Family Temple Trip

This last month Peter and I played a game that was in the Friend magazine.  We had to read stories or complete other activities about the "gospel standards" to complete each square of the game board; then, at the end of all the squares was the temple.  I decided that a trip to the temple would be a great culminating activity.  I wish I could say that the boys were 100% reverent, but they are little boys after all.  We had to constantly remind them to be reverent and not to run and yell.  They did okay.

Houston, Texas Temple

They loved discovering where all of the paths led.

Knowing my boys, I'll bet they were looking for a switch to turn on the light.

Family Picture - Rigby, Scott, Peter, Adeline, Rachel

I am amazed that we got the boys to hold still long enough for this picture!

Airport & Playground

While my mom was here to help, we were able to go to the Sugar Land Regional Airport.  They have a little patio with chairs where you can come watch the small airplanes and sometimes helicopters take off and land.  Peter loved watching the planes, Rigby just mostly enjoyed running around the porch, and I enjoyed the non-escaping feature of the porch:).

We were also able to go to the park a few times.  The boys loved getting out of the house because we have been shut up more than usual.  Finding the energy to drag 3 kids outside the house is hard at this point.

 

First Bath, Adeline Update & An Impossible Photo Shoot

Like most newborns, Adeline hated her 1st bath:

 

          When Adeline was first born, she was a very sleepy and easy going baby (minus the crazy ER experience:).  However, as soon as the 3 week mark came, she woke up.  She can be content one minute and then within a few seconds she is crying so hard that she has a hard time breathing.  I think she will be a little more intense like Peter.  Although being intense can be difficult at this stage, I know it will make elements of her personality fun as she gets older; I just have to endure until then!  

          I LOVE that she hardly ever spits up.  On the other hand, she has A LOT of smelly gas.  She rivals many adults with the smell!  I was thinking we would call her "Angry Bird" because of her crying, but now we have decided it would be more appropriate to call her something like "Stinky Pete."  I am anxiously awaiting for her gas issues to get better though, so she is not so fussy and I can get more sleep at night!  

          I love watching the boys with her.  Rigby will sometimes acknowledge her existence now.  He was looking at picture of her the other day and said, "my baby."  He will also give her a kiss goodnight.  Peter adores her-almost too much sometimes.  He will often smother her in kisses and come up and say, "Are you my cute baby?" or "Hey baby girl," or anything he has heard Scott and I say to her.  He is always telling me, "I love my baby sister," and, "do you think my baby sister loves me?"  I think that Adeline enjoys Peter's attention because she will usually stop fussing and stare very intently at him while he talks to her.

My mom and I attempted to get some good pictures of all 3 kids and some of just Adeline.  I think we took over 100 pictures between the two of us and only got a few good ones.  I do not know how photographers get good pictures of kids because I found it to be almost impossible!

We get after Peter for picking his nose all the time.
He will eat the boogers too; he says, "eating boogers make your tongue strong."  YUCK!

Rigby refused to cooperate, even for treats!

Finally, a decent picture of all three!

Adeline - 1 month old

She is still a little cross-eyed sometimes.

 

I love the little O-shape she makes with her mouth.

Our Little Drama Queen

This post is extremely long and more serious.  I really want to write down this experience, so I can remember how blessed we are and how thankful I am for my children:          

          When Adeline was one week old, she decided to be a little dramatic by having a reflux episode that resulted in a trip to the emergency room and a little stay at a children's hospital.  I had just finished feeding her and handed her off to Scott so I could get ready to go to bed early.  Before I had a chance to lie down, Scott yelled from downstairs that Adeline had just spit up A LOT.  I was not too concerned because when Peter was a baby, he could usually soak the entire front of two people's shirts after each meal; I called him "King Spit-Up" (side note:  Rigby, on the other hand or end, was "Sir Poops A LOT":).  She had been laying on her back next to Scott when he heard her start to choke; so, he propped her up and started patting her on the back.  The spit-up and acid had come up so forcefully that it not only came up through her mouth but also through her airway and out her nose.  By the time my mom and I made it downstairs, she was struggling to breath and had started to turn red.  We kept patting her on the back, but she still could not breath well enough and she continued to turn red, then gray, and then her hands, ears, and lips began turning blue.  My mom said, "I think you need to call an ambulance."  I was in shock and kept thinking that she would pull out of it any second and start breathing normally, but she just got worse.
          Scott decided that we could drive faster to the hospital since it was just down the road.  We did not even take time to grab her car seat or a blanket; we just ran to the van, and I held her in the passenger's seat while Scott drove as quickly and safely as he could to the hospital.  I kept yelling at the traffic lights and cars in front of us to go faster (I am sure that did a lot of good), and both Scott and I kept saying, "please keep breathing baby girl."  I remember looking down at her limp little body that was draped over my hand and wishing she would start crying or screaming.
          We ran into the hospital and I frantically told the people at the desk that she could not breath well and was turning blue.  They called a nurse out who lea us to a room where they suctioned out her mouth and started her on oxygen.  They also hooked her up for pulse and blood pressure.

Me holding the oxygen mask over Adeline's mouth.

          After about 20 minutes at the ER, she had pinked up again.  They did a urine test, an x-ray, and some blood tests. All of the tests came back normal, but the pediatrician recommended observation at a children's hospital in Houston just to make sure she was alright.  Before transferring to the other hospital, the nurses had to put in an IV line just in case it was needed to give medication during another emergency.  The ER nurses tried twice in her left hand, once in her right hand, and once in each foot before getting a vein.  Adeline was so exhausted that she only whined while they were fishing around for her veins.  I later learned that in such young babies, they put the IV in their heads because it is nearly impossible anywhere else.  My poor baby!

The ER nurses trying to place an IV line.

          While we were waiting for the ambulance to transfer her to the children's hospital, a member of our church came by and offered to help with a blessing.  We did not know him, but I guess Scott wrote LDS on some paper work and he (a doctor) had been told by the desk people that there was another Mormon in the ER.  He also inquired about Adeline's incident and let us know that he trusted the doctor working with us, she would probably be okay, and that this incident was most likely a random occurrence.  It is amazing how the Lord watches over you!  Shortly after this, the special children's ambulance came and drove Adeline and I to the medical center in Houston while Scott followed in the car.

A special 5-point harness stretcher for the children's ambulance.

 

          When we got to the children's hospital, some more doctors looked over her again.  This time she had gotten some rest, so she was crying fairly hard.  I have never been so happy to hear a baby cry!  We spent about 12 hours at the children's hospital before they released her.  In the end, the doctors did not find anything wrong.  They just recommended burping her often, keeping her upright after feedings, and keeping an eye out for other reflux symptoms.  She has since thrown up once each week, but has had no breathing problems like the first time.  I believe she has mild reflux, but they do not recommend medication unless it is a severe case.

Adeline hooked up to a lot of monitors at the children's hospital.

             It is amazing to look back and see all the little miracles that happened:  1) Scott was near Adeline when it happened; 2) my mom was here (which she originally did not plan) to be with the boys so Scott and I could rush to the ER.  We also did not have to worry about finding anybody to watch them while we were at the hospital.  Thank you mom!; 3) there was a member of our church at the ER that helped us out; 4) and most of all, our baby girl came home with us and without any problem--just a crazy ER story!
          I set my alarm to check on her at night now, and her bed is RIGHT NEXT to my side of the bed.  I have always said that I could never have one of our kids in our room because all of the newborn sounds drive me crazy, but this experience most certainly changed my mind!  Now whenever she drives me crazy, I try to remember what it felt like to come so close to losing her.  In the end, I learned that there are circumstances beyond our control, and we must make peace with the Lord's will.  I can put her bed really close to me and set a million alarms at night, but if the Lord wants her to return to Him, no amount of prevention or worry can change that.  I am sure it would be harder to feel this way if she had been taken though.  I am just thankful that we get to continue raising her and watching her progress.  We love you baby girl!  And we love you too Peter and Rigby!

Easter 2012

All I have to say about this picture is Rigby is 2 and Peter sees candy.

Peter is so fast and furious that he gathered all of his eggs in less than 5 minutes.

 However, Rigby plodded along and took frequent pit stops.

Here is one happy 2-year old!  I wish a bucket of candy fixed my problems this easily.

This talented little girl slept through all of her brothers' chaos and her daddy's photo shoot.

We did egg dying another day because we ran out of time.  I tried having the boys decorate their egg with stickers, but water kept condensing on the outside of the egg because they had been in the fridge.

We abandoned decorating and began peeling.  Peter did well . . . .

 . . . but Rigby did not quite have the coordination and fell apart in 2 year old fashion.

 I cut, warmed, and salted the eggs.  Peter said it was like the book "Green Eggs and Ham."

Peter decided he did not like it, so . . . .

 . . . he decided to feed it to Rigby.

Well, it did not end like "Green Eggs and Ham"!

We had a FHE on Monday after Easter.  Using the nursery manual, we talked about how Easter is a celebration of the Atonement and Resurrection.  I cut out a paper tomb with a large rock that covered the entrance and a Jesus figure.  We showed them how Jesus' body went into the tomb (into the paper hole) and the rock was placed in front (paper rock covers the hole).  Then, He was resurrected, left the tomb (paper rock comes off and Jesus comes out of the hole), and goes up to heaven.  Peter played along, but Rigby cried the entire time.  I sarcastically thought, "Great!  He got A LOT out of that."  The next morning I caught Rigby playing by himself with the paper props doing EXACTLY what we had talked about.  It was really cute and sweet!  You never know what they pick up!