What a month!

 January was rough on us.  I think it was rough on a lot of people.  There was a lot of nasty stuff going around.  It started out with a bang on New Year's Day when Nate came into our room in the morning saying he wasn't feeling well and promptly threw up.  His stomach bug lasted a few days and of course as soon as he was all better the girls both got sick the same night.  That was a rough night, especially because Joe had to be up early in the morning for work so I was trying to let him sleep.  He still took a shift, though, and somehow we made it through.  Elizabeth was throwing up every 15 minutes or so.  Joe ended up giving her a blessing and soon after she was able to sleep.  So, it took a few days to recover from all of that.

Not long after that came the colds and coughs.  Nate got it first.  I tried so hard to keep him from coughing all over the baby but I guess it was a losing battle.  The girls got sick and then Elijah did, too.  For a few days he wasn't too bad.  He was definitely sick but still breathing pretty well and eating alright.  Then, about 4 days into it he had a terrible night followed by a terrible day.  He wasn't eating well at all and really seemed to be retracting.  I ended up taking him in to urgent care on the Saturday of MLK Jr. weekend.  They checked his pulse-ox and it was pretty low.  They told me he needed to go to the hospital.  They wanted to keep him on oxygen until he got there, too, so that had to transport him in an ambulance.  It was kind of frightening but honestly I was just glad by that point that he was getting the help he needed to breathe.  I was much more freaked out at home wondering what to do for him and feeling pretty powerless to help him.  Plus, it helped that I had been through this before when Natalie got RSV when she was just tiny.  I knew what to expect.

We made it to the hospital.  We spent a few hours in the ER:

They decided to admit him and finally got a room for us.  It was a shared room with another sick little 2 year old girl until she went home and we had our own room.  We spent two nights there in the hospital with Elijah on oxygen and getting the gunk suctioned out of him.

So that was how we spent our three day weekend.  That ended up being a blessing, though, since Joe had Monday off so he could be with the kids the whole time.  By the end of it, Eli was sleeping and eating a lot better.  I had to wonder at times if the whole hospital stay was worth it.  I could tell he was so stressed out by all the monitors and the nurses bugging him all the time.  That's just the nature of being in the hospital.  Still, I was glad that he got the help he needed to breathe.  It's just so scary with little newborns. 

By the end of the next week, he was doing a lot better and back to his happy little self.  Unfortunately we weren't out of the woods yet.  After avoiding all the sickness, I finally got hit with the cold.  It wasn't bad at first until January 29th, the day before Elizabeth's birthday.  I felt terrible that night.  Joe was gone for work, so he could  be home the next night for her birthday, and I was passed out on the couch.  Luckily Elizabeth knows how to make mac 'n cheese and the kids fended for themselves until bedtime.  I was feeling so feverish and just felt awful until about midnight when I woke up to feed Elijah and the fever had broken, thankfully.  Then, I had to get up early the next day for birthday festivities and it was just non-stop.  I was definitely blessed with extra strength.  After dealing with all the junk in my system for another week or so, I finally got over it and we've been pretty healthy ever since (knock on wood). 

So, it was a rough month.  But, there were blessings throughout--including a lot of help from family and our ward with meals and things.  The definite high point was celebrating Elizabeth's 8th birthday.  More on that next...

Sibling Love

Elijah is one loved little baby, especially by his older siblings, and we have hundreds of pictures to prove it....

Elizabeth loves to hold him.  She is such a wonderful big sister.  She loves to carry him around.  I remember one night in particular when she was dancing around with him and it was so sweet to watch.  I did get a little nervous when she was bringing him up the stairs to me one time.  But, she does fine and she loves to help me--whether its holding him, helping to bathe him, grabbing a new outfit for me or whatever.  She has been a big help.  He loves her right back and will often smile up at her when she's around.

Natalie has been a big help, too.  She can often be found lying or sitting next to him and singing him a song.  She also loves to help bathe him and choose clothes for him to wear.  One moment I remember with her is when I laid Elijah in her bed one night while I helped Nate in the bath.  She came in and found him there and was so happy just laying by him.  She wanted him to stay there all night.

Elizabeth took these cute pictures:

Of course it isn't always roses and sunshine:

Nate has done so well with the whole transition to second youngest child.  He is a very good big brother and he's proud of it.  He will often say very proudly, "Big brothers help babies by putting their binkies in their mouths."  And that is his favorite job.  It helps me a lot, too.  The only problem is when he and the girls are little overzealous in trying to force his binky in when he doesn't want it.  They don't like to listen to him cry.

Nate is often found laying by Elijah on the floor like this, speaking to him in a whisper.  He is very gentle with him:

 

Here's some cute ones from just yesterday:

 

I sure love spending my days with those two.

Here's one of all the tots from an early morning before school:

Four kids!  Holy cow.

Christmas Break

We had a great Christmas at home.  Elijah and I came home from the hospital on the 17th and then Marsha flew into town on the 18th and stayed for two weeks.  It was so wonderful having her around--she was such a big help.  Of course, with a newborn around, we didn't venture out much at all.  It wasn't the most exciting or eventful holiday break.  We did a lot of this:

 

There were some exciting times, too, including a rousing game of Monopoly.  

Just look at how enthusiastic we are:

 

Easy cheese straight from the can!  We partied hard.

(For the record, canned cheese is Christmas tradition for Joe.  I can't stand the stuff and did not partake.)

We did throw together a little nativity photo shoot for a last ditch effort at a Christmas card. Nate refused to wear his head band thing and Eli wasn't thrilled about the experience but they turned out pretty cute:

I was doing some with the flash and some without.  

If only I had the photography skills to carry out the plans in my head. 

Here are some outtakes, too:

The big day finally came.  Once again, I don't really have any pictures.  We did get some cute video of the kids seeing their stockings and gifts from Santa.

Eli didn't really get what the big deal was:

Nate was thrilled to receive 3 light sabers!  (Two from Santa and one from a cousin)  

He is already planning for next year when he is going to ask Santa for 3 more light sabers to complete his collection.

 

 

Natalie was thrilled to not only get her butterfly net but also a butterfly growing kit.

 

It was actually the best gift.  We sent in for the larvae and she was so excited to finally get them in the mail.  Then, it was amazing to watch the caterpillars grow and build their cocoons and then turn into butterflies!  We just released them the other day (at least the few that survived being loved by eager kids).

For some reason I didn't get any pictures of Elizabeth with her American girl doll--Josefina.  She has since made her a little bed, complete with pillow and sheet.  She is learning fast that American girl stuff is expensive and requires a lot of saving up to get.

The cold, rainy weather kept us inside, too.  But, we did have a few nice days including one day when I took all 4 kids on a walk/bike ride to the park.  It was my first outing with all the kids and it went pretty well.  I saw this beautiful rainbow and just felt happy to be out.

 

We sure loved having Marsha here and were so glad she could come. Especially when I had some difficulties one day.  I had this sudden extremely sharp pain in my stomach.  Joe ended up taking me back to the hospital where I learned I had gall stones.  Luckily, the pain subsided and I haven't had any flare-ups since.  I've been trying to clean up my diet and I think it is probably helping.

We don't know what we'd do without Grandma Marsha!

The kids were so sad to see her go.