funny kids

Just some things I need to remember

Andrew just told me that Elliott's attacks in his shark or monster hooded towels are getting fiercer...that made me laugh.

Tonight we were coming home from Kohls and Aaron says to Elliott "call me Aaron, not yayin"...so funny! He said it over and over and over...then he changed it and said "call me yayin not Aaron"...Writing it down makes it not seem as funny. I hope that someday when I turn to blog into a book that I will remember this time and still thinks its funny!

About a month ago we were all in the car in the Walmart parking lot. Elliott was freaking out...he was hungry and just really really upset. He said that he wanted Molly's french toast...we give Molly these little french toast bites but he said that it was really big french toast....we couldn't make him calm..he was so upset. Then Andrew told me to look at Aaron. Aaron had the removable headrest pillow thing from his carseat over his forehead...it pulled his eyelids up and he was just sitting there looking sooo goofy and smiling while his twin was seriously distraught!!! Andrew and I laughed so so so so hard and couldn't stop! It made Aaron laugh too...he won't do it very often now but when he does its great!

update

So Elliott is so funny! He has been calling me "honey" and "jen"...I tell him that he calls me "mommy" and he laughs and says "JEN JEN JEN JEN JEN"! He has also been asking Aaron when I tell him no...for example...Elliott: "mommy, can I have Pepsi" Me: "no Elliott, drink your milk or I can give you a cup of water" Elliott: "I'm gonna ask Aaron"...a few seconds later Elliott: "Aaron said yes!" This happens ALL day long! I keep telling Aaron to tell him no but he ALWAYS says yes!

Both boys are putting together super longs sentences but its still hard to understand all of their words and some people can't understand them much at all. I think they are fine...actually...I wonder if Elliott is fine but it has nothing to do with his language development.

Aaron is so sensitive and sweet...and he throws everything which sucks...I have to tell him all day long not to throw things unless they are soft balls but he throws blocks and shoes and dolls...He is still "good conscience" of the two. They are playing more together and talk to each other...their conversations are so funny! Elliott seems to like to play alone more than with someone and that has me somewhat concerned.

Molly turned 1 a week ago...it was a sad day for me but she is still a baby..can't be called a toddler until she toddles and she doesn't toddle yet! She says mama dada, and uh oh...and she clapped for my dad when he finished installing her ceiling fan...and it sounded like she tried to say grandpa! She stands and doesn't hold on and I think she could probably keep her balance and walk but she doesn't. She almost stood up without pulling up in the bathtub tonight...oooh...she LOVES the bathtub...Elliott is now afraid of water in his face. I am sure he will remember that its not scary soon...I am glad this happened in the fall instead of the summer when he really needed baths. Anyway...just wanted to write some things down that I want to always remember. I need to make this a fun blog so that people will follow it and the people will want to advertise on it and I can make some money!!! I am funny...I can write funny...funny things happen here on a daily sometimes hourly basis...surly I can figure this out.

oh boy

So...I write blog posts in my head all day long...there are so many things I need to write down...like on a daily basis I say things like "please only touch your wiener in the bath tub and NEVER touch your butt...poop comes out of there"! My life in nuts. The twins are crazy....Molly is VERY dramatic. Annie says its because the red head gene makes red heads feel more pain...that makes me feel sad. Anyway, I hope to make time to update daily...things happen that I need to write down DAILY. Poor Molly will have no record of all her milestones! She rolled from front to back on January 1st 2010 but didn't do it again for lots of months...she didn't roll from back to front until April 29th...the day she turned 7 months....she also started "crawling" that month...she could sit pretty well at 6 months....she got her first tooth this week...its the bottom left. She started crawling on her hands and knees several weeks ago and started pulling up and cruising around right around 10 months. She is so pretty and awesome! Breastfeeding is going great and I started cloth diapering her in April. I think our front loader makes it somewhat of a challenge to get the diapers clean but I won't give up! She has been clapping and waving bye bye for a few weeks now too. She is very snuggly and loves her brothers!!! She also loves jumping. Oh man...its after midnight...I need to make time earlier in the day....gotta go to bed!
Jen

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

Sooo....its been lots of months since I posted on my blog. Lots of things have happened. I still have an unfinished post from April/May that I WILL finish and post someday soon...I hope!

We didn't get Christmas cards out this year. Not to be a baby but its really hard to get things like Christmas cards done when there are more important things like feeding Molly what seems like 24 hrs a day and making sure that Elliott and Aaron are not feeling neglected. I think I might have made a Christmas letter last year on this blog and I guess I will do that again...this way we save paper and money!!! I don't have any super awesome Christmas family pictures to post right now but will add them when I can...if you would like to see our failed attempt at getting our children's pictures taken go to searsphotos.com...enter the email address jenhicks33@gmail.com and then my password...which I don't think I want to add here...so email me and I will give you the password. It was not good....the boys didn't nap and Aaron was SUPER cranky...

on with the letter

The Hicks Family 2009
Andrew is still working a million hours a week for Verizon Wireless...but we are thankful he has a job! The boys really miss him and are super clingy when he has a day off. He has started to do a little ebay-ing again and seems to really enjoy looking for things he can buy for super cheap and sell for a profit on ebay. Verizon stressed him out quit a bit and its nice for him to have an outlet that might even make a little money. He has really had fun with the boys this year! He has taught them all sorts of silly things and they LOVE to make him laugh. He is an AWESOME daddy.

I am still a stay at home mom...and I gave birth this year!!! What a surprise our little Molly was! I keep myself very busy at home and am really trying to figure out how to be an awesome mommy and wife and keep the house sort of picked up...I think I am usually failing at the clean house part, but I think that when the kids have grown it is more important that they look back and say that they had a great childhood filled with fun memories instead of a clean house...right? Its been so fun to watch the boys grow more and more into individuals...not that they have ever been very similar! It been challenging for me to find things to cook that everyone will eat and even more challenging to keep up with the laundry! Molly has made things a little more complicated around here but she has also enriched our lives greatly!

This year Elliott was able to grow all the rest of his teeth except for his 2 yr molars. He was hospitalized in April when he had a cold and had trouble breathing. We gave him breathing treatments at home but they did not work. He spent the night in the hospital and now takes Pulmicort daily in order to keep his lungs from needing rescue treatments. So far the Pulmicort has worked! Praise God!!! From what I understand...breathing is essential to living! Elliott is saying more and more English words and is also an excellent ASL signer =) He is beginning to get upset when Aaron takes his stuff instead of just letting him. He LOVES keys and Blues Clues and to make people laugh. He is very brave physically but gets pretty shy around new people and crowds. Elliott loves to jump off of things and is in constant motion...usually running! If you get the chance to stop by it would be worth the drive to watch Elliott dance =) He loves Molly and is favorite thing to do with her is hold her and fall backwards and laugh (I am also holding Molly when he does this). He also really likes to tickle people...he does not like timeouts and being without Aaron.

Aaron got his first tooth in 2009 and is now only 4 behind Elliott!!! Aaron is still our little cuddley kid but would rather run around most of the time. He also spent one night in the hospital...in May. He had a seizure at home and then again on the way home from the Dr. I took him to the ER and they admitted him to make sure that he didn't have a serious problem. He was diagnosed with Febrile Seizure and sent home the next day. We learned from Andrew's Great Aunt that Andrew's dad had a seizure when he was around Aaron's age...that was somewhat good to hear because the doctors kept asking if febrile seizures ran in the family and we didn't know. He probably won't have another one but I still like to load him up with tylenol when he has the slightest fever....I don't ever want to see my child seizing again. It was terrible. He has been healthy since then until Thanksgiving when both boys caught colds after spending their second birthday at Chuck E Cheese. Aaron likes to run around after Elliott and take things from him. He's like the cop...when Elliott has something he shouldn't, Aaron takes it and brings it to me. Aaron also takes things from Elliott just because he wants to play with what Elliott has. Aaron also has a little OCD I think. He has to have a specific plate, fork, spoon etc...his blanket needs to be a certain way on him when he lays down in his bed...he puts toys and snacks certain ways...sometimes he even has to have the floor picked up in his room before he can get into bed! This year he has overcome his fear of bubble baths and now LOVES to play in the bubbles!!! He is talking lots and most of the time we understand it!!! Aaron also loves Molly and even asks to hold her sometimes.

Molly is still pretty new. She went from preemie diapers to size 2 in less than 3 months!!! She is growing super fast and is the squishiest baby ever!!! Her favorite things to do are eat and be held. I think she really loves her brothers and her smile will melt your heart!

Well...my blogging time is up. Aaron is up from his nap so I guess I need to gets snacks ready and prepare to go to Henry for Christmas dinner! Pictures to come soon....I hope...

Jen

this is going to be super long

Its been a while again and two big things have happened. I think that if you are reading this blog you know about when Elliott was hospitalized at the end of April and that Aaron was just a few days ago. I want to document these incidents in my own words for myself so if you want all the details, read on!

Elliott
On Friday, April 17th both Elliott and Aaron had colds. Elliott started wheezing around dinner so I gave him a xopenex breathing treatment before he went to bed. Around midnight he woke up crying. It is unusual for him to do that so I went in to see if he was alright. He was really working hard to breathe so I gave him another xopenex breathing treatment. Elliott has never woken up in the night because of difficulty breathing. It was strange for him to do this and it didn't seem like the xopenex helped. I don't believe that he went back to sleep. He talked in his bed, woke up Aaron and they had a conversation. He rolled around and around 4:30 he started to fuss. I did another xopenex treatment with him and knew that it did nothing. His tummy was moving a lot when he was breathing, his neck was sucking in and he was breathing fast and hard. Aaron woke up and Andrew was trying to get him back to sleep since he wasn't going to do it on his own with Elliott and I in the boys room. It was after 5am by this time. Andrew and I talked about what to do. I didn't think that I should give him another neb so soon and was told that if I did have to one each hour that I would need to takie him to the ER. After further discussion and me crying a bit it was decided to take him to the ER. I was worried about making an unneccessary trip to the ER and taking up the Dr's time when some else could really be sick. I knew that we shouldn't wait until Medpointe was open and I really don't have much confidence in the Dr's and nurses at medpointe. So off we went to the ER. I was little panicked becuase it seems like each time he gets a cold and needs nebs its a little worse. I didn't understand why the xopenex didn't help at all the time and was hoping that the worst would not be realized. We were in the ER forever. It was terrible. They took his temp rectally several times and it was only 101. They were so very concerned with this low fever. Elliott and I were both exhausted after not sleeping. They had me do an albuteral neb with him and it seemed to help. After 20 minutes his O2 sats were not good so it was decided that he would need a continuous 30 minute neb treatment to see if that could get his O2 sats up. After the 30 minutes his O2 was 91...the lowest it had been. It should be about 97. 91 is very low and scary. Somewhere in there he was taken to have a chest X-Ray. This was done in a terrible contraption called a Pigg O Stat. I will never forget his face. I could not stay in the room with him because I am pregnant. I think that was good because I don't think I could have been able to just stand there and watch him be terrified. Here is a picture of a kid in a Pigg O Stat....this kid looks like he doesn't like it...I wish Elliott would have just not liked it. He looked very scared and mad. I cried...I could cry remembering even today!




The chest X-Ray came out fine but since he was unable to keep his O2 sats up and was still working so very hard to breath, they decided to admit him. It was after noon by the time he got to a room. He was given applesauce in the ER and was so so so very hungry. The applesauce was all he had eaten all day. I also was super hungry...I hadn't eaten anything but I did get something to drink which actually felt better than food! Oh...also in the ER he was given an IV. I had to help hold him. He kept kicking his legs out and preventing the nurses from being able to get the IV in. He was VERY mad to be held down. It was hard to watch but I didn't want them to have to pike him again so I did what I had to do. He didn't get any more upset when the needle was actually put in his arm. He was also very mad after that he couldn't bend his arm. He quickly adapted to it though. So...we finally got to his room on the peds floor. They brought lunch up for both of us, asked a million questions and left us alone for a few minutes at a time. Elliott was getting nebs every 3 hours. I worked to get him to sleep and then they would come in and wake him up to check his sats and breathing and temp or do a breathing treatment. It was nuts. It was a very long day. Andrew had to work. My mom was staying with Aaron. I was missing Aaron something terrible!!! Elliott and I were so tired. I was so scared for my little guy. They didn't know why he was working so hard but nobody really seemed to be worried. I was just wanting to go home. The oncall doctor was worried about how tired Elliott seemed. I tried to tell him that he hasn't slept more than 45 minutes total since midnight and that would make him tired!

soooo...it is now November 27th..I think I started this blog in May! I hope I can remember everything. I am just going to end Elliotts story by saying that they couldn't find any reason for him to stay so they let us go home. He had Prednisone (I am sure that is not spelled right but if I want to get this blog finished I can't be looking up things!!!) to take when we got home and now has Pulmicort nebs twice a day. The Pulmicort is supposed to stop him from needing either Xopenex or Albuterol. As of today, it has done its job!!! They say he could out grow this breathing junk and not end up with Asthma.

Now on to Aaron's story. I don't know what day thing happened but I do remember WHAT happened. I was putting the boys down from their afternoon nap and Aaron felt a little warm. I took his temp and it was 100.1...not a big deal right? I put them down and tried to nap myself....I had a secret at the time...I was pregnant and soooo tired. Elliott wouldn't go to sleep and he just kept playing. I tried rocking him again after Aaron fell asleep but it didn't work. I sat in my room listening to Elliott when I heard a weired sound. Elliott was quiet and I didn't want to get him all crazy again by going in the room so I listened to the sound at their door. The sound stopped after a few minutes and Aaron started screaming. I went in and picked him up and he was just limp...like a noodle...he couldn't even hold his head up. I sat down in the rocking chair with him while he whimpered pinching him to try to get some sort of response. Meanwhile Elliott was all happy and running around...I thought that maybe he had had a seizure but I just didn't know. I wondered if he had injured himself somehow and was paralyzed! After what seemed like an eternity he started to be able to talk a bit and had more muscle tone. I took him into the living room and took his temp and he didn't have one. I just held him and he acted like he does when he is sick. I texted Julie and she said to call the Ped and it sounded like a seizure. I tried to reach Andrew a million times. I texted him and called...I had called the pediatrician who said that it did sound like a seizure and that they didn't have any appointments...to go to medPointe. I ended up calling the store to reach Andrew. I told him that I thought Aaron had a seizure and that I needed to take him to MedPointe. He came right home and Aaron and I left. Aaron seemed back to normal at this point. I brought some water and teddy grahams since it was close to supper time. While we waited, he ate a few teddy grahams. He temp at the office was 101. They diagnosed him with an ear infection and said that it was probably a febrile seizure. An antibiotic was prescribed and sent to the Target pharmacy. They said that if he had another seizure to take him to the ER. It was rainy out so instead of going to Target I decided to just go home and send Andrew back out for the meds. I called Andrew and told him what was going on and then called my mom to tell her what was happening. We had just passed Proctor Hospital when I heard the noise again. I pulled over and saw my baby having a seizure...words can not describe the terror I felt. I told my mom what was happening and took off to Methodist...I don't know why I didn't turn around and go to Proctor...I have no idea how I made it all the way to Methodist...driving....with Aaron seizing right behind me...I kept telling him it was ok, he was going to be fine, and please don't die! He didn't stop until we were almost to the ER. That was close to 10 minutes. He had his jacket on even though it wasn't super cold out because of the rain. I carefully took him out of his carseat and carried him into the ER. He was limp and his eyes were all unfocused and scary. I told the receptionist that I thought that he had just had or was having a seizure...she grabbed him from me yelling at me to let him go and I was trying to and was terrified! We were rushed back to a room where they quickly took his temp (104) and got him down to his diaper. I felt so stupid for having a jacket on him and stood there trying to explain why. They hooked up an IV...he didn't move....I will never for the rest of my life forget how he looked. It was just moaning and soon looking very scared but not looking like himself. I was able to sit next to him and hold his hand but I was afraid to touch him thinking that my body heat would make him hot but all I wanted to do in the world was hold him! A nurse came in after he started "waking" up more and crying and told me I could hold him. I gave him his lovie and soon another nurse took it from him saying that he shouldn't have a blanket on! Its little...not like a blanket at all. I felt so bad for my Aaron. he didn't know what happened...he was scared and in a strange place with a needle in his arm. I was working hard not to sob. At one point an nurse hugged me. Aaron kept shaking....they couldn't decide if it was the normal after seizure things or if it was a continued seizure. It was taking him so long to come out of it. They talked about a spinal tap and a cath to get a clean urine sample....They wanted to know where the fever was coming from. After over an hour of continued little shakes we were told that he would be admitted over night and that they would not be doing a spinal tap. Andrew got there before we were moved to a room. Aaron just kept crying but seemed to be glad Andrew was there. We watched Handy Manny on his phone and he ate a bit of crackers. They told me that his sugar was a little high and asked if he had eaten anything...it was the teddy grahams. Andrew decided to stay the night at the hospital like he did with Elliott. It was hard to leave him but I left to get some sleep at home. His nurse told Andrew that she was going to refuse to Cath Aaron because she didn't see any reason to do it but it didn't end up coming down to that. The next morning my mom, Elliott, and I went to the hospital to see Aaron and to have Andrew leave to get ready for work. Aaron seemed super happy and was fine. He was a little wobbly. Mom and Andrew took Elliott home and I stayed with Aaron, waiting to see when he would be released. His nurse was the same that Elliott had. Nothing really exciting happened. Aaron's IV started to come out so the nurse took it out...Finally the orders came to release him and to follow up with the ped. I called Target on the way home to tell them I wasn't getting the meds since they ended up saying he didn't have an ear infection. ....that was so crazy...one dr said yes then another would come in and say no...another would say yes...ugh. We got home and Aaron was still wobbly...stayed that way for a couple days. He may never have a seizure again or maybe he will but they aren't harmful. I don't think if it happens again that I will be more prepared....I don't know that anybody can be OK seeing their kid seize...but at least I will know what to do. He might just be getting tylenol at the slightest hint of a fever to try to make sure he never gets a fever again! No fever means no febrile seizure!

Easter

Andrew told me I needed to blog about Easter so I will. Let me start off by saying that I have the cutest kids EVER!!! We weren't going to do Easter baskets for the boys because we are poor and they don't know about what is going on anyway, but I went to Walmart with Julie and bought them a couple things. I saw a HUGE stuffed super soft duck that they had to have. Then they each had a bendable bunny and a parachuting egg in their Easter baskets. My mom wanted to get them something small so I told her KMart had a super cheap plastic picnic table. She bought that for them. I put it together last night and put their pitiful Easter baskets and their duck on it. Elliott ignored it and went to the kitchen for breakfast. Aaron went right to the table and took the stuff out of his basket. Elliott came back in the living room and he played with his basket and on the table too. They LOVE that table!!! They sat on opposite sides and just babbled at each other. Aaron stood up on the seat and was talking about something...it was like he was on his soapbox about who knows what!!! I really wish I knew what they were saying!!! I know when they sign "milk" "more" "finished" and even "cookie" but they don't usually sign unless I ask about it...like "do you want a cookie" and Elliott will sign cookie...I ask if they want milk and they will sign milk....Elliott signs more when he is hungry...but when they talk with their crazy words I have no clue what they are saying. ANYWAY...they played for a few minutes and had breakfast. We went to church and came home for lunch. We weren't going for lunch at Sharon's until 1 and the boys are used to eating at 11. I knew they would be crazy if we made them wait to eat until 1. I was really worried that they would be terrible today since they weren't gong to get naps but they did really well. They slept on the way to Henry and then took a while to wake up and not make us hold them. They had their first Easter Egg Hunt and I have to say that Aaron is a natural. Elliott found eggs and threw them off the deck and pushed them through the fence into the neighbors yard. He had lots and lots of fun!!! Aaron picked up the eggs and put them in his basket. He loves putting things in things. Carrie was holding his basket for him but she put it down and he picked it up and just took off. He kept falling down...partly because of the shoes his is wearing and partly becase the ground is uneven. Every time he fell, all of his eggs fell out of his basket...he started to put them back in the basket but eventually just gave up and looked for more eggs. Then when all the eggs were gone he left and went to the neighbors yard = ) They started getting super cranky. We opened some of their eggs and gave them the snacks in them...Gerber Juice Treats, Honey Kix, and Cheerios! They love Honey Kix!!! Mom held Aaron and he fell asleep and then we left to come home. I guess that is it...Aaron was really cranky when we got home and Elliott was super happy sitting at the picnic table. They ate dinner, took a bath, and went to bed. I hope that missing naps today doesn't screw them up a bunch...I am hoping that they sleep until 8 and take a 3 hour nap tomorrow afternoon! I don't think its going to happen but I can always hope right!?!?!




the Easter display


the boys very sad Easter baskets...


They don't need much to make them happy


Loving their table


Aaron likes things on his head


Elliott dropping Easter Eggs off the deck


Elliott putting Easter Eggs through the fence


Aaron picking up eggs...


...and putting them in his basket


Aaron in the neighbors yard...


with their awesome hats!!! Andrew looks pregnant and I look gross but the boys are super cute!!!

no more goopy eye!!!

Elliott had eye "surgery" today. The doctor didn't want to call it surgery because he wasn't cut...he called it a "procedure". Anyway, Carrie came to our house last night so she could stay with Aaron while Andrew and I took Elliott to St. Francis. We had to be there at 7Am. Andrew and I got up at 6:30 and got ready and the had to wake Elliott up. He was such a trooper. He wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything until after the procedure. He only cried a tiny but when they pricked his finger to test his blood. He knew something was up and stayed pretty close to Andrew and I and clung to his lovies and paci. When the nurse took him from me to take him to the pre-op room he didn't even cry!!! He looked very scared but didn't make a peep...I almost lost it but he did great!!! He was put to sleep and that was so scary for me!!! They told me that the procedure went great and that his left eye was really really clogged. They woke him up in the operating and took him into recovery 1. I was able to see him once he was moved to recovery 1. He was awake and crying. It felt so good to hold him. I know it was very very minor but he is MY BABY!!! It took him probably 10 minutes to calm down. He wasn't crying hard...just fussing but is was very sad fussing. It broke my heart. They told me that he didn't want to ride on the bed to the recovery room so the doctor carried him. That made me feel good...I knew he was not just another kid to them...he was treated like an individual and really cared for. He must have been so so so scared!!! His nose was bleeding just a little bit and I was told to expect that. The doctor said that he only lost 2 drops of blood but that it would be mixed with his snot and that we might see some...not a big deal. Elliott did not act like he was in any kind of pain and was so happy to get some water and cookies!!! He was pretty sleepy when we got home around 10 but was himself. I gave him some oatmeal and pancakes and he played...then he ran into his bedroom and woke up Aaron =) Carrie told us that when Aaron woke up this morning, she picked him up and he pointed to Elliott's empty bed...she told him he was not there right then. How sweet is that. I love my boys so very much. They are such sweet little guys. The boys ate lunch and took a nap while Carrie and I went shoe shopping....it is not easy to find baby boy shoes....or zebra print shoes for Carrie. Elliott was his happy self this evening....like nothing odd happened today at all. I am so glad its done and so glad he doesn't have to go through his life with a goopy eye!!! I have to call his doctor on Monday to let him know how his eyes are doing. He was pretty confident that the super clogged duct was taken care of but said that he might have some goop for the next couple of days. I am just so proud of my little boys. Aaron was not scared or super upset this morning waking up without his parents or brother...Elliott was a trooper all day. Andrew and I are the most blessed parents ever and I pray that we never take our tots for granted!!!