Christmas!

Since we had to work on Christmas (hooray for this year being the last of that!), we celebrated Christmas with Josh's family on the day after.  We did get up on Christmas morning and open our presents (really Dave did most of the opening).

Dave on Christmas morning.  Check out his cute moose pajamas.











Ike playing with his new rattle.








I was able to go over to Marion on Christmas so Dave could hang out with his cousins, but Josh had to stay and work.  Bummer for him, but Dave had a blast with Sophie and Caleb.

The kids went upstairs and jumped off of the beds.

Sophie taking her turn.

Playing Candy Land.  They are really starting to understand games now.








Then, on the 26th, we headed over to Marion to open gifts with Josh's parents and sisters.  Of course, the weather was being uncooperative (we got several inches of snow), so it took forever to get there!

Dave and Grandma getting ready to open stockings.

Caleb with his new yo-yo.












Sophie showing off her new lipstick.










Dave struggled a little with the stocking opening.  He went through his really quickly, while Sophie stopped to enjoy all of her new things.  So we had to distract him with opening up Isaac's stuff.

Caleb wearing Em's glasses.  And eating a chunk of ham.

Grandma and Ike at the end of the night.










What a wonderful Christmas!  We played games and took turns entertaining the kids so we could all get a break here and there.  Josh and I are definitely looking forward to having the actual day off next year!

Christmas at Grandma Bertie's

The weekend before Christmas, we headed over to Logansport to celebrate Christmas with the Bowyers.  Most of Josh's aunts and uncles came over for the day, and we just hung out and ate some good food.





Dave with his new friend Sam (Josh's cousin from Chicago).  He wasn't feeling particularly photogenic in this one.

Ike looking very serious.

That's more like it!

Dave and grandpa matched for the day.

Grandma Bertie's new glasses sent from Aunt Amy in California.

Had to get in a couple rounds of Family Feud.  Josh is playing "fast money", with Dave and grandpa hosting the show.

Aunt Gayle and grandma hanging out with Isaac.










Grandma Bertie told us the story of one of her relatives who always used the excuse of putting her kids down for a nap whenever it was time to do the dishes.  So now that's what she gets to say!

Grandma posing with Ike...gotta get that baby to sleep  :)

Family picture with grandma Bertie. 














Then today we went back over to Logansport because Josh's Uncle Fritz and his family flew in from Texas to visit.  We were able to spend some time with them, which was really nice since we don't get to see them too often.

Fritz capturing Dave.

The Bowyer fellas.










We had a great time visiting with lots of family!  I have lots more pictures from many more Christmases to report about, so hopefully I can get to it this week.  Hope everyone had a great Christmas!

Cool Tricks and Doctor Check Ups

Yesterday I took the kids to see their pediatrician for their 3 year and 2 month check ups.  We were a little late for both, but it is extremely difficult to get them both in at the same time.  Dave was very hesitant about going, but ended up charming everyone there, while Ike screamed almost the entire time.  I'm pretty sure Isaac has started teething (eeek), so has been a little fussy lately.

Anyway, here are the boys' stats:  Isaac weighed in at 14 lbs, 9 oz (putting him in the 85th percentile) and was 23 1/2 inches long (51st percentile).  Dave weighed 28.5 lbs (20th percentile) and was 37 inches tall (also 20th percentile).  Ike is the exact length that Dave was at his age, but weighs almost 3 pounds more!  He's our little chunk. 

Dave has been sleeping much much better at night, so we're hoping that continues.  4 nights in a row of going without a diaper and no accidents!  Isaac has been cooing away and he smiles all the time.  He really is an exceptionally happy baby.

Alright, what you're all waiting for...pictures!

Isaac looks completely freaked out.  Dave is constantly trying to "feel his face!".









Dave has been working on his "tricks".  Here's a video to give you an idea of what those are.

The boys hanging out upstairs before Dave's bath.  

Posing for me.  He looks so serious.

Dave loves to help put away clothes now, and even helped me get Isaac's diapers organized.  (He's sitting on the diaper pail)

Playing in the toy room.

Ike has been loving baths lately.  Here's a video of him talking to us while bathing.








I made bedding for my niece Sophie's doll beds (they were Josh's sisters and his grandpa made them).  It was a really fun project!

Isaac was a little small for the bed and not happy about it.

Dave's drum set finally came in!!  Here's a video of him rocking out.

A Week Under Quarantine

Even though Isaac is much better, we are still under doctor's orders to keep him pretty much isolated until his appointment next week.  Because of this, we've been holed up at home this past week.  Thankfully, my mom came up to hang out with us, so she helped a lot with entertaining Dave (and getting him out of the house!).

Gamma and Dave made gingerbread houses-well Dave mostly ate icing.















Getting some cuddles in with Ike.

We bribed Dave to take a picture with Isaac.








While my mom was here, we went ahead and had Christmas since we won't be heading down to Evansville again for a while.

Dave wondering, "What's it gonna be?!" 








Dave has really gotten into playing Rambo (he watches some kind of Rambo cartoon with Josh).  He pretends to put on his bandana, tie up his boots, and stick his knife into his pants.  Then he crawls around looking for bad guys.  Not exactly wholesome fun, but it keeps him entertained and expels some energy!

Rambo Dave about to attack.

Ike loves rocking his Bobby Knight sweatshirt onesie.  

Working on his I-U!

He has grown so used to his breathing treatments that he can hold it himself (okay not really, but I couldn't resist).

Dave insisted that Ike wear these sunglasses.  Too cool for school. 












While my mom was in town, we started a new bedtime routine with Dave.  We're hopefully done with nighttime diapers, which has been going okay, and he seems to be sleeping better.  Naps are definitely improving (he's been asleep for almost two hours this afternoon!), and while last night was rough, I think getting rid of the diaper may be the solution.  Guess we'll see! 

Finally, here's a video of Ike.  I think he's been shortchanged on the amount of youtube videos I have put up compared with what I did with Dave.  Welcome to life as a second child :) 

Ike's Hospital Stay

We had a big scare with Isaac this past weekend, but all is well now.  I mentioned last week that the whole family has been sick with a cold/cough.  Well, when Isaac started coughing I didn't really think anything of it since he wasn't running a fever and still seemed in good spirits.  On Thursday night, he stopped nursing, so I knew something wasn't right.  When I took him to his doctor on Friday morning, she immediately admitted him to the hospital with suspicion of RSV. 

This was such a scary couple of hours for us.  I had never heard of RSV before, but after some googling (which is never a good idea with medical concerns), I was even more worried because it can be very dangerous.  He did test positive for RSV and his chest x-rays showed the beginning stages of pneumonia.  He had to have an IV placed and was on oxygen until early Sunday morning.  My poor baby! 

Throughout all of the hospital stay, he was in pretty good spirits.  After a couple of breathing treatments and some hardcore antibiotics, he started eating again, which really made me feel better.  By Saturday he was starting to sound a little bit better, and by Sunday he had made a marked improvement.  When we first came to the hospital, the doctor said we would probably be there until Wednesday, but we were released Sunday afternoon!  We really appreciate everyone's prayers and thoughts during his illness, I really believe it made a difference-every doctor and nurse couldn't believe how much he improved in such a short time.

Feeling better on Saturday.

Dad and Ike watching the Colts game on Sunday.









Now that we are home, he is still getting steroids and breathing treatments.  He still sounds pretty "crackly" as the nurse called it, but gets better every day and is back to his normal self.  RSV and flu season is really bad this year, so watch your kids for signs!  They told me every baby is different (like Isaac never ran a fever), so if he/she acts "off" take them in!  I am so thankful that we took Ike in when we did.

 Sleeping through a breathing treatment.
















Still showing off his adorable grin.














Big brother Dave did a great job while I camped out at the hospital with Isaac.  In fact, he slept through the night one of the nights we were there!  He spent lots of time hanging out with grandma and grandpa (Josh's parents) and spent a little bit of time at the hospital. 






He earned himself a play razor kit that he had his eyes on for a while.

I think he has it down!














Thanks again to everyone who helped us through our time in the hospital.  We are so grateful this Christmas season to have Isaac back in good health!

Isaac is 2 Months Old

I can't believe Ike is already two months old!  Where has the time gone?  He has already developed a great personality and loves to smile and coo (and sleep) most of the time.  Currently he is still battling the cold that we all had this past week.  And he also had his two month shots yesterday, so the little guy has had it rough lately. 

Smiling in his Santa outfit.
















I'm not sure what this expression means but it's awfully cute.

Smiling at Dave.

Here's his grumpy old man face.

Posing for his 2 month picture.












Dave jumped in on Ike's photo shoot as usual.  This one did turn out cute though.

I use this elephant to get Isaac to look at me when taking pictures.  Seemed an obvious choice to stick it on his head.






Isaac is still sleeping well, pretty consistently only getting up once a night.  He is an extremely laid back baby, and I hope that continues into his toddler years!  I weighed him the other day and according to our junky scale he weighs about 13 pounds right now, so we'll see what his official weight is at the doctor in a couple weeks.  He gets stronger every day it seems, and I'm sure he'll be able to roll over both directions here shortly.