Elijah Enjoying Himself

We had Elijah's yearly cardiologist appointment on Friday. For some reason they scheduled us at the PCH office instead of at our usual office. What did we find out? Well he is 40# and 40 3/4 inches. He is on a normal growth curve but his heart is not where we expected. It is still enlarged...even in comparison to his growth. Dr didn't hear the type of murmur that is indicative of TOO much flow (which makes him happy because hearing this murmur = problems). He does still have a murmur. Huge. Whopping. At least in my eyes (ears?). When you hug him you can hear it. Anyways. I actually have been looking forward to this appointment because lately (last 2 or 3 months) I have noticed him to be very tired. He falls asleep (he won't take a nap despite him needing one) and he always has bags under his eyes. What are we doing about it? Well, obviously open-heart surgery is a HUGE thing so instead we are trying some drug therapy. He is now on Lisinopril...which FREAKS ME OUT! I hate cardiac drugs (well I guess I'm ok with dopamine and dobutamine but all the crazy stuff like digoxin and such..ok..now I'm rambling like a nurse...) and I just get nervous with them. He has to have this particular drug in a solution and not all pharmacies do it so bc PCH does I opted to just get it there rather than drive home and find out nobody does it. Especially since after this they will mail it to me. Score. 

Here Elijah is in the spinning chair waiting for his meds.

Bonus? They were giving out FREE ice cream in the cafeteria (I'm guessing because of Nurses Week). Bonus for us :) Gotta love the ice cream sandwiches!

So now we hurry up and wait another 6 months to see what happens. In the meantime I get to deliberate his condition every time he gets a little tired or looks ill and worry "is it his heart?" I guess I just need to realize that ultimately God is in control and He will get Elijah through whatever he needs. 

Can we skip to age 3?

I know everyone goes through it. The TERRIBLE twos. I get it. But come on, Jake and I are SO OVER this. No. They aren't technically two...yet...but I seem to recall this happening to us with Elijah at this age as well. Sorta. Not quite on the same scale. Basically Jonah behaves the way Elijah does. He sometimes gets frustrated or throws a mini tantrum because he doesn't get his way but generally, he's a good kid. Noah on the other hand...not so much. The kid SCREAMS ALL..THE..TIME.Well, at least when we are home. At the store..not bad. At the Doctor when I want to tell him that I have a crazy nightmare child who is going to drive me absolutely bonkers ...not bad. At home...BAD! Especially when it comes to eating, playing, or sleeping..oh wait, that's all the time. He just wants me to hold him. Not JUST hold him. Walk him around while holding him. He wants me to hold him to sleep. He is driving me INSANE. I feel like a terrible mother. What did I do wrong? Why is he like this? More importantly, WHAT CAN WE DO TO MAKE HIM STOP?!  I will say that this has accentuated since he decided he was done with the crib and started climbing out. Did I mention before he can also climb over the baby gate? Fun times. The difficult thing is that he goes through stages where he will scream for HOURS even if I hold him. Talk about giving someone a headache. Literally. I think we need to stock up on Advil now. It is extremely hard to deal with this. I am at a loss of what to do with him. AUGH!

What kills me is that when he isn't screaming he's so stinkin' cute and loving.

Jonah's take on this? Well, today he came up to me jabbering away. Stopped. Looked at me. Pouted his lip. Fake cry. I said "Are you Noah?" Hysterical laughing and he runs away.

Oh wow. Time flies

Where have my babies gone? They have disappeared and left rambunctious and crazy toddlers in their place. It seems like only yesterday I laid them down in their Rock and Plays next to our bed. Now, they are in a big boy bed (or pull out Ikea couch as seen here). What does this mean? Constant getting up out of bed, waking each other up and little sleep for Mom and Dad. Think being awoken at 530am to hysteric giggling is fun? You can come over to MY house! I will give you toddler duty. Today I tried a new tactic. I brought the crib mattress back inside from the garage and put it under Elijah's loft bed. I put Jonah there for nap and left Noah on the couch bed. Jonah got out of bed a few times, but was easily guided back to bed and actually took a nap. Noah surprisingly slept without a peep!!!

Good ol' curly haired Noah. I'm telling you this boy is lucky he is not in the garbage can. I jest...but only slightly. Seriously. I didn't realize how GOOD of a toddler Elijah was. Noah on the other hand is...trying. He is going through this separation anxiety phase (at least I hope that's what it is! Lord help me if it's not!) All day I hear "Mama! Mama! MAMA! I have his hands wrapped around my legs, preventing my accomplishing things around the house. The little stinker is terribly jealous of any love someone else shows for me. He pushes them away. He says "My Mama". He even wiggles his little fingers in between Jake and I so that he can't give me a kiss. He glares. He fishes his lips together and gives me a big smooch and clings on to me with his legs tight around me. It's loving. It's flattering. It's a tiny bit annoying. I feel badly but I can't get the things done that are important...like make dinner and laundry. I have tried to redirect him or have him help me with projects but he is very stubborn. All I can do is hope he grows out of this. He will grow out of this...right? Please tell me yes!

Monkey see, Monkey do

Jake had a rough night last night. Two fussy babies, one of whom didn't want to stay in his crib. In the morning Jake found Jonah and Elijah on the floor in the twins room. Jonah decided he didn't want to stay in the crib anymore either so he busted out. Literally he broke his crib doing so! Elijah heard him and decided to sleep with him so he wouldn't be scared. Isn't that sweet? Love my boys!
We figured out why the were fussy. I took them to urgent care today. Double ear infections. Poor things. I hope they get better quickly...and stay on their mattresses on the floor tonight. We may be in for a long night again!

He Arose

Happy belated Resurrection Sunday to all. I am so thankful that I can honestly say that bunnies, candy, and eggs are not my reason for celebrating Easter. I am so thankful that I had a wonderful friend come into my life to share with me the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and how He died not just for the whole world...but for ME. I am so thankful that God showed His mercy and grace and has come into my heart to save me from sin and hell. Praise to the Lord Jesus for all that He did, and does, and will do.

Noah decided to "arise" to the joyous occasion and surprised me on Sunday by greeting me in the living room (instead of HIS room). This is how I found him, sitting, eating almonds. My response, "How come you're not in your crib?" "Ha ha," he says. Stinker. Nothing is safe now. What do we do?

Here is the best attempt that I had to take their picture together.

And then, at church, they gave me a little better photo. Notice the rosy cheeks? Shortly after this was taken Noah spiked a fever. Nice, huh?

What good is Easter if Gaga and Papa can't spoil them rotten. Here they are getting into their goodies.

A little blurry but still cute.

And my favorite photo of the day. Isn't he handsome?