Aedan's 2 Month Appointment & Ben Back in the Hospital Again

Samantha: 37 Months, Week 4
Aedan: Week 11

Tuesday morning was more fun with Grandpa while Daddy was working on recovering.  Here are some cute pictures of Samantha and her "buddy" in the morning.  She is always so excited to see him.

We went to Tuesday Tales with Grandpa that morning, and again, it was good that I had someone there to help me because Aedan was kind of fussy and I ended up having to take him to the bathroom to change his diaper twice, once time resulting in a complete outfit change.  The last few times going to the library with Aedan have been a bit difficult for some reason.  However, Samantha really enjoyed hearing stories, she got to get another prize for the summer reading program which was a coupon for a free ice cream sundae.  She was a little disappointed that it wasn't a tangible prize, so the librarian gave her a sticker as well.  I enjoyed watching Samantha share trains with other little kids at the library.  Even when she didn't have to, she willingly gave up her trains.  I love that she has that in her personality, looking out for others, particularly for those that are younger than her.

After a good afternoon nap and cooking out sausage for dinner, we went to use Samantha's ice cream coupon at Bruster's.  We figured it would be best to use that coupon as soon as possible so she realized what it meant when she got the coupon as a prize.  She chose a Dino sundae and was pretty proud to show it off.

On Wednesday morning, Samantha and I ran some errands while Grandpa and Daddy stayed home with Aedan.  We dropped off a couple bags to sell at Once Upon a Child, took many bags of recycling in, and even took some bags to Goodwill.  Our car was packed full when we left and empty when we returned home.  It felt good to get rid of so many things, and we even made $35 selling baby things to Once Upon a Child.  We got home just in time for lunch, nursing Aedan, and getting ready for Samantha and Aedan's doctor appointments.  It was nice being able to take both of them in at the same time; Samantha for her 3 year check up and Aedan for his 2 month check up.  Samantha was very interested when Dr. Esarey was checking Aedan, asking, "How's his back doing?" when he listened to his back with the stethoscope.  Then, when it was her turn to get examined, she made sure to tell Dr. Esarey about the mosquito bites she had on her arm and grinned excitedly when she got her blood pressure checked with a real blood pressure cuff.  She couldn't help but laugh when the doctor looked in her ear and tickled her.  He is so good with kids, putting them at ease, and thoroughly answering any questions that we might have.  I'm going to miss this doctor's office when we move to Oxford.

Then, at the end of the appointment, it was time for Aedan to get his 2 month shots.  You never know how your child will react to shots for the first time, so we braced ourselves for a rough night.  We gave Aedan a dose of Tylenol before the shots to help with any lingering pain he might feel.  The first shot he got was given orally, and Aedan was just laying on the table laughing at the nurse when she was trying to give him the medicine.  He just loves interacting with people face to face, and loves it when someone talks to him.  He has gotten much more vocal lately and will talk and coo, almost like he's having a conversation with you.  Anyways, before going to the doctor we prepared Samantha for what was going to happen to Aedan, that he would get shots and probably cry pretty hard.  Ben was going to take her out of the room when he got his shots because we figured him crying would make her upset as well.  However, she didn't want to leave.  As the nurse was preparing to give Aedan the shots in his legs, she started singing, "Jesus Loves the Little Children" as a way to cheer him up.  However, Aedan burst into tears as soon as the nurse started holding his legs down.  Then, after she poked him with two needles in one leg and one needle in the other leg, he screamed and turned bright red.  And of course, Samantha started crying then too.  Ben took Samantha out at that point while I held Aedan, trying to calm him down a bit and collect our things.

Here are their measurements from their appointment.  Aedan weighed in at 14 pounds, 9 ounces, in the 90-95th percentile.  He height was 24 inches, in the 75th percentile, and his head circumference was 41.6 cm, in the 75th percentile.  Samantha weighed in at 35.5 pounds, in the 75-90th percentile.  Her height was 38.5 inches, and her head circumference was 49.6 cm.  They also wrote down her blood pressure which was 96/58.

Here are some pictures of my little man from later that evening.  You can see the little band-aids on his legs from where he got his shots.

Thursday morning we had a park play date with moms from church.  Grandpa volunteered to stay home with Aedan, and Samantha and I headed out for a fun morning together.  The park we were supposed to meet at was closed for some tree work, so while we were waiting to see where other moms went, we stopped at a local teacher supply store that I had a leftover gift certificate for.  I let Samantha pick out a special toy, but it was so hard for her to choose!  There were so many wonderful things in the store.  I eventually narrowed it down to two different Playmobil toy sets and let her choose.  She picked a fairy village and couldn't wait to get home and play with it.

After making our purchase, I heard that several moms had gone to Bryan Park instead, so Samantha and I went there to have a morning of fun playing outside on the playground together, and with some special friends from church.  Samantha had a great time spinning around, climbing up a very tall ladder and sliding down a fireman's pole, and of course, riding on the bumblebee.

Samantha continued to take great naps throughout this week, even with all the visitors staying with us.  That afternoon Grandpa was holding Aedan when he was getting a little fussy and before he knew it, he fell soundly asleep.  What an adorable little fellow!

That afternoon, Grandpa left to go back to Chicago.  Ben was starting to feel better.  As you can see in this picture, he was able to sit up and do work on his computer.  So since we were doing pretty well, Grandpa decided we'd be okay on our own.

Here are some pictures of my little guy after nursing him that afternoon.  He has just gotten so big!  He has gotten quite chubby in the last couple weeks, has officially outgrown his 0-3 month clothes, and even some 3 month onesies are getting a little tight on his tummy.  But he is oh so cute!

And here we are together, hanging out on the couch, talking to Daddy while Samantha slept peacefully upstairs.  We remarked how different it is having our house to ourselves again after having people here to help us for the past two weeks.

Little did we know what would be in store for us in the coming weekend.  That evening, Ben was holding Aedan for just a few minutes and it was almost too much for him.  This got me a bit worried because he had wonderful birthday plans for me over the next couple of days, but everything involved Ben being home with the kids by himself.  So, even though my dad just left and we were finally by ourselves, I convinced Ben to call his mom and see if she could come down for just a brief 24 hours while I went out for my birthday events.  She agreed that she could come, which was much to my relief, so that way I could truly relax and enjoy my birthday.

On Friday morning, Samantha, Aedan, and I went to participate in another vision study.  They had something for Samantha and Aedan this time, so it was kind of fun.  For Aedan, they held him in front of a little black box with a hole in the front that he looked into.  Inside the box was a screen with a Baby Einstein video playing, and the screen would move back and forth, closer to Aedan and farther away, while a camera measured how his eyes were reacting and focusing  For Samantha, she sat with her chin on a chin rest and they covered up eyes alternately as she watched small video clips at varying distances.  She was a wonderful participant and sat very still for them.  Apparently they thought they would limit this study to 4-8 year olds, but after seeing how well-behaved Samantha was last time, they offered to let her try it.  After spending about an hour there, I decided it was time to head home because Aedan was getting pretty tired and needed to nap.

Have I ever mentioned that I have the most wonderful, thoughtful husband?  Well, he went WAY above and beyond for my birthday and our anniversary this year.  Back probably a month ago or so, he came home early from campus one afternoon and said, "I tried calling you, did you get my call?"  I checked my phone, and it didn't even say I had a missed call.  So I said that I could turn it off and turn it back on again to see if that made any difference, but Ben suggested he would just call me to see if it worked.  Well, it still wasn't ringing, which I thought was really odd, until we heard a ringing in his briefcase.  He then reached in and pulled out a new iPhone for me.  I was SO surprised!  I had no idea he was planning this for me, and it was so sweet of him, especially in the way that he did it.  Now, the iPhone would have been way more than enough, but he had a couple other surprises up his sleeve as well.  He had a couple of fun, pampering days planned for me.  He set up a one hour massage and one hour tub soak on Friday, July 11; and he organized a girl afternoon where I could get lunch with my friends and go get pedicures together on July 12.  It was SO very sweet of him, and all week long I was looking forward to this time away from children and packing.

Well, unfortunately, Ben started to take a turn for the worse with his health.  I could tell when he woke up on Friday morning that something was not quite right.  He started complaining about it hurting when he needed to go to the bathroom and thought he might have a urinary tract infection.  I urged him to call the doctor, which he did, and they told him to come in and give a urine sample.  Then, after returning from that, he still was not looking too good and said he felt like he had the chills.  I took his temperature, and it was two degrees above normal for him.  After leaving the hospital after his surgery, they told him that if he had a fever he should go to the ER, so again I urged him to do something about how he was feeling.  He said he didn't think it was necessary to go to the ER, but he at least called his doctor to let them know what was going on.  They wanted him to come into the office so they could do blood work and see if he was having some sort of infection.

So as Ben took off to the doctor, I took off to my afternoon at the spa, leaving Grandma at home while Samantha and Aedan were napping.  I was really looking forward to my massage and had to try really hard to relax and enjoy it instead of worry about how Ben was doing.  The massage and tub soak were wonderful and SO relaxing.  I think I even dozed off a couple times during the massage.  It was nice to be able to be without kids and responsibilities for awhile, although I have to admit that it was kind of weird taking time for myself because I don't do that very often.  Thank you so much, my love, for this kind and thoughtful present!  It was perfect for what has been going on in our lives over the past few months.

Towards the end of my time at the spa, Ben texted me to let me know he had to go to the hospital for another CT scan.  The urine results were clear, so the pain he was feeling was not from a UTI.  The blood test showed that his white blood cell count was very high, so they were worried that there is some kind of an infection going on, possibly an abscessed infection from surgery.  He got a strong shot of antibiotics, had to wait for awhile, and then was sent to the hospital for a CT scan at 6:30.  We were expecting him to get that and then be home for the night, possibly even in time for Samantha's bedtime, but oh how we were wrong.  Around 9:15 p.m. Ben texted me to let me know that it was indeed an abscess and that they wanted him to stay in the hospital for the night to give him IV antibiotics.  This was not at all what we wanted or expected.  Ben and I were both pretty frustrated and discouraged because he had this surgery to prevent himself from having to go to the hospital, and here he was less than two weeks later, back in the hospital again.  I was so glad that Ben's mom had come to help us out because now we really needed her help with Ben back in the hospital again.  That night, after both kids were in bed, I went over to visit with Ben and drop of some things for him.  We talked to the nurse a little bit concerning what the abscess was and how they will prevent his colon from continuing to leak and giving him more infections.  She made it sound like they would have to go back in and fix it, meaning more surgery for Ben, more time in the hospital, more pain for Ben, and a delayed move date.  Ben and I just sat in the hospital room crying for a few minutes, feeling so discouraged and so upset that he was back in the hospital and may have to be cut open again, just when he was beginning to feel more like himself.

For some reason, Samantha had a hard time falling asleep on Friday night.  I don't know if it was just because of all the visitors we've had coming and going or if she was worried about Daddy being in the hospital again.  When I got back from the hospital a little after 10:30, she was still awake and making noise in her room.  I went in there and she was just crying, saying she couldn't fall asleep.  I sat in her room with her until she fell asleep.  She just kept reaching out for me, almost as if to make sure I was still close by her.  I don't get to be with her when she falls asleep very often, so I treasured this time to hold her and snuggle her until she quietly drifted into dreamland.

Sadly enough, even though Samantha was up very late on Friday, she woke up before 7:00 on Saturday morning, making for a pretty tired girl most of the morning.  I decided to cancel my plans with my friends for lunch and pedicures because I did not want to leave Grandma with lunch and nap time duty all by herself.  So we just spent the morning playing at home and waiting to hear word on how Daddy was doing.

Ben was in quite a bit of pain and was sick to his stomach because of the medicine they were giving him.  He was not allowed to eat or drink anything in case he had to go into surgery.  Ben called me when Dr. Kasza came in to talk to him about the results of the CT scan.  He said there was indeed an abscess because there was some leakage from the connection point in his colon.  The abscess was less than 2 cm which apparently is too small to drain, so the best method to help the infection clear up was to keep Ben in the hospital on strong IV antibiotics until his white blood cell count came back down, signally the end of the infection.  That was the best case scenario.  Worse case scenario, if things didn't get better or got worse, the doctor would have to cut him open and see what was going on, to possibly fix the area where it was leaking.  Surgery had two different options, both of which required a colostomy bag, which would then be followed by another surgery farther down the road.  This was obviously a low blow to us.  However, we were encouraged by the fact that surgery was not imminent as we both thought the night before.  We just hoped and prayed the the antibiotics would work so that Ben could avoid going back into surgery again.  We were not excited about him having to spend more time in the hospital, but that was a much better option considering the alternatives.  The doctor seemed fairly optimistic about the antibiotics working since we caught the infection early and Ben is young and his body can fight back better.

So, we prepared for another several day stint in the hospital, as the doctor said the earliest he could get out would be Tuesday.  Grandma offered to stay a few more days or to take Samantha back to Upland for a few days until we figured out how Ben was doing and when he would be returning home.  We decided it may be easiest on everyone for Samantha to go home with Grandpa and Grandma for a couple days, leaving me here with just Aedan to take care of, and making it easier for me to visit Ben at the hospital.

Samantha had special plans with Andrea, Michelle, and Sadie from 3-6, so I was very happy that I got Samantha down for an early nap, which she desperately needed.  Samantha was super excited about leaving with Andrea, giving Grandma and I time to pack up some boxes while she was not around.  They played at a park, got ice cream, and then had hot dogs for dinner.  Samantha came back worn out, so she clearly had a good time.  It was so sweet of them to offer to take her like that.

After Samantha got back from her play date, we got her stuff packed up into Grandma's car and they headed for Upland.  Shortly after they left, Aedan and I went to the hospital to hang out with Ben for awhile.  He was still on an NPO diet, which means no food and no water, just in case they needed to take him into surgery.  He would be on that diet at least until Sunday morning when they do more blood work and when Ben talked to the doctor again.  We just hoped and prayed that the white blood cell count would continue to go down, showing signs of improvement.

Aedan and I stayed with Ben for a couple hours until I decided it was time to get home and get Aedan in bed for the night.  He was not a happy camper on the way home, but was so happy once he got into bed.  He even slept really well that night, not waking up until close to 5:00 and then going back to sleep again.  I took the opportunity to sleep in that morning since I didn't have Samantha to get up with at 7:00.  Aedan and I got ready and went to church together that morning, figured we might as well.  He fell asleep in the car on the way there, but once we got out he woke right up and was awake for most of the church service.  We sat by Jacob and Michelle, which was nice so that I didn't have to be by myself.  Aedan just sat on my lap looking around at everyone, sucking on his fist or his pacifier, pretty content for most of the service.  However, his sucking got a little louder and I figured he was getting hungry, so I took him out to the nursery to nurse him during the end of the sermon.  He was still pretty tired from not having napped much that morning, so he fell asleep nursing and even mostly stayed asleep when I transferred him to the car seat.

I took advantage of having a sleeping baby to go through the Wendy's drive-through for lunch with plans to stop by and see Ben, as well as drop off his computer and some other things.  Ben was doing much better on Sunday when I visited him.  His white blood cell counts were down to 8.4 which is above average, but a significant improvement from the day before.  They also decided to put in a PICC line so that he can receive antibiotics that way and have the option of receiving IV antibiotics even at home.  It seemed like everything was moving in the right direction, and we were hopeful that the infection was getting better and that Ben would be able to leave the hospital soon.

The rest of Sunday and Monday went by quickly with Ben being in the hospital, Samantha being with Grandpa and Grandma, and Aedan and I getting some quality time together at home.  It was strange being at home with just him.  It was so quiet.  It was strange seeing Samantha's room empty at night and to not have Ben next to me in bed.  There wasn't anything we could do about the circumstances we were in, but I was just getting tired of it.  I just wanted our normal life back as a family of four.  I wanted Ben to be feeling better, wanted to not have to rely on so many people, and wanted our house and our life back to ourselves.

To end this post, here's a funny Facebook post from Upland Grandma, after her time with Samantha:

Samantha and I have spent quite a bit of time together lately. She is one of my two favorite three-year old girls. Here are some of the special questions from yesterday:
10. 10 minutes after we left Bloomington yesterday, “Are we almost to Grandma’s house?”9. 11 minutes after we left Bloomington yesterday, “Is it time to see the bunny?” (The Nestle bunny)8. After passing a large field on the way home last night, “Is that Corn?”
7. “Is that corn for us to eat?”
6. 20 minutes after we left Bloomington yesterday, “Are we almost to Grandma’s house?”
5. 30 minutes and every 10 minutes after we left Bloomington yesterday, “Are we almost to Grandma’s house?”
4. “I have Jesus in my heart. How will Jesus get me to heaven?”
3. “Do we know what Jesus looks like?”
2. “Where is God?”
1. “I ask a lot of questions, don’t I?”

Ben's Surgery & the 4th of July

Samantha: 37 Months, Week 3
Aedan: Week 10

This week started off with Ben going into surgery bright and early Monday morning.  He had surgery at 7:30 am and had to be at Monroe Hospital by 6:00 am.  I decided it would be better to come over to the hospital later, once it was closer to the time his surgery would be finished, rather than getting up super early and dragging Aedan to the hospital with me.  Ben's dad offered to take Ben to the hospital, and Ben's mom offered to get up with Samantha in the morning while I took care of Aedan.  The surgeon said the surgery was going to take around three hours, so I planned to leave the house around 10:00, after Aedan had a good nap and I nursed him again.  Grandma stayed with Samantha at the house and played many different games and read lots of books.  It was a pretty rainy, dreary day outside, a perfect day for staying inside (or hanging out in the hospital waiting room).  We waited at the hospital for quite awhile just for Ben to get out of surgery.  I got Aedan to fall asleep in the Ergo, so that worked out well for talking to the surgeon and hearing how the surgery went.  I figured it would go well, but I was pretty nervous about it.  I knew that this surgery was necessary to help Ben feel better and to prevent any further diverticulitis attacks and trips to the hospital, but I was not looking forward to the recovery process.  I was not looking forward to my husband basically being out of commission for the next month or so.  I was not looking forward to basically keeping everything up and running at home and taking care of Samantha and Aedan all by myself.  I was not looking forward to packing up our whole house all by myself.  I knew it was necessary, but it just sounded like a lot of hard work for me, and I have to admit that I didn't have the greatest attitude about it.  I was a bit overwhelmed with all of these big life events happening at once: a new baby, a new job, a move, and a serious surgery.

The surgery went really well, just like the doctor hoped for.  He was able to do it laparoscopically, so Ben had four incisions, one by his belly button, one down by his pelvic bone, and one on each side of his stomach.  The doctor was able to remove the part of his colon that was the most affected and rejoined it together without a problem.  He did several tests to be sure it was sealed tightly like filling his abdomen with three liters of water and then putting air through his colon to see if there were any bubbles.  Anyways, it all went really well, which we were so glad for.  We didn't want his whole stomach to be cut open.  We had to wait quite awhile before Ben was moved to his recovery room, so I was actually in the middle of nursing Aedan when we were allowed to go back and see him.  Ben's dad went back to see him first, and then it was my turn.  I have to admit that I was a little shocked at what Ben looked like when I saw him for the first time.  He was still really out of it from being sedated.  I could tell he was in pain.  He hardly moved and looked as stiff as a board.  I tried talking to him, but he kept fading in and out, falling asleep while I was talking to him.  I found myself just standing there next to his hospital bed, holding Aedan, with tears streaming down my face.  The thought crossed my mind that I wished this never had to happen.  I just wanted my husband back, and I wanted my life to go back to normal, like it was before.

I didn't stay for very long since Ben just needed his rest, but I did come back later that night after the kids were in bed so I could talk to him and see how he was doing.  I was feeling a little discouraged when I saw him that night because he was obviously in a lot of pain, still was fading in and out, and was also feeling rather nauseous and was throwing up, which would cause even more stomach pain.  I think it was kind of hard to know what to expect ahead of time, and the severity with how the surgery impacted him took both of us by surprise.

In the meantime, while Ben was in the hospital recovering, Ben's parents stayed at our house to help me take care of the kids, help me make dinner, and help me with anything else that needed to be done around the house.  It was so strange not having him around, especially at nighttime.  I don't like sleeping alone.  I never sleep as well without Ben in bed with me.  And nighttime diaper changes were a little bit more difficult without Ben there to help me keep Aedan calm.  In fact, Ben is normally the one that changes Aedan's diapers at night to give me a little bit of a break.

Apparently I was really tired after the long, emotional Monday of Ben being in surgery because on Tuesday morning I slept in until 8:25.  I felt so bad that I slept in that long and left Ben's parents to take care of everything around the house.  We tried to keep Samantha's day as normal as possible, and it was the first day of story time for the summer, so Grandma came with Samantha, Aedan, and me to the library.  It was nice that she came with us because I certainly needed some help.  For some reason, Aedan wasn't the happiest guy, and I ended up having to leave the story time room to change his diaper and get him situated in the baby carrier.  Samantha had a pretty good time but was acting very tired and aimless that day.  She had Grandma read quite a few books to her at the library while I walked around with Aedan.  Then, Samantha realized she never had a snack and asked me for one.  However, with all the craziness of the morning, I had forgotten to bring a snack with us.  Once Samantha realized that I didn't bring a snack, she just burst into tears.  This is our normal routine, and I threw it off, she was already pretty tired and this caused her to get even more upset.  After talking with her and getting her to calm down, she decided that she wanted to just go home right then, so we made our way out of the library and back home.

That afternoon Ben's parents visited Ben in the hospital during nap time while I continued to pack up.  They brought down boxes with them from a friend of ours and between Monday and Tuesday, we were making swift work of packing.  We had all the walls bare and packed all the decorations.  We packed several boxes of books, and I was working on going through the clothes in my closet, making a stack to give away and a stack to pack.

It was extremely nice having Ben's parents here to help me out.  I would not have been able to survive without them.  They helped take Ben's place while he was in the hospital, helped make meals, helped entertain Samantha, and helped me keep my sanity while I was torn between being here and thinking of Ben's well-being.  Tuesday night for dinner we had some fresh squash from our garden.  Samantha posed for a picture with it before Grandma chopped it up and baked it in the oven with cheese.

And then Samantha wanted to hold Aedan and wanted me to take their picture as well. She loves holding her baby brother.

 Samantha is so sweet and gentle with Aedan.  She loves him so much.

These days Ben was in the hospital were so long.  I was worried about him and the care he was getting there because the nurses weren't as prompt and attentive as we would have liked.  He was still in so much pain, and I hated leaving him there by himself all day.

Tuesday night I took Samantha to see Daddy at the hospital briefly before heading off to the pool with her.  She had taken a good nap that day, and Grandpa and Grandma were willing to stay at the house with Aedan so I could enjoy some time at the pool with just Samantha.  We got there a little later in the evening, but she still had plenty of time to play and swim around in the nice, warm water.  That's the good thing about having a pool pass this summer.  We can go as much as want and not have to worry about "getting our money's worth."

After getting home from the pool and getting both Samantha and Aedan to bed, I was getting some things done around the house before I headed out to see Ben at the hospital and noticed this beautiful rainbow in the sky.  I love these small reminders from God, of His faithfulness and of His provision.

On Wednesday Grandma stayed home with Aedan in the morning while Samantha and I went to an appointment and then ran a few errands, like going to the recycling center and Kroger to pick up a few things.  I had Samantha pick out a Get Well Soon card and balloon to bring to Daddy.  We stopped by the hospital just around lunch time to say hello and deliver his presents.  He was a lot more with it today and was actually sitting up in a chair eating his clear liquid diet lunch.

It has been so nice that Samantha and Aedan have taken good afternoon naps at the same time the last week, not only to give me a bit of a break, but also to help us in getting a lot of packing up done around the house.  I was so glad to have Grandma's help with packing up a lot of Samantha's room while Samantha and Aedan did pretty well hanging out together.

I had to take this close up picture of Aedan because he was making such a great face, so serious and so pouty.

On Thursday, Ben was doing better, was able to eat a normal diet, and got the go ahead from the surgeon to come home.  He said it would just be slow recovery and Ben could either do that at home or at the hospital.  Ben was very anxious to get home, so I picked him up after Samantha and Aedan were down for their nap.  He had the drain taken out before he left, which he said hurt really bad, and he still did not have too much energy, just sitting up for awhile would tire him out quickly.  I was glad to have him back home and not have to just go visit him in the hospital for an hour at night like I did the past three nights, but there were aspects of having him back home that were a lot harder for me.  I got really emotional on Thursday night.  I feel like I have had hardly any time with Samantha lately, and the time I have had has not always been the most fun.  I was nursing Aedan before bed that night and Samantha came in to say good night.  I tried to get her to come around and give me a hug on the other side from where Aedan's head was, but Samantha thought I was just trying to get her to leave Aedan alone, so she just left the room.  For some reason, I just got really upset and started crying.  I miss having time with my little girl, having special moments with her, and getting hugs from her.  I don't want her to feel like she can't hug me or talk to me just because of Aedan.  I think I was just overtired and wanted life to be back to normal again.  I feel like our summer has just been crazy with Aedan's birth, finding out we're moving to Oxford, Ben getting another attack, our vacation, and now Ben's surgery. I put a lot of pressure on myself and on Thursday I just reached a breaking point.

Samantha says some funny things and often surprises me with the things she remembers from various conversations.  Here are some quotes from this week: "Samantha and skunk both start the same.  They're similar." (How does she know what the word similar means?)  "These are all insects." (She was looking at pictures in a book and then proceeded to name all the insects on that page.)  "In a quarter mile, turn..." (Apparently she listens to our GPS as well.)

Friday was the Fourth of July and there is a parade in downtown Bloomington every Fourth of July.  Again, Grandma offered to stay home with Aedan so that I could enjoy the morning with my little girl.  (I don't think Aedan would have appreciated the loud noise from all the horns and sirens).  Samantha had a wonderful time at the parade.  We got there just in time to find a parking spot and made our way to a spot on the street.  She was so excited for the parade to start that she could hardly wait to see the first car round the corner.  Here is a picture of us together as we waited for the parade to start.

They came around with flags for the kids to wave, and Samantha hardly put hers down the whole time.  (Do you notice her outfit?  She picked it out all by herself: a Minnie Mouse shirt, pink shorts with hearts, purple socks, and heart shoes.  Her choice of outfits are always interesting, but it's so cute to see her express herself in that way.)

We are not the most patriotic family, but Samantha sure had a great time waving her flag around.  She would wave it and shout in her cute little voice, "The United States of America!"

At the parade the various participants hand out candy to the kids along the curb.  Samantha was pretty excited to collect candy, and to eat quite a bit of it, too!

Here are some of the funny floats we saw in the parade.  Ah, the weirdness of Bloomington.

It was a beautiful morning to spend outside together, and Samantha thoroughly enjoyed herself.  I love how she has no inhibition and will just stand in the middle of everyone and dance to her heart's delight.  She is such a little sweetie.

Friday afternoon, Uncle Matt and Aunt Christy arrived at our house to help us out for the weekend.  Samantha was pretty excited to see them when she woke up from her nap.  She loves having visitors, and we have had SO many visitors this summer with everything that has been going on with Aedan being born and then with Ben's health.

Samantha always loves having people read books to her and is getting close to earning 25 points through the summer reading program at the library.  It will be so exciting when she learns how to read.  She loves books so much, I imagine that will be pretty exciting to her as well.

I had to include this picture because of the strange look on Samantha's face, and Ben "photobombing" the picture in the background.

We had a pretty relaxed Saturday morning, and once everyone was dressed and ready to go, we went to our local farmer's market.  (Daddy stayed home to rest.)  It was pretty busy again, so we picked out some vegetables and then went over to the fountain to let Samantha play.  We figured she'd enjoy just as much as she did last week, so I brought a change of clothes with us so that she could get as wet as she wanted.  However, for some reason, she didn't want to play in the water that day.  She got a little wet, and then came out of the water crying.  I told her it was okay, that I had a change of clothes for her, but that didn't seem to matter.  She saw a couple other girls wearing bathing suits and thought that was a much better idea than getting her regular clothes wet.  However, I didn't have her bathing suit for her, and she was acting very tired, so she screamed.  Screaming is an automatic time out in our family, so I took her off to the side by the curb for a time out.  After she calmed down, I talked to her about what was going on, and she decided she didn't want to play anymore, she just wanted to go home.  So, we changed her into dry clothes, letting Christy and Matt stay at the farmer's market a bit longer, and went back home.

The city of Bloomington had their fireworks on July 5th, so we had plans to go as long as Samantha took a good nap that afternoon.  I put her down for her nap, and she went to sleep quickly.  It has been so nice that she's gone to sleep so easily lately.  It's not a battle anymore, she's getting enough sleep for her little body, which results in a much happier, more respectful little girl.  Doesn't she look so peaceful and comfortable in her pink bed?

Christy and Matt offered to make their Lemon Chicken recipe for dinner that night, so while they were cooking, Samantha wanted to hold her baby brother and of course, have their picture taken together.

After he got tired of being on her lap, they laid and played in the floor gym together.  I have two very precious children, don't I?  I am a pretty lucky Mommy.

After putting Aedan down to bed, Christy, Matt, Samantha, and I went out to see the fireworks.  Samantha would normally have already been in bed as well, but we figured this is a special occasion that happens once a year, so she can stay out late.  Ben stayed home while Aedan was sleeping, knowing that once Aedan is asleep, he very rarely wakes up for any reason.

I had no idea what to expect from the Bloomington fireworks because we had never been to them before.  We took Samantha last year, but to a different city.  The Bloomington fireworks were at the Monroe County fairgrounds, which is right down the street from where we live.  It was pretty convenient to get in, and everyone just parks their car on the grass and sits out in front of their car on lawn chairs.  It was a beautiful night.  In fact, it got chilly enough that we needed sweaters once the sun went down.  We walked up to wear the band was playing and got ice cream and funnel cakes for snacks.  Then, we sat and enjoyed our snacks while waiting for the show to start.  Samantha was very excited for it to start and asked many times, "Is it going to start soon?"  She couldn't wait until it got dark enough for the fireworks to begin.

Here is Samantha dancing while we were waiting in line for our snacks.  This girl loves to dance, anywhere, anytime, no matter who's watching, she doesn't care.  I love that about her. :)

And here's the best picture I could get of Samantha and I at the fireworks.  She wouldn't put her hand down for us, but that's okay.  It was so fun to be able to do this with her and to know Aedan was happily sleeping at home.  I don't think he would have liked coming to the fireworks.  I think the loud noises would have scared him.  He is such a little boy on a routine.  He likes his bedtime and isn't a big fan when we keep him out later at night.  Plus, it was fun sharing this time with just Samantha.  I enjoyed having her sit on my lap, dancing with her in the grass, and watching her reaction to the fireworks.

Here are some pictures and videos I took during the fireworks show, mainly so Daddy could watch them when we got home, so he didn't feel like he totally missed out on fireworks this year.

When the fireworks first started, Samantha was covering her ears and complaining about them being too loud, saying she wanted to go home.  I told her we weren't going to go home, and that everything was okay.  She sat on my lap and I helped her cover up her ears for the really loud ones.  We talked about all the different colors we saw and commented on which ones we liked the best.  She got used to them after awhile and didn't feel the need to cover her ears anymore.  However, she did ask me several times, "Why are they doing this?"  As in, why are they shooting off fireworks.  So I explained to her what the 4th of July was and how it's a tradition to set off fireworks to celebrate.

We got back from the fireworks after 11:00 pm, which is obviously way later than Samantha usually is in bed.  Our drive home wasn't very long once we were able to get out of the parking lot, and Samantha stayed awake talking to Aunt Christy in the back of the car.  Once we got home, I took Samantha straight upstairs for bed and she went to sleep right away.  She was tired, but had a great night watching fireworks.

Samantha slept in the next morning, which was great since we were out so late.  We decided we would go the the second service at church anyways, which worked out pretty well, allowing Aedan to have a good morning nap in his swing before we had to leave.  Aedan did pretty well at church that morning but really surprised me because he was awake the whole time!  I held him in my lap, he looked around at everything in the sanctuary, he made eyes at the baby sitting behind us, and really was being very calm and very quiet.  I probably could have stayed in there most of the time with him were it not for a dirty diaper I had to go change.  I went to the baby nursery to change him and there were a couple other moms in there with their babies, so I decided to stay and chat with them rather than chance bringing Aedan back into the sanctuary.  It was nice to be able to sit and have a conversation with other moms.  I enjoy ECC and the fellowship that I find there so much.  I'm going to miss this place.

Uncle Matt and Aunt Christy left during nap time on Sunday to get back to Chicago.  Chicago Grandpa was planning on coming down to stay with us on Monday morning, so we had just a little bit of time to ourselves before our next guest arrived.  Both kids took good afternoon naps, neither Ben nor I felt like cooking, and he was feeling like getting out of the house for a bit, so we decided to go eat at Noodles and Company for dinner.  Aedan was asleep in his car seat for most of dinner, and Samantha did a wonderful job sitting in her chair like a big girl and eating almost all of her mac and cheese all by herself.  It was wonderful going out together like that.  It was wonderful doing something with just our little family of four.  And it was wonderful forgetting about Ben's health problems for a little while, having some sense of normalcy for at least one evening out.

Monday morning we just hung around the house and relaxed since we didn't have anyone there to help us.  Taking care of Aedan, Samantha, and Ben by myself is enough for one morning's activities.

Chicago Grandpa arrived around 11:00 and planned to stay as long as we needed him.  It has been wonderful having so many family members willing to help us out at this time.  I certainly wouldn't have been able to do it without them.  They have been a huge help not only in helping me take care of Samantha and Aedan, but also in helping to pack up our apartment as we hope to move out of Bloomington in two weeks.  It's such a surreal feeling to having everything off the walls and boxes full and piling up everywhere.  It's a weird limbo that we're in right now.  We're excited about moving and looking forward to exploring a new place, but we're still waiting and will truly miss Bloomington, the first place that has really felt like home to us.

Sweet Family Memories & Aedan at 2 Months Old!

Samantha: 37 Months, Week 2

Aedan: Week 9

Tuesday, June 24, we decided to take a family trip to the Children's Museum.  We wanted to go sometime before Ben's surgery, and it was supposed to be a cloudy, rainy day, perfect for a day at the Children's Museum.  Samantha started off the day acting pretty tired, making us rethink or decision to go to the museum for a little while, but we decided today was as good a day as any.  We packed lunches in the cooler and hit the road.  I got Aedan to fall asleep in the car with a little bit of work with the pacifier.  Samantha sort of looked at books in the back, but mostly just spaced out, ate her snack, and talked to us.

When we got to the museum, Aedan was ready to eat again, so we made a stop at the bathrooms for a potty break and diaper change before heading upstairs.  I found a bench in a deserted area where I could comfortably nurse Aedan while at the same time watch Samantha and Daddy ride down "The Great Wall of China slide."  They usually have this slide up at Christmas time, but apparently they wanted to bust it out again for a different use.  Samantha was so excited to go down it and race her Daddy.

After finishing up at the slide, I was still nursing Aedan, so they continued on to the dinosaurs and trains without me.  Aedan and I met back up with them, and I informed Ben about the fact that I did not check the diaper bag as carefully as I should have before we left, and we only had two diapers left for the rest of the day, which is a little risky with an 8 week old baby.  Samantha was having a good time playing with the trains and digging, while Daddy pushed Aedan around in the stroller.  (He wasn't the happiest camper, even though he wasn't buckled in.  Apparently he still doesn't like being in his car seat.)  

We then went over to the "plastic" glass exhibit where we met back up with Daddy.  Apparently Aedan had a blow out diaper, had to have his outfit changed, and was very upset.  Daddy was trying to soothe him with in the Ergo, but it seems like this baby carrier just does not fit him very well, and it looked uncomfortable for both of them.  So, I offered to wear Aedan in the Ergo, and while Ben and I were trying to do this transfer, we looked over and noticed Samantha standing on top of the middle of the bench that slowly spins around in the middle of the glass room.  You obviously are not supposed to stand on this, and she knows it.  We told her to get down, and she wouldn't, so I had to go over and get her off of it.  She of course got really upset and was crying, so we brought her over to a bench so we could talk to her and get Aedan situated.  It was all a bit overwhelming for a few minutes when both kids were upset and crying at the same time, in the middle of a public place.  Once I got Aedan comfortably in the Ergo, he was pretty happy and calmed down quickly.  But then Samantha was still crying and carrying on and threw something that Daddy asked her to pick up, so we gave her a time out on the bench.  We walked away from her just a little bit while she was in her time out, and then I looked back once and there was another mom talking to Samantha, asking her if she was okay and where her Mommy was, thinking she was lost.  So, I quickly walked up and told the mom that it was okay because she was just having a time out.  The mom said, "Oh, I understand.  We've been there," and gave me a knowing smile.  We then talked with Samantha about how she needed to be a better listener or we would just go home because it's too hard to deal with her when she's not listening and Aedan at the same time, emphasizing that she needed to be the big girl.  It was also close to lunchtime, and Samantha can get pretty cranky when she's tired, so we decided to take a break and go eat our lunch in the food court.

After the brief time out episode in the morning, the rest of the day went fine and Samantha was being very respectful.  We went on the carousel and played for a long time in that area.  

One of her favorite things about the carousel is the ride operator that plays with puppets during the ride.  They stand by the music organ and make the puppets dance.  Samantha gets excited every time they go around, looking for the puppets and laughing hysterically.  Ben could even hear her on the other side of the room.  I got a little video of Samantha riding that day.  This was also Aedan's first carousel ride, as I had him in the Ergo, but he didn't seem to impressed, he just slept through the whole thing.

Then we went to the Playscape where Samantha went fishing in the water, climbed in "The Pond," played with the sand table, and played instruments and danced in the music room.  

It was getting fairly late in the afternoon, and we decided it was time for us to head back home soon.  Aedan was still fast asleep in the Ergo, sleeping through all the noise and commotion around him.  However, I knew he would want to nurse before we left, and I discovered that the Playscape room had a special area for nursing mothers, so I took him in there to nurse while Daddy took Samantha on the slide again.  I figured this might be our last time at the Children's Museum because who knows if we will be able to arrange another time before we move, so I wanted to go on the slide with Samantha, too.  Daddy took Aedan and pushed him around in the stroller while Samantha and I waited in line.  As we were waiting, the sky was getting darker and people around us started talking about the bad storms that were about to hit Indianapolis.  Right when we got to the front of the line and it was our turn, they made everyone move into safe zones because there was a tornado spotted on the ground in the Indianapolis area.  We met up with Daddy and went into the safe zone that was actually in the new Terra Cotta Warriors exhibit.  They were charging people to see this exhibit so it was kind of funny that we got to see it for free.  Samantha had fun playing with some clay sculpting while we waited for the tornado warning to pass.  We then had to get back in line for the slide again because Samantha would not have been a happy camper if she was unable to go down the slide again, especially since we were next in line.  I got to ride down the slide with Samantha this time, and we had a great time racing each other.  Then, it was time for us to head home.  There was quite a lot of traffic so we ended up taking a different way where we wouldn't be in stop and go traffic with two sleeping kiddos in the back of the car.  Both kids took good naps on the way home, and we counted it a successful family trip to the Children's Museum.

On Wednesday Samantha and Daddy had a Daddy-Daughter day, going to Storyhour Extravaganza at the library, while I went to my 6 week follow-up appointment with Dr. Crooke.  I took Aedan with me because I didn't want Daddy to have to do deal with two children at the library, but he was not too happy at the doctor's office with me.  Like in the past, he does not care for his car seat, so he does not fall asleep in the car.  When we got to the doctor's office, he was very tired but still wide awake.  I tried giving him his pacifier and rocking his car seat back and forth, but he was not wanting to fall asleep, making for an interesting office visit since I couldn't take him out of his car seat.  Aedan just kept getting more and more angry, making it difficult for my exam.  Eventually, the nurse came back in and offered to hold Aedan for me.  It was much appreciated, as his crying was getting louder and louder, and once he reaches that point there's not much settling him down until he is taken out of his car seat and held.

Daddy and Samantha had a wonderful time at the library.  They were the first ones in the room because they got there early, and she just wanted to wait in line.  Samantha just sat there quietly watching all the videos and songs and stories.  She didn't sing any of the words, but sat there mouthing the words the entire time.  Daddy even helped her pick out some new books since we've had to return so many lately.  It was great for some Daddy-Daughter bonding time before Ben's surgery next week.

After the nap time craziness of a few weeks earlier, we were pleasantly surprised with Samantha doing an awesome job with naps this week.  She didn't scream or carry on.  Sometimes she would fall asleep with me in the room with her or she would fall asleep all on her own after I left the room.  It was such a wonderful change and made our evenings so much better.  Samantha was able to watch a show, and she even got to go to the pool a few times with her Daddy in the evenings.  Here she is watching a show.  When she watches shows, she sits there frozen, sometimes with her hand in mid-air like in this picture.

Wednesday afternoon while Samantha was napping, I took this picture of Aedan and me together.  It's not the greatest, but it was my best attempt.

And what did Samantha do with her afternoon when she woke up from her nap and Aedan was still sleeping downstairs in his swing?  She hid in the laundry basket while I put laundry away.  She said she felt like a canary in a cage.

Here's our little guy sleeping away in his swing.  He LOVES his swing.  Sometimes I almost feel guilty leaving him in his swing for so long when he sleeps, but he is just so happy there and sleeps so well there during the day.  He sleeps just fine in his bassinet at night, so I'm not too worried about him becoming dependent on it.  I think it's almost like his little place where he can have his own space and some quiet time.  I can see how swinging back and forth would be pretty relaxing.  Isn't he just so cute?

Thursday morning we had a park play date with our Mom's REST Stop group.  Samantha played pretty well for awhile, but she was really more interested in sitting on the blanket with Meagan, James, Aedan, and me.  She just loves interacting with little babies.  She is so good with them and loves to talk to them, making them smile and laugh.  I'm always amazed at how well she interacts with Aedan even though he is still so little and doesn't interact with her very much.  She doesn't care.  She will dote on him, sing to him, read to him, and play with him.  I know I say this a lot, but she is such a wonderful big sister.

Aedan has started to be a lot more interactive and will give you great smiles, especially when you are changing his diaper or talking to him while he rocks in his swing.  He has started to talk and coo, making cute little baby noises.  It is so wonderful to see his personality coming out and to find new ways to make him smile and laugh.

Aedan and I get some pretty good bonding time in the afternoons before Samantha wakes up from her nap, so after a diaper changing session full of smiles, I decided it was time for some tummy time.  I am always amazed at how strong our little guy is.  He holds his head up so well and enjoys looking out around him, even when you're holding him, he would prefer to face out so that he can see better.  His legs are also really strong and he is always pushing up with his feet, preferring for his body to be straight rather than bent up when you're holding him.

Friday we just stayed home in the morning since we had been out every morning that week.  I took advantage of our relaxed morning to get the house cleaned.  It was a bit crazy trying to get everything done while still balancing taking care of both kids, but I was able to do it and felt pretty proud of myself.  Samantha had a good morning playing fairly independently, getting to watch a show, and helping me clean a little bit.

Friday night after dinner we had the Held family over for a dessert and game night.  We had a great time with our friends.  Samantha brought down some special baby toys for James to play with.  We enjoyed some yummy chocolate bread pudding dessert that Meagan brought and cherry cheesecake that Ben made.  Around 8:00 we put all three kids to bed.  James slept in the Aedan's crib and went to sleep really well.  Then, the adults were able to sit and talk, play a game together, and enjoy each other's company without children interrupting us.  It was really nice and reminded me of our days of game nights with the Brashers when we'd put Samantha down at their house and stay up late playing games, talking, and laughing together.  We love having people over in our home like this and will definitely have to do this more in the future.

Saturday morning Samantha wanted to hold her little brother, and we got some ADORABLE pictures of her holding him and giving him sweet little kisses.

We decided that we would make a family trip to our local farmer's market to pick up some fresh produce.  It had turned into a beautiful day once the rain of the morning passed away.  Samantha helped us pick out a cucumber, and we got some cherry tomatoes and green beans.  Farmers' markets are so great, and what's even better is our checks got doubled so we will be able to get a lot of good produce in the next few weeks before we leave Bloomington.  The other good thing is that Oxford also has a farmers' market, so we will be able to continue our tradition in our new home as well.

There is a fountain right near the farmers' market which up until this visit had not been turned on for the season.  At first we weren't going to let Samantha get in it because we had a couple other errands to run that day, but she was having so much fun, we decided it was more important to stay and let her play, then to drag both Samantha and Aedan to the grocery store with us.  The fountain comes out of a pinecone looking statue at the top of a small hill and then flows down in a curvy pattern in a path made down the hill.  This is a very popular attraction for kids and especially since the fountain was actually turned on, there were lots of kids enjoying the water on this beautiful day.  I was carrying Aedan in the Ergo and he was taking a nap.  Ben and I stood there talking to each other and watching our daughter happily play in the water.  It was wonderful.  Then, Samantha took a step into the deeper water, lost her balance, and pretty much fell in, getting her clothes very wet.  She got pretty upset at first, probably because she was shocked and also worried about whether we'd be upset that she got all wet.  We went up and talked to her, telling her that since she was already soaking wet, she might as well keep playing around in the water and not worry about it.  So, she had a good old time getting totally soaked, walking around and around in circles in the deep part, letting the water from the fountain pour on her head.

She got SO wet, and we didn't have a change of clothes for her, so we decided to just let her ride back home in her car seat naked.  She thought it was pretty hilarious sitting naked in the car.

Saturday afternoon, after putting Aedan down for his afternoon nap, I got to go out by myself to my friend Andrea's baby shower.  Daddy gave Aedan a bottle and held down the fort just fine without me, although Aedan had a little trouble taking the bottle, getting rather upset for about ten minutes until he realized that there was milk in the bottle and that Daddy was trying to feed him.  It was nice for me to be able to get out by myself for awhile, too, to be around other adults and not have to worry about taking care of kids.

Here are some cute pictures from that evening.  Daddy was reading to Samantha and Aedan was getting fussy, so he brought him over as well.  They were reading an Eric Carle book, one of Samantha's favorite authors, and Aedan was really interested in the book, especially the colorful illustrations.

Sunday was a fairly normal day of going to church and spending some good, quality time as a family.  Ben had his surgery scheduled for Monday morning and had to be there at 6:00 am, so we knew this would be his last day for awhile that he was going to be feeling like himself.  Upland Grandpa and Grandma were on their way down to spend time at our place while Ben was in the hospital, so Samantha played with Aedan quite a bit.  He has really been enjoying his play gym a lot more lately.  A couple weeks ago I would lay him on it and within a couple minutes he would start fussing, but now he enjoys batting at the toys hanging from the bar and looking at the blinking star.  He will coo, laugh, and giggle, and he even likes it when Samantha lays on it with him.  He will just lie there and stare at her while she talks to him in her little "baby talk" voice, like she is the most fascinating thing in the world.

Then, a little bit later, I attempted to take some "2 Month" pictures of Aedan; however, I waited a little bit too long and he wasn't quite so happy anymore because he was getting sleepy, so I was unable to get any smiling pictures of him with the sign, despite all our attempts at making funny faces.  I can't believe my little boy is already 2 months old.  It seems like time has just flown by, and I can't imagine our life without our little man.

After Grandpa and Grandma arrived and we hung out and played with them for awhile, it was time for Samantha to head to bed, and I decided to give Aedan a bath.  For all the smiles I didn't get earlier, I got plenty in the bath because he had taken a bit of a cat nap and so far seems to really enjoy bath time.  He will just lay in the bath tub and stare straight up at my face, laughing and cooing.  Bath time is such a precious time together.  I love how his personality is developing more and more every day.  Happy 2 Months my little man!

I normally have been doing blog posts from a Tuesday to the following Monday, but I am going to end this one on Sunday night because the next week was consumed with Ben's surgery, time at the hospital, and recovery period.  I want to end this post on a high note, with these adorable pictures of Aedan in the bath and this funny story about Samantha from our vacation that I forgot to tell.  Every once in awhile when Samantha trips and falls or hurts herself, Daddy will ask her if she hurt her pride.  So the other day in the car Samantha said, "Is your pride by your private parts?  They kind of sound the same."  Our little girl says the funniest things sometimes.  Ben and I laughed so hard when she said this.  Our little family is so wonderful!