crazy weeks are exhausting!

this last week has felt like the one that would never end, and just one thing after another! we had a great beginning, then a quite miserable middle, and a not fun end. :( 

starting with the fun stuff, i will tell you how much fun Connor had at the park and library last Friday! we did a playdate with a friend from the ward and had BEAUTIFUL weather ( high 70's!!!) so we walked down to the park and played. like the silly boy he is, he enjoyed throwing sand, climbing up slides backwards, and soaking up the warm sunshine! we playing until the kids started to feel a bit warmer than we wanted, and then we went into the library to return books and find some new ones. and of course to play in the kids area!!! that's the best part of the library! Connnor had a fun time reading books, playing with puzzles, and pushing around a shopping cart. he pushed it backwards of course, and ran up and down the book aisles and loudly screamed as i attempted to grab him... he thought it was a super fun game. i didn't quite agree with him on that!

he loves swings!

he wanted to take his shoes off and mommy said "NO!"

he fell asleep on the walk back home and slept like a log!

 Now for the miserable part of the week...

 On Sunday morning we were just waking up for church about 7, and Connor came into our room and climbed up on our bed. he felt warm and i wondered what had woken him up, but then he answered my question by promptly vomiting all over us and the bed. i checked his room to find out that he had thrown up in there before he came into our room... by the time we got him, us, and both beds cleaned up he was getting sick all over again. for the next two hours it was about every 15 minutes. the poor guy had no clue what was happening and daddy had to hold him still to avoid the carpet...it was exhausting and miserable for poor Connor! needless to say, we didn't go to church. he spent the entire day sick, and then added severe diarrhea to it.  we felt so bad for him that he got to sleep in our bed that night. he just wanted his Daddy!

 

 On Monday he seemed to be feeling much better, and i was so happy about it! but then he got a stuffy nose and started coughing alot. and when Caleb came home from work, it was obvious he was NOT feeling well... then HE got sick too and kept it up all night. :( i slept in Connor's room with him and Connor was up all night too coughing and coughing and crying. i was exhausted and ended up waking up at 3 and not being able to sleep again after a horrible asthma attack. When morning rolled around Caleb was feeling quite a bit better, but he slept pretty much all day. Connor joined him on nearly every nap and was burning up with a fever! i was trying my hardest to make them both feel better, and praying i wouldn't catch the miserable bug!  i was hopeful to see an improvement on Connor, but by the evening, he looked horrible and i really started to worry... i decided he just needed fluids, a lukewarm bath, and to be able to kick the horrible fever he had had for days!

But once again, he hardly slept and was up all night coughing and crying "mama, mama". it broke my heart to see him so miserable! i was so worried about him i hardly slept, and decided that i would be calling his doctor first thing in the morning to get him in to be seen. my mommy gut feeling was saying something was wrong that i couldn't fix with time, and i should just take him in, and i'm so glad i did! at the appointment they tested him for flu and it was negative, which i was quite glad about since he had just gotten a flue shot a few weeks before, but said he had a double ear infection going on. :( he hates the taste of his antibiotics, but i am making sure he gets it in because we need our little man to feel better! he has started eating again since he started the medicine, and will drink a bit of water. but his medicine makes him have diarrhea, so we were told to give him popsicles and pedialyte to try to keep him hydrated as much as possible! i can say he is quite enjoying the popsicles!

 

I have been spending the last two days trying to catch up on all the packing i got behind on while my boys were sick. we move in one week! i'm getting a bit stressed about it, but Caleb tells me to calm down. he just doesn't want me to over-do it, which i appreciate. i will probably not be blogging again until we are settled into our new place! it's bittersweet for me that we are moving. i wish we were moving home to Idaho, so i had a rough day yesterday and didn't want any reminders of how far away we are from family. this little girl makes me incredibly emotional and tears are the answer to anything, so i spent the majority of the day crying my eyes out while Connor threw fits. sometimes being a mom is overwhelming, but i try to remind myself how worth it it is! hopefully after we get moved life will calm down a bit and i will be able to find the time to do fun things and blog about things much more interesting :). much love to you all! we will be back in a few weeks to update!

i've been a slacker

the title says it all. i've been a slacker with my blogging. i'd like to blame it on extreme business, but in all truthfulness, it's just been laziness. we were preoccupied the beginning of the month with apartment searching. we had found a place we liked before Christmas, but we wanted to wait until the new year to see if anything else caught our interest. nothing did, so we went back to the apartment and were delighted to hear their prices had dropped a bit. we are now all set to move in Feb 1st. we are excited because it is a bit bigger than what we have now, and cheaper. with the baby coming in april we wanted to get as much space as possible, but still find something cheaper. we are excited, and i've been doing my best to pack the place up since then. it's a bit challenging with all of Connor's "help", but we are making do with what we can, and Caleb has taken off work the days we will move so he can help me get everything done. but we did have to do a 12 month lease, so that means no moving back to Idaho for a whole year. it's not what i wanted, but i'm trying not to pout and complain.

We had a doctor's appointment for our little girl last week, and we are happy to say she is doing well. her heart rate was about 145. she has been quite active and has decided that it is fun to play games with daddy. she used to tease him and never kick for him, but in the last week she started kicking him, and he'd poke back, and she'd kick back, and on and on and on. it's quite funny, but i think it thrills Caleb to get to experience it. He didn't get that with Connor, and he seems to be eating up every little moment. she enjoys kicking her brother when he squashes her, and he gets a very confused and annoyed look on his face. he of course thinks i'm the culprit trying to annoy him! we are excited to start buying her cute girly things after we move. we are trying to focus on one expense at a time!

Mr Connor also had a doctor's appointment last week! he hadn't been in to the doc since his 1 yr check up and immunizations, so he was a bit behind on them. i was so glad Caleb was able to be there for it since the risk of getting my tummy kicked wouldn't have allowed me to help hold him. the last time he got shots all he wanted was daddy afterwards, and i figured it was because i had been the mean one holding him down. but this time he STILL wanted Daddy, even after Daddy was the mean one. he had no interest in me! he's quite the daddy's boy! He is going through a stranger anxiety phase and freaked out everytime someone came into the room or even looked in his direction. poor kid! because of that, we didn't hear his height and weight, but i can say that he is in the 97th percentile for height, and the 27th for weight. he's just long and skinny! He's also going through a phase where he thinks he's too big for naps! after a week straight of tantrums that lasted an hour, i've given up trying to force him. it wasn't accomplishing anything but making me cry my eyes out, and him hyperventilating til he's about to throw up. i asked for wisdom from my sweet mother, and she said i should not make it a power struggle. ever since i quit forcing the naps, he sleeps amazing at night in his big boy bed, and he will fall asleep for a late nap when he's tired. i figure i'll try to get him on a better schedule after we move since he will have alot of change going on for a bit there.

i have some cute pictures of the last few weeks to share.

 mr Connor during "naptime"

in the midst of cleaning, we pulled everything out of our storage room and Connor thought the baby carseat was the best lounger ever!

26 1/2 week baby bump!

 more cute little moments

 At church...
and then two cute videos of him playing with his quiet book.
sorry one is sideways! we were just too impressed not to share it! he's a smart kid!!! this was the first time he had ever done it, and he did most of them all by himself!

The Best of 2012!

HAPPY NEW YEARS! from our family, to yours.

We wanted a low-key night, with no fuss. when i'm pregnant i just can't stay up to ring in the new year without getting sick, so all i wanted to do was take a bubble bath and sleep! my plans didn't work out for a frustrating reason, but Caleb got to play computer games til the new year hit, and Connor slept peacefully the whole night despite the crazies screaming outside my window and setting off fireworks. It wasn't the night i hoped for, but it wasn't the worst thing possible either!  We are excited to see what this New Year will bring us! i have complied a list of the best and biggest moments from the last year to wrap things up. :) hopefully i didn't leave anything out!

 JANUARY-

 Our biggest event was Connor's ability to say both "Mama" and "Dada"! those words are music to your ears when you are a first time parent!

FEBRUARY-

We moved to new Apartment and Connor got to finally have his own room!

picture is of him exploring mom and dad's new room

 At the end of the month we had an even more exciting event...Connor took his first steps! We were both here to see it, and i don't think we will ever forget it!

MARCH- 

We took a visit to Idaho to see our families during Caleb's spring break! We loved every second of it!

We also had our 2nd Anniversary, as well as a short visit from my Family.

APRIL-

Connor got a "big boy" carseat! No more dragging around a carseat for us!

 Connor cut his first tooth! We had been waiting FOREVER for it!

 April brought Easter time, and that was another First! He loved it!

MAY-

Caleb got sponsored to go to the Military Ball for his unit, and i got to dress up and go with him!

 Mother's Day was special for me, as it was the first year i was really a Mother! My boys spoiled me.

 Connor's first Birthday was in May! It was unforgettable! They grow up too fast!

JUNE-

 Caleb had Annual Training for 2 weeks, and when he came home Connor was so excited to see him!

JULY-

 We celebrated the 4th with Fireworks (kid friendly ones) for the 1st time! Connor LOVED it!

AUGUST- 

Visit from Grandma and Grandpa West (my wonderful parents!) We had a blast at the Zoo celebrating their 25th Anniversary!

 We also found out that month that we were expecting baby #2!

 

SEPTEMBER- 

We celebrated Caleb's 23rd Birthday.

 And Connor started participating in Nursery, and we began taking him to his own to prepare him!

OCTOBER- 

We took Connor to the  movie theater for the first time and saw Brave. 

We bought Connor a Halloween costume for the first time and took him trick-or-treating!

 

NOVEMBER-

We passed the 1st Anniversary of our family being sealed!

We had our Anatomy Scan and learned that we are expecting a BABY GIRL!

DECEMBER-

 We picked our Baby Girl's name. It was a very special experience for us.

Caleb took us to the Christmas lights at the Mesa Temple!

It was a great year! We will post later this week about our resolutions for 2013! :)