happy easter!

I love my children.
I would die for them.

Jesus Christ DID.

I am eternally grateful.

dear bluebell ice cream co.

Thank you for making popcicle Bullets. They are a lifesaver for my little tonsil boy.

p.s. I think I might be the only Texan alive that doesn't like Homemade Vanilla. It makes me gag. Just thought you should know.

aftermath

The surgery went well. Dr. Bauer said his tonsils were massive, so we should see a lot of improvement after he's healed. The ABR also went well and the audiologist shared with me the preliminary results, although the real report won't be ready for a week. She said that his hearing hasn't changed. I was... shocked.... but so relieved at the same time. So he doesn't have fluid in his ears, and his hearing hasn't gotten worse, so that must mean he's just being a two-year-old. Go figure.

So the recovery of a tonselectomy patient really depends on the parent. It's vital that you give him pain meds every three hours, and they have to stay really hydrated or they could end up in the ER. But in reality, getting a two-year-old to take nasty medicine 8 times a day and drink fluids when their throat hurts is easier said than done.

So when I went to pick up the prescriptions at our local grocery store, Carter spotted a chocolate muffin and asked for it, so I was like, um ok... I guess. So as we were waiting, he actually ate a few bites of muffin. This is three hours after throat surgery, mind you. (Although new rules say that let the kid eat when he's ready to eat. No time frame.) And then when we got home he had a cup full of goldfish and a little bit of dinner roll and chicken for dinner. But initially he wouldn't touch the fluids, which really concerned me. But now he's drinking better, although he hasn't met his 40 ounces of fluid quota they want him to have every day. But we're pushing the fluids and giving him his pain medicine as prescribed, so I think he's going to be okay.

They say there's a honeymoon period the first couple of days, and then the pain really sets in on day three and four. The first half of today was pretty bad. But right now Carter is watching tv and eating more goldfish, so he's fine for now. I just hope that those goldfish don't do any damage.

Wish us luck with tonight.

verklempt

I was looking through pictures from an insanely fun photoshoot I had tonight, and got all verklempt when I came to this one. For some reason it just moved me. Springtime, adorable kids, amazing locations, perfect light... this is why I love photography.

abby's recent artwork

The first is Mommy and Daddy


And this one is a rainbow and a castle.


Abby told me the purple thing under the rainbow is Cinderella. I guess she just ran out of room.

Not bad, huh?

i try

But getting a picture of my two kids together is har-uud. Abby was on board, but Carter? Not so much.







Here's Abby explaining to me why it was absolutely important for her to go "this" way instead of "that" way. It gives you a glimpse of how girly she is, especially her mannerisms.




And here's Carter being all-boy.

One of my favorite activities is to pack up the kids and go exploring at different nearby parks. I love their curiosity and wide-eyed wonder, and I love being able to capture it.

Side-note: I'm experimenting with some different editing techniques and gave these a vintage look. I'm not sure it's my style, but its fun to play around. I'd like to know what you think.

friday it is

We decided to just get it over with and schedule the surgery for this Friday. I guess due to Easter, the surgery center isn't as busy as usual, so we had no problem scheduling. This weekend is General Conference and so it was going to be an easy going weekend anyway. Plus, Brian could be traveling soon, and I'd really like him here to help with the aftermath. And I know this is going to improve Carter's quality of life, so the sooner the better.


So Friday it is.


We'll let you know how it goes.

abr, adenoids, and tonsils, oh my!

Although we see our audiologist every other month it seems, it has been over a year since Carter saw our ENT. So we went to see him today to do a little check up and talk about his possible hearing loss. They did a tympanigram which came back normal, and he looked in his ears and found a lot of wax, but no infection. So he definitely wants to proceed with an ABR to see what his hearing looks like right now.

He also took a look down his throat and then asked me if Carter snored. I knew where that question was going to lead, and I was glad he brought it up, because sometimes he sounds like an under water lawn mower when he sleeps. And thanks to Leah, I've really been congnisant of it lately. I don't really listen to Carter when he's sleeping at night, but when he sleeps in the car, which is almost every day, he snores, gurgles, holds his breath, sleeps with his mouth open, the whole shebang. He also wakes up multiple times at night, and his overall grouchiness during the day may also be a indicator that he's not sleeping well. The doctor then said that his tonsils were so large they were filling up the back of his throat and it was no wonder he's not sleeping very well. So he suggested that while we have him sedated for the ABR, we go ahead and take out the tonsils and adenoids. I asked about a sleep study and he said that with the symptoms I explained and what he saw in his throat, he doesn't really think its necessary. Plus, I doubt he will be a very good sleep study patient.

So we are in the process of scheduling a triple procedure, hopefully sooner than later. Although I am totally not looking forward to the 10 days of recovery they warned me about. But if it means my baby will sleep better, and maybe even be happier, then I'll do anything!

i haven't blogged in a week!

So I guess I better do that.


...Tomorrow.

worried

I forgot to mention that Carter's hearing has dropped significantly this week. Like, a LOT. I'm really hoping that its because of the ear infections, because his loss occured at the same time he got sick, but he's been on antibiotics for three days now, seems to be feeling a lot better, and I haven't noticed any improvement in his hearing.

I'm really worried about it. Because of the type of loss they have, I know its inevitable that his hearing will drop. But he's been so stable and I was hoping he would stay that way for a long time. Cross your fingers for us.

remembering you

I was ten or twelve, I can't quite remember exactly, and my dad had just recently been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. It was an exceptionally cold March evening, and my mom bundled us up and took us to visit my dad, who was in the hospital receiving treatment for a pretty bad spell he had recently had. After our visit, none of which I can remember, we headed home and as we neared our house, it started to snow.

When we got home, we jumped out of the car and ran to the middle of our cul-de-sac and played with the falling snow as it swirled around us. I remember standing under the street lamp and looking up and watching the snow fall and glisten as it reflected off the bright flourescent light. I closed my eyes, lifted my face to the light, and let the cold snow fall on my face. And at that moment, I forgot about the scary things happening with my dad, and everything seemed right with the world.

Tonight, on this cold March day, it snowed, Dad. And I thought of you.

you know...

It's so much easier to blog when you keep up with the events happening in your life. Save them up, and it seems a little overwhelming. Then, as I'm sure you know, nothing ever gets blogged.

Take my Christmas, for example.

But anyway, I watched my sister (Melinda's) three kids this whole week while they went on a much needed vacation to Costa Rica. Don't worry people. I'm not that nice. We're doing a trade and she's got our kids in May.

So the week actually went really well, for the most part. The kids got along with eachother, they played outside a ton, and we tried to go and do something every day. Missy and Mom came to visit on separate occasions, which was nice too. But then I ate standing up the majority of the time, I swept the floors five or six times a day and did an unnatural amount of laundry. And don't ask me about how the nights went. I really don't want to talk about that.

And then there's the matter of little Carter, who has been healthy for six months and decided to choose this week to get a double ear infection. The kid had goup seeping out of every orifice on his face. Yeah, I said orifice. So he was miserable and clingy and grouchy for the greater part of the week, but he's feeling better now. thankfully.

My sister is back, with some crazy stories to tell, and everyone is in their own bed tonight. Yay!

abby and carter's book of feelings

My sister Ginny is a brilliant speech pathologist and works with special needs kids, specifically autistic children, in an elementary school in Mansfield. She's commented a few times about how expressive our kids are and has asked me to print out some pictures so that she can use them to work with her students. After talking with her about it a little more, we decided that I should take it a step further and make a book called "Abby and Carter's Book of Feelings," and give them out to other therapists to use with their students to work on feelings and emotions. Cause you know, my kids certainly know how to express their emotions.


I'm thinkin this picture will make the cut.



But then again, it may scare a few kids. It scares me.

*
*

Also, I'm a mother of FIVE this week! More on that later.

do it thrice, shame on me.

How many toothbrushes shoved down the toilet by your two-year-old do you think it takes to be considered a bad parent?

Let's hope it's not three.

two cousins

I recently made friends with another photographer in McKinney, and she invited me over to a photoshoot in her home studio saturday. And when I say home studio, I mean, decked out home studio, with thousands of dollars of lighting equipment, backdrops and props. Now most of you know, I have zero experience in studio lighting, and I'm kinda proud to be a natural light photographer. But I've been wanting to learn all about the other side of photography, so I was excited to learn. But after about 30 minutes of shooting, I was completely overwhelmed and felt totally inept. Shooting with synthetic light is completely different than natural light and I have a LOT to learn.

So anyway, after that experience, I was craving some pure sunlight. So with 30 minutes notice, I called up my SIL Carrie and she met me at my favorite location to do some pictures with Abby and her daughter Mikayla. All I can say is thank God for the sun.

Funny though, with all the sun drenched pictures I took, this one turned out to be my favorite of the evening. I love the raw, broken look of it.



You can see the rest HERE.

someday

Someday your hair will grow darker and thicker

Someday those ears won't stick out so much

Someday the sweet little dimple might fade away

Someday you won't stick out that bottom lip like you do

Someday the rest of your face might catch up with your big eyes

Someday your cheeks won't be so smushy and soft

Someday you're going to grow up

But THIS face will be emblazoned on my mind forever

out of abby's mouth today

"Playing outside is my job."

I asked her what my job was and she didn't answer. Probably smart on her part.

if you're reading this

then you obviously read my blog. I'm trying to get an idea how many friends/family/stalkers I have out there, so go over to the sidebar and click the button! It will be up for one month.


Thanks for reading!

ballet girl

Abby just started her first ever dance class. I've been looking forward to this day since I first dreamed of having a little girl! Isn't she so stinkin' cute? But man, she's growing up. :(


Carter is also taking a little 30 minute tumbling class with a bunch of other 2 year olds. He's the star of the class, which isn't saying much. I thought every 2 year old could do a forward roll by themselves, but I guess not. All the other moms were oohing and ahhing when Carter did his stuff. Kinda funny.

I'll try to get some video of both of them in action.

p.c.s.

Carter has "photographer's child syndrome" (pcs) really bad right now. He won't look at me when I have the camera up to my face. So a couple of days ago we walked down to the creek and I decided to take every picture at chest level. I just hung the camera around my neck, aimed it at Abby or Carter, held down the shutter and hoped for the best. Suprisingly, most of them were in focus and I think actually I got some decent shots! I may have to use this method more often!

six years, baby!

I love my life. And it all started with him.


OH, and by the way, this is my 600th post! How appropriate, 6 years, 600 posts.

you were totally right

Now that I've looked at it more, I don't like the edited version one bit.

So here's another version to redeem myself.

its one o'clock

...in the a.m. people. I'm trying to finish the wedding I did earlier this month and I need a break. So I thought I would share two pictures from the sweetheart shoots. These are befores and afters of the two beautiful ladies.

Here's the before of Sarah:



And after. I played around with it and made it soft and really muted. I'm not sure how I feel about it. What do you think?

Audrey's before:

And after. I again played around with color, giving it a blue-ish tone. She kinda reminded me of a little wood nymph so I thought these colors would fit.

curiosity killed the.........dryer?

Carter is a very curious kid. He likes to climb, he likes to cram things into places they don't belong, and he likes a good challenge. Lethal combination.

Case in point: THIS was found in our toilet a couple of months ago. After a few weeks of constant toilet problems, Brian finally had to take apart the toilet to find out what the problem was.



And then today he put his blanket, shoes, two pair of my shoes, three balls, a cup and two cars into the diaper pail in the garage. I couldn't find my shoes all day and then knew there must be a stash somewhere when his favorite blanket went missing. Why did you have to choose the nastiest place on earth, Carter?

And THEN I put a load of clothes into the dryer, turned it on and it made an awful thud and stopped. Oh, great. So we were scrambling to find a neighbor to take our clothes to when I remembered pulling carter down from the top of the dryer earlier that day and thought maybe he had done something to it. So Brian took apart the back of the dryer and found two rubber gloves, a couple of socks and one of Abby's mittens - all which he had shoved down the lint trap.
Thankfully the dryer survived the attack.

Needless to say, he's keeping us on our toes.

oh, really?

who's da man?

Two weeks ago we lost Carter's last pacifier, (and I don't mean "lost," we really did lose it) and he he's been paci free ever since. It was tough the first 10 days or so because he would wake up multiple times in the night, but he's done good the last few days and he doesn't even ask for it anymore.



It's so nice to see that smile all the time!

nature walk

Doesn't Abby have the GREATEST smile?!

And here's a couple of "the lip."

a pleasant mistake

Sometimes photography mistakes make beautiful images anyway. My focal point was off in this picture (see how the grass to the left is in focus) but there's just something about this image that I love, despite its flaws.

Go on over to my photography blog to see more from this shoot.

contentment

Abby had her four-year well visit yesterday and it was pure insanity. Brian watched Carter (thankfully) and I refrained from giving a lot of information to Abby about where we were going because I knew If SHE knew she would be a basket case. So we drove up to the doctor and she immediately started chanting "I don't want to hurt me". And then when the nurse called us in she went ballistic. The nurse couldn't get anything done and our conversations were drowned out by moaning and screaming. And I had to pin her down to take off her clothes for the exam and then hide the clothes in a high cabinet. That really set her off and she crawled in the corner beside the exam table, hugged her knees and screamed bloody murder for 15 minutes while we waited for the doctor to come in. She was like a caged wounded animal and it was very strange and sad to see her so scared. And there was nothing I could do.

When the doctor came in it was more screaming and talking over the screaming while he tried to exam her, but then he told her he wanted to look in her ears. She immediately stopped crying pulled off her hearing aids, let him look in her ears and nose and then started screaming again after I put her aids back on. At least she feels safe with a doctor looking in her ears.

And if it couldn't get any worse, when they gave her the shots it was like sheer terror. Poor little girl. I hope she doesn't get sick any time soon cause there's no way she's going to let us set foot in that doctor's office for a long time.

BUT then as we were getting in the car after this whole ordeal, she said, "Mommy, I had fun at the doctor. You have fun at the doctor?"

??????????!

Anyway, here's a picture I took with Abby and Cousin Ben at Grandmas house the other day. I love this picture. They look so happy and content without a care in the world. I am so glad we have so many cousins that live so close together and love each other so much.



Oh and her stats are:

Ht. 42" - 90%
Wt. 39.4 - 75%

I was watching the nurse measure her and I think she was a little off on the height. I think its more like 41.5." But I guess that's still pretty tall.

my happy happy song

I would say that Don't Stop Believin' by the Glee Cast is my current happy song, but that would be an understatement. For some reason that song makes me wanna get up and sing and dance in the isle like Aunt Gladys at a holy rollin' pentecostal revival.



Okay, maybe not. But I have busted out on the treadmill a time or two.

And while I'm on the subject, I lu-u-u-v Glee. Lurve it!