went too. I am forwarding all the photos to a lady whose child also goes to school with Ally and she is putting them all together in a year book.
I have been a little out of order with Ally's birthday and all. So last THurs. Dec. 13th was my final. I passed my class with an 80%. Yeah! So I am officially a 3/4 nurse now. I go back to school on Feb. 11th to finish my last 12 weeks before graduating. I can't believe it's already come so quick. Of course this is not the end as I plan to go onto Cal State Fullerton to get my Bachelors in Nursing as well. Although I will be in no hurry for that. I will probably only take 1-2 classes a semester. We will see. I am just focusing on passing 4th semester first.
Thurs. night I celebrated with some friends after class. We went to Dave & Busters, then to Alcatraz for dinner. It was a lot of fun.
Friday night was Ally's school Christmas program. Well her class has 7 kids in it and they were to sing the song. Away in a Manger. We practiced so hard for the past month and to no avail, Ally knew all the words. Put that girl on stage though and she is a deer in headlights. (As were all the kids) None of them sang. It still was so cute. And I love having the whole family come to see her perform. These are the wonderful things being a parent brings!
Sunday was Allyson's birthday party. She had a great time. It's really hard being so close to Christmas to invite everyone we would like to invite, but for the last 2 years we have done more of a family party. She got lots of nice stuff and we ordered sandwiches from Costco, we made pasta salad, GG made green salad with everything in it and we had chips. Then of course we had cake and ice cream. She had a great time and she loved that it was all about her. I can't believe how big she is getting.
Then on Monday, her actual birthday we had a party at her school too. We bought pizza for the whole school and I made cupcakes. 60 of them. WOW, I never really knew how many children there were at her school. After her party we took her home for a nap and then she opened the presents we got her. 2 barbies and a barbi care. Then we went for a hike. In our neighborhood we have what they call the panorama trail. It is anywhere from 3-5 miles in length. I stapped on Brandon in the snugli, and Mike pushed Ally in the stoller when she got tired from walking. It was our first time with all 4 of us doing the hike. I forgot how good it feels and what a beautiful city we live in. It was an awsome day and we finished it with Me and the kids sitting on the rug, reading stories and playing with some of the toys she got for her birthday. It was a wonderful day and again Mike and I were left thankful to the lord that he has given us the opportunity to be parents to these 2 amazing children.
Ally was born. Looking back on it all it seems like so long ago, but I remember every detail like it was yesterday.
Thurs. Dec. 16th Mike and I had spent all day, at many furniture stores looking for new couches. I snuggled into bed at about 9:30. At 10am I spring out of bed to run into the bathroom, yelling, "I'm peeing on myself, I'm peeing on myself." Not even thinking anything was up, I chalked it up to have 40 more lbs. resting on my bladder and vowed I would never tell anyone that happened. I got back into bed, to a huge gush of water and our journey began. I called the doctor and she said to come on in. So I jumped in the shower, washed my hair and shaved and we were on our way. I remember telling Mike all day that day how ready I was to have her, but as soon as I knew it was going to be the day, I was in shock.
Even on the way to the hospital I never had any contractions. So when I got there at about 11pm, they started me on pitocin. By 6:30 am, on the 17th I gave in and got my epidural. I was dialated to 3 ALL DAY LONG. Finally my Dr. came in at about 12:30 and said that by 4pm if I hadn't dialated anymore she would take me back for a C Section. Well after 2 failed epidurals, almost a C-section and 2 1/2 hours of pushing, Allyson graced all of us with her presence! She was born at 5:59 pm weighing in at 6 lbs. 11oz and was 19 inches long. I was finally a Mommy and nothing has been the same since.
I look at her everyday and see little bits of myself in her. She looks like me when I was a little girl, but is such a welcoming mixture of both Mike and I. I thank the Lord everyday for all the blessings he has given me, and realize that without Allyson, Life wouldn't be the same. Just to hear those words we all long to hear, "Mommy, Daddy I love you, everyday makes me realize even more how blessed everyday is. I can't imagine not being her mommy. She has brought such renowed joy and happiness, not only to Mike and My lives, but to all of our families lives as well. I only hope that she knows everyday how much she is loved. Ally, Baba, Allybaba, AL, huddydutt, princess, baby girl, Allyson, Mommy and Daddy wish you a Very Happy Birthday and we love you with all of our hearts!
Since my last post, but I will try to keep from rambling on. So I scored an 80% on my last test and am studying my buns off for my final this Thurs. So wish me luck and say a little prayer for me. Since my last post we have had one more episode with Brandon and his breathing, but this time it only happened for a brief time and once I picked him up it didn't happen again. If you're a mother you know how you constantly worry, so I have been watching him closely.
Otherwise we got some great news from our clinical instructor at school that he finally adopted a baby. Funny thing is that we didn't even know he was trying to adopt. He said he wanted to keep it secret until everything finally went through as he has had one young lady already pull out of the adoption process and by not telling everyone it makes it a little less painful. He is a single father of a 22 year old son, and has been trying with his significant other to have a baby for a while, when he realized God was calling to him to adopt. He adopted a littel girl who was born on Nov. 21st. It's an adorable story. So of course I had to do a little shopping for a girly outfit. I love it.!
During the holidays Mike's business tends to get slow, so he has been able to stay home with Brandon more frequently while I go to school. It is so fun for both of them and Mike just loves to be able to spend more time with the kids.
Then we attended a birthday party for one of our friends little girls who just turned one. It was a carnival theme. Her little girls name is Paislee so of course it was a Paislee theme. When you entered they took your picture, then you had to decorate a page for your picture to go on in her album. Her goodie bags were little boxes with Paislee's on it and you went through her candy bar to pick whatever candy you wanted. Of Course Ally loved that part. Then she had booths like at a carnival. You tossed a ping pong ball into little vases with fishies in them. Whatever one your ball landed in, you got to take that fishy home with you. Then they had a bean bag toss, a cotton candy stand, popcorn and a airbush tattoo booth where they airbrushed on Paislee tattoos. It was amazing and all the kids had a great time. But the wind was horrendous. Jen & Sean were there with Paige so we put the kids together once again for some photos.
Thats it for this week. I will post more after my final on Thurs. and we will be having a family birthday party for Ally on Sunday. I can't believe she is going to be 3! Where has the time gone.
So today we took the kids to the swapmeet and they had free pictures with Santa. Of course we took advantage considering that Ally will be 3 this year and has never had her pictures with Santa Before. I know, I know what a bad mom I am. She loved it and even told him what she wanted for Christmas. Then was so excited to get a candy cane. She wanted to go over and over again. Brandon is always easy and just went along with the ride, even though he really wasn't feeling too well.
So I finally got to put Allyson in her new jacket. Its about time! THe weather was finally cold and rainy on Thurs. so I was a go. She loves that it has a hood and she can zip it easily.
We have been doing a few minor things here around the house, like putting moulding around the doors and windows and finally got around to putting the crown moulding and baseboards throughout the upstairs. So things have been somewhat a mess, but last night in the midst of getting the kids ready for a bath, I had to grab the camera and video and take pictures of the kids. I can't believe how big they have both gotten, and it's so cute to see them playing together.
Yet another trying time for us here in the Crook home. Wed. night when getting Brandon ready for a shower, he started making strange noises and upon looking at him, I noticed his whole chest was sunken in. I picked him up,
patting his back, rubbing his back hard, and starting talking to him. When holding him, it happened again. I started
yelling to Mike and went running downstairs with him. When we got downstairs, he was smiling, happy and excited to see dad. Mike couldn't understand what I was trying to tell him. 5 mins. went by and I decided that I better finally put a diaper on him, and upon laying him down again, it happened again. Mike picked him up and I went running to the phone to dial 911. Being a mom and FREAKING out, I was seriously like a chicken with my head cut off. running around aimlessly not knowing what to do next. It happened a few more times when Mike was holding him and he started with his big eyes and was getting scared that he couldn't catch his breath. So Mike with his Fireman and EMT experience tells me that if we dial 911 It's gonna take longer to get here then us just driving to St. Jude. (which is 1/2 a mile away from our house) By this time Ally is freaking out, which brought me more back down to earth in trying to make her not so upset. We threw the kids in the car and off to ER.
They took us right back when they saw how old Brandon was and that we were there with difficulty breathing. Of course when we got there he was happy and playing and his Oxygen Sats. were 98% so we waited for about 10mins before seeing a doctor. They took an X-ray and chalked it up to a viral infection causing him to have a mild case of stridor. Stridor is a major concern because for no reason their airway spasms and they are unable to get air to the lungs. Being a virus they can't treat him with anything. So needless to say I have not slept in about 48 hours for fear of him not being able to breath at night. I am praying constantly and know that this too will pass as long as I put it in Gods hands. Just keep us in your prayers and make sure to keep your kids as healthy as you can, and if you have any questions on how their acting talk to the doctor. We will keep you posted.
So I know not everyone likes to celebrate their birthday for a day, but I try to extend the celebration as long as I can. Last night MIke took me to Summit house for dinner for our birthday. Mike got a gift Certificate here for some work he did for a friend of ours under the condition that when we use it, that she comes over to watch the kids. So we took advantage last night. I am so sad that I didn't take my camera to dinner to take photos of the food which was excellent. After eating, we took a stroll around the resturant to see the sites of the city. It was great fun and the best part is that we stuffed oursevles to the brim and only had to drive 2 mins. back down the hill to our house. I recommend this place for a good dinner, although I think I like the atmosphere better at Orange Hill. Either way the dessert was the best!
Mike invited my parents, grandma and his mom over last night for dinner for my birthday. So on the menu was for the ladies - Salmon, with mustard dill sauce, rice, aspargus and some wine. To start we had a salad and for dessert we had coffee and cake. It was nice to have a little get together and once again I am reminded how much the Lord has blessed me with my family.
