Oh, the anticipation...

Benson can hardly contain his excitement, he is SO ready for Christmas. In fact, in his prayer tonight he prayed that he wouldn't be too excited.

He's having a hard time going to bed, so I let him get up and write a note for Santa to leave with some cookies.


Here's his note:

(Hi Santa do you know the true meaning of Christmas? hint. it's in the beginning of Christmas.)

At least we are focusing on the right things...

Lightning strikes twice

Jillian has been sick the past week. It started last Friday with some diarrhea, then a fever Friday night into Saturday morning, then vomiting on Sunday morning. By Monday, we thought she was doing better (no more symptoms) but she was INCREDIBLY fussy all day long. I sat and held her for much of the day, but by dinner time I was getting tired of the fussing and I needed to get something done. So I stuck Jilly in her crib, hoping she would cry herself to sleep (she hadn't napped very well). It became obvious that that wasn't going to work, so I put her in her highchair with some food hoping she would eat (she hadn't done much of that that day either). Mike came home shortly thereafter and was about to pick her up out of her highchair, where she was still crying, when I looked at her and thought that something seemed off. I asked Mike what was wrong with her and he turned around and looked at me and said, "She's having a seizure, call 911."
By the time the EMT's got there, the older kids were over at the next door neighbors and the seizure was over although she still was not responding. They took her temperature in her ear and it was normal. We decided to go ahead and transport her to the ER. I went in the ambulance with her and by that time she was crying again and continued to cry the whole way to the hospital and most of the time we were at the hospital. She was so upset that they had to put her armband on me because they couldn't get her to hold still long enough. Mike joined me at the hospital after some friends came to watch Benson, Grace, and Sabrina. All they did at the hospital was give her motrin and keep us there to watch her. No bloodwork, x-rays, nothing. They diagnosed it as a febrile seizure (just like Sabrina's) and sent us home with instructions to follow-up with the pediatrician in the morning.
She went to bed shortly after we got home and slept really well (better than normal), I know she was just exhausted after the seizure and all that crying. The pediatrician agreed with the febrile seizure assessment, even though she never really had a fever any of the 4 times they took it that night. He didn't feel like we needed to do anything else at this point. If she has another one, we'll reassess.
I seriously didn't think we would be doing this again, and definitely not so soon. Febrile seizures are something that they grow out of, usually by age 6. The younger they are when they have one, the more likely they are to have another one. So I guess we just watch her and see what happens.
I was much calmer this time, probably because a) I'd seen it happen before and everything was fine, b) We were at home, and c) Mike was home and holding her.
People tell us all the time that they think Jilly looks exactly like Sabrina. Maybe that means they have the same bad genes too that cause these stupid seizures. Mike and I have agreed that if there is a next time with either one of them, there will be no calling 911 unless it lasts a really long time or they don't respond relatively quickly afterwards. Here's hoping that this really is the last time!
By the way, Benson, Grace, and Sabrina were quite upset at the time (obviously) but by the time Mike went over to the neighbors to pick them up they were mostly over it. Nellie gave them pizza and cinnamon rolls and let them play with toys, they didn't want to leave. Have I mentioned we have wonderful neighbors and friends here in Manhattan? We really do!

Some days...

it's ok that at 1pm no one's hair is done (although everyone is bathed), the beds aren't made, the living room has been turned into a fort, and all we've had for lunch is a box of cheese-its and not one of them has been eaten in the kitchen.

(This is for all of you out there that think that I never relax and let things go)

P.S. We've also had almost no fighting or yelling this morning. If I could add whining to that list then it really would be the perfect day. :) Well that and we are missing Mike and Benson.

Monkey Business

We celebrated Jillian's 1st birthday with our friend's the Horspool's who have a little boy named Jack who turned 2 on Friday. So we had a combo Jack/Jill birthday celebration. We ate pizza and had a fire in their backyard and cooked s'mores. The weather was perfect Friday night, we could be out around the fire without coats on.

I made monkey cupcakes because these two are crazy little MONKEYS! Jillian was in heaven, we let her eat a s'more then she grabbed an open root beer can and dumped it down the front of her shirt. Then we gave her a cupcake for good measure. When we turned the lights out to sing Happy Birthday, Jack tried to grab and hold Jillian's hand. It was very sweet.

The Big ONE!

Jillian is 1!

It's amazing how fast a whole year can pass. I haven't blogged about Jilly for a few months, so here's an update on what she's been up to.

• She started walking at 10 1/2 months. Now she has moved onto climbing. She can climb up and down the bunk bed ladder. She climbs on all her toys, she even climbed on top of one of her birthday presents before she opened it.
• Jillian LOVES baby dolls. She also loves real babies in car seats. The jury is still out on whether she is more enamored with the car seat or the baby inside, I think it is a combination of both.
• Jilly still just has 2 teeth, although she has been fussy and really drooly lately so we think more are coming. Hopefully she will get a bunch at the same time here pretty quick.
• Because she just has the 2 teeth, it has been hard to get Jilly to eat real food. She still eats a lot of oatmeal and rice cereal. Other favorites she will eat: goldfish crackers, nilla wafers, bread balls, and yogurt. She will eat better if she is sitting on my lap eating off my plate, go figure. She has basically been done nursing since just before she started walking. She likes her milk warm in one certain type of sippy cup, although she is getting better about drinking out of different kinds.
• She has this really high-pitched squeal scream that she uses to help her get what she wants. She screams at the kids when they bug her and she screams at them when she wants their drinks or toys.
• Along with the screaming, she has been pitching fits for months. If she doesn't get what she wants or you take something away from her she will flop all over like a fish out of water. She relies on us to protect her from injury during said tantrums.
• Jillian is a really good napper when we are at home during the day. When we are out she never naps anymore, she won't even fall asleep in the car! She has been the WORST sleeper at night lately. She had an ear infection at the beginning of November and has been getting up at least twice a night since then. Although she has done better the last couple of nights so hopefully that will continue.
• Her favorite place to be is outside. When she hears an outside door open she comes running and falls on the floor crying when we won't let her out.
• Jilly is a daddy's girl through and through. She will pick him the majority of the time. She lights up when he comes in a room and stares him down until he comes and picks her up.
• She spends her days getting into EVERYTHING! Yesterday I watched her take all of the tupperware out of the bottom drawer it is in and then climb in the drawer herself. She LOVES the lazy susan in the kitchen, she spins it around until she sees something she likes and then dumps it on the floor. I'm sure the other kids were just as busy, but you forget and I think it's harder to keep track of her with everything else going on. Her recent messes include dropping a glass candle jar which shattered and dumping a whole gallon of vegetable oil on the kitchen floor. Her nickname is TROUBLE!
• She is super snuggly when she wants to be. I love that our kids are all great snugglers.

Jillian's 1st Year Collage

For her birthday we met Mike at Panera for lunch. She loves their mac & cheese and was so happy to be out and about. She is definitely NOT a homebody. I had a Presidency Meeting that night so we only had time to open presents after Mike got home from work. She really enjoyed opening and playing with her toys, at least the ones that Benson, Grace, and Sabrina didn't dominate!

Happy Birthday little one! How grateful we are that you joined our family one year ago!