Jack turns 4....

I just dropped Jack off at his first day of his new preschool and he was so excited to go. I thought that while the boys were both at school I'd get this post done quickly. But I have been scrolling through all of the pictures that I have of Jack's life and I am just sitting here crying. How come time has to go so quickly?? I was going through all of the pictures of the day he was born and it just seems like yesterday. Everything about his first few days is so clear in my mind because he is such a miracle baby. Soon after he was born he was taken to the NICU because his little body was shutting down. It was the hardest and scariest thing I have ever been through. We finally learned about his MCAD and we got everything in control and I was so glad to be able to hold him again without all those IV's in his tiny little head. I am thankful every day for modern medicine! I am also thankful that I had a C-Section. I know that sounds crazy, but if I would have had a normal delivery with him, I would have been home when his health went downhill and we would have lost our precious little boy. This is a common SIDS case. I knew Jack was special right from his first appearance in to this world. I remember while I was in the hospital, I was telling my Nana that he just had a special spirit about him! We are grateful everyday for Jack's fun, spunky, rambunctious, independent, happy, crazy, hilarious personality!!! There isn't a day that goes by, that he doesn't make us crack-up about something, and he makes us think about life a little bit differently which is always a great thing. He's a BIG part of this family and just having him gone for the past couple of hours, our home is quiet and just not the same. We love having Jack around and have enjoyed every minute of the past 4 years that he has blessed our lives. Happy 4th Birthday to our cute little Jack!!!

This is the most priceless moment, the first time you get to hold your precious newborn. (Here I am crying like a baby again)

Keaton was the most proud new Big Brother I've ever seen. It's fun to see the love these boys have for each other, they are best buddies.

I hate this picture of me, but it's the only picture we have of him being held in the NICU. He was usually in his little bed, but they'd let me hold him every now and then. The Dr.'s made me leave the NICU to rest and I hated leaving my baby in there, I didn't want to miss one breath, but they knew it was for my own good and recovery. It was a long, lonely walk from the NICU to my hospital room. Let's just say those were sleepless nights. I am glad they are behind me!

This was his first picture after we were able to take out his IV's!! He was so cute!

We made it home!! This was his first picture at home!!

Jack's First Birthday!

2nd Birthday

3rd Birthday @ Lake Tahoe

Jack's 4th Birthday!!!!

We had his party at his all-time favorite place....the pool! He LOVES to be in the water!



This year he is really in to Spongebob!! So, of course, he wanted a Spongebob party!

Make a wish!

His biggest accomplishment of the year.....He's potty-trained!! YAY!!

Today was his first day of Preschool!! It's such a cute place, I hope he has a great year there learning and playing!

Ready to go....

They have this little rock wall in his class, he was so excited to climb all over it!

We love our little Jack! We hope this year is just as great as the last! xoxo

We did it!

We survived the first day of school!!! I say 'we', because I think I was more nervous for today than KJ was. When we turned on to the street that the school is on this morning, my stomach churned a little bit and I asked KJ if he was nervous and he said 'just a little'! With us only being here a couple of months, we didn't recognize anyone this morning. A full school day seems so long, and we missed having him at home. When I picked him up from school he had a big smile on his face and he said he had a really fun time and he LOVES his teacher! This will be a great year full of new adventures and memories to be made! I can't believe I have a first grader! It's crazy how fast time flies. I am so proud of KJ for being so brave, even when his mommy wasn't!!

The 'typical' first day of school picture! Holding up the 1 for first grade!

Here I am trying to be strong!

Dad giving him some 'fatherly' advice!

Peeking in to his classroom!

This is his teacher welcoming him in to the classroom. She's so cute and sweet!

His desk

"Can this be the last picture Mom?" Isn't he so cute!?!

'Good-bye' summer break...

As I sit here tonight, I am kind of sad that our summer has officially come to a close. School starts tomorrow, bright and early, and Keaton will be in 1st grade which means he will be going to school ALL day. I am excited for him because he's excited to go and meet new friends and start a new year, but I am also so sad that we wont have him home all day. It's just not fair that someone else will get to spend the day with him and I wont. I know this is just part of life, so I'm hoping that things go well, that he has a great year, makes some great friends and learns all the fun things that 1st graders are supposed to learn!!!

(I'll take some pictures tomorrow, but for now, be prepared to be overloaded with pictures of our last days of summer!)

Our 'Summer Fun' check list didn't quite get finished. Jack's sickness made us lose a few days and then KJ caught the bug and we lost an additional couple of days, but we still managed to check off a few more fun things and had lots of fun doing them!

#6 - Swimming

We have a beautiful neighborhood pool that we pretty much use everyday, but KJ wanted to invite a couple of friends over for some swimming. We have LOVED having the pool right down the street, it really has been the highlight of our summer!

#7 - Date day with Ninny

Living by family definitely has it's perks! One day a week my mom takes the kids for a few hours and they always come back happy, which makes me happy too!! This last week she took them to Eagle Island State Park for swimming and afterwards they went to the Snow Shack for some snow cones!

#8 - Discovery Center

Jack loved the bed of nails!

The kids made a tornado (hard to see in the picture)


We made it to the Discovery Center which was at the top of KJ's list! We went with some family and the kids had fun and we all learned something! It's a real hands-on place!

#9 - ROARING SPRINGS

All the kids taking a break from the pool and enjoying their Spongebob Popsicles! This is what summer is all about!

Going up the tower to the tall slides!

Liv+Olivia=2 cute blondes!

This one was a MUST to check off! We've all been waiting for this one. A trip to the water park...what more can I say?!

#10 - Dinner at Nana and Pops' house + cookies!

Here are some of the cousins playing a super-hero game on Nana's back fence.

We made our own version of Oreo's to take to Nana's House! These were my little helpers!

About every other week all of the family gets together for Sunday dinner at Nana's. It's so much fun for all of us to spend the afternoon together with some of our favorite people!

Wish KJ good luck on our his new adventure tomorrow (and send a little good luck for me too, I may need it more than him)! I'm off to make his first school lunch!

Trip to St. Lukes

Just when I began to think that I had our weekend all planned out, something totally unexpected happened and made me realize that life doesn't usually play out the way I plan.

I took the kids to the store to make our usual grocery run and Jack kept spitting on the floor. I was so embarrassed and got kind of mad at him cause he wasn't listening to me when I'd tell him to quit. He just kept saying that he had a yucky taste in his mouth and I thought it was from the smoothie sample that he had! I was so rushed I never thought that it really could have been a yucky taste. When we got home around 8:30, the flood gates opened and Jack made a mess all over. I gave him his medicine, his suppository, and a Pedialyte popsicle and hoped that it was just something he ate or that he had swallowed too much pool water from earlier in the day. I always get super anxious when Jack throws up because of his MCAD. Which is short for; Medium Chain Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenase Deficiency Disorder. (For those of you who don't know what that is, it is a rare metabolic disorder. In a brief summary, it means that his body can't go too long without food, he can't fast, and when he gets sick and can't keep food or liquids down....it can be very serious and his body can begin to shut down. He needs his calories to prevent metabolic acidosis and hypoglycemia.) Well, he had 6 more 'episodes' with no end in sight, so I called his metabolic specialist over at OHSU and they told me I should get him in before his blood sugar dropped. It was 1:00 am. I said a prayer, called my mom to come over and stay with KJ and Olivia while they were sleeping, packed a few of his favorite books and movies and drove to the downtown St. Lukes hospital cause they have a great pediatric program. I was glad I went because by the time we got there he was up to 10 'episodes'. We've been through this routine so many times, but it never really gets easy. First thing they do is draw blood to check all his levels, the next thing they do is start the D10 IV fluids. This is the part that he ABSOLUTELY HATES. I hate it too. It makes me so sad, cause he really doesn't 'get it', and somehow I am always the one that has to lay across him so he doesn't wiggle too much. Finally at 4:45 am they sent us up to our room on the pediatric floor and after we were all settled it was after 5. By this time we were both exhausted and ready to sleep. As soon as I started to doze off, they came in to check his vitals, etc. This happened all morning, so I am thinking we only really got an hour or so of sleep. Plus, they don't make those fold down chair/beds too comfortable! We had visitors the next day, Dan came back to town, and we got some solid foods to stay down. They sent us home the next night, and we slept so good last night in our own comfy beds!

Anyway, all is well, he is back to his usual happy self. Let's hope this is it for this year. I hate seeing him so sick and it's so stressful for me. Poor little guy was a trooper! During stressful times like that I am always thankful for our good health. I am especially grateful for little Jack!!

In the E.R.

In the hospital room

The first food he kept down! Gotta love Saltines!

His visitors! They came bearing gifts and he loved them!

Finally getting to go home!!