Phillip's Very Eventful Year

Since my last post was entirely about the little princess. I thought I'd devote a post to my little handsome boy, and chronicle his last year of firsts. It's amazing how many "firsts" a little person accomplishes. He started walking at 10 months. It was so adorable to see such a little person walking all over the place.

He took his first trip to the zoo. He wasn't too fond of the brass monkey. I must admit it was hilarious seeing him freak when Matt took him over to get a picture!

While at the zoo, he had his first carousel ride.

And his first train ride!

He celebrated his first 4th of July.

He had TWO first birthday parties. One in Utah.

He had a blast with his very own baseball cake mommy made!

And one in Texas with some yummy Blue Bell!

He learned how to drink out of a cup like a big boy!

 He went to his first Astros Game! GO 'STROS!!

He got his first haircut while in Texas.

He saw his first Moose in Grandma Neely's front yard.

He was in his first car accident. On our way home we came up on deer completely across the road. There was no way to avoid hitting them. We killed 2 and possibly injured another, but we were all ok!

He played in the snow for the first time.

He became a big brother. He's such a big helper!

He learned how to shoot a Nerf gun and somehow taught himself how to make machine gun noises that would put a grown man to shame.

And that smile is what makes all the fits and meltdowns worth it! I am the luckiest mom in the world. He recently learned to ask if someone who says "ow" or seems to be in pain is "ok." It makes me feel instantly better when I'm having a stressful day and this little one walks up to me and asks, "kay?" You just can't help cracking a smile. I think to myself, "Yes, I'm ok." I am the luckiest woman in the world and while times may get stressful. At the end of the day I have the best little family ever and I couldn't ask for more!

Annaleigh's Blessing Day

This past Sunday we blessed our beautiful baby girl. I cannot tell you how I excited I was for her this day. We had originally planned to bless her 2 months before, but she got sick, very sick. There were days when both Matt and I feared this day would never come. It probably seems a little dramatic, but it's true. She was a sleepy baby from birth. She didn't want to wake up to eat. She lost a pound in the hospital and became jaundiced. She also had these weird choking spells while in the hospital. She would be sleeping and all of a sudden start gagging. During one she was rushed to the nursery where they suctioned her lungs to remove leftover fluid. Despite all of this we were able to turn things around and bring her home on time. She was beautiful!

She continued to be a sleepy baby as she slowly got rid of her jaundice. Then at 2 weeks she started getting sick. It started out with her just spitting up A LOT. We would use a blanket as a burp cloth in an attempt to catch it all. Then I noticed the spit up was really mucousy. The next day she started again with the random choking/gagging. All of this while we were moving. I can't begin to explain how scary it was to hear her choke in the backseat and have listen intently to make sure she was still breathing. Four days after her first symptoms appeared she had developed a nasty cough. This was  a Sunday so we got her in to see her Dr Monday. She was clinically diagnosed (a test was never done) with RSV. Monday through Thursday of that week we took her into the Dr's office once or twice a day to check her oxygen levels and lungs. Thursday the Dr. told us she seemed to be doing better and it looked like she was on the downhill side of the virus. Matt and I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Unfortunately, our battle wasn't over yet. Throughout the weekend she continued to cough, gag, choke. We thought maybe she had a milk allergy so we tried a new formula. We tried feeding her small amounts closer together. Nothing seemed to be working. By Monday, I was so distraught. I told Matt I just couldn't do it anymore. I was so tired of taking her to the Dr. only to hear "You're doing a great job. Just keep doing what you're doing." I felt like we weren't doing a good job at all. Our job as parent's is to keep her safe and from hurting. She was vomiting her entire bottle as soon as we got it into her and would just fall asleep. I knew she wasn't getting enough food. SO, back to the Dr. we went. This time the Dr. decided to send us to get chest x-rays and do a whooping cough test. She sent us over to the hospital and said she would meet us there to do the test herself. As we were waiting for the X-rays, she calls and tells us she wants to just send her to Primary Children's Hospital, an hour away. This is when I lost it. I knew it was a good thing. She would be well taken care of and would be getting the care she needed. It was just a confirmation that she really was THAT sick. Babies shouldn't be allowed to get that sick. That was the longest night of  my life. The Dr. decided it would be best to check her into our hospitals ER and transport her by ambulance. We will NEVER do this again. It took them 5 tries before they finally were able to get an IV started. This was with the help of the Anesthesiologist! They ended up shaving her head  and placing her IV there. We spent 2 nights in the hospital before going home with oxygen. It was another couple of weeks before she was able to keep her oxygen levels high enough without oxygen.

The entire time she was sick all she wanted to do was eat and sleep. She didn't seem like a baby. Every time she would make a noise at night I would jump out of bed to check on her. I was so worried she would choke and I wouldn't hear her. Waking up to her not breathing was my worst fear. So you see, her blessing day was so much more than just her blessing day for us.. It was our "she made it," sigh of relief! And wasn't she just gorgeous!