1 Year Comparison

Okay.....here is a comparison of Brody and Molly at 1 year. As much as they looked alike when they were born, the older they get, the more they differ to me. What do you think?

Christmas 2010

Before I get into Christmas 2010, I thought I would recap what happened last week after Brody got pneumonia. Well, he didn’t go to school at all the week before last since he still had a fever so his first day back to school was this past Monday. On Sunday, Molly got a fever and was coughing a considerable amount. Then Sunday night, she started wheezing and it sounded like she had a hard time breathing. We almost took her to the ER that night but she fell asleep pretty early and slept good that night. I had already scheduled her 12 month appointment for Tuesday morning but I called Monday morning and they were able to see her right then. Well, guess what? Molly had pneumonia! Really? That is 4 people in my family within the month that had pneumonia! I couldn’t believe it. The only good thing was that her doctor said it was in the beginning stages so she was on an antibiotic and an inhaler like Brody. She seems to be doing much better, but I think the runny nose will be a staple this entire winter season.

So, if you are thinking that was it……..think again! That would be just too easy! On Wednesday night, Brody woke up around 12:00 and Ted went in there. I was still half asleep so I wasn’t sure when he got back to bed. The next time, it was around 1:00 when I heard him crying again. Ted went back in there and all I heard was “…..in the trash can!” I got up and headed towards his room, hoping I didn’t hear what I thought I did. I was hit half way down the hallway with that awful smell and when I got to his room, he had thrown up all over his room. Apparently he hadn’t gotten sick at 12:00 and Ted cleaned it up and then he went back to sleep. I went downstairs and got some pedialyte and he drank two glasses of it. I ended up sleeping with him just in case he got sick again. Luckily, he didn’t. Since he didn’t have a fever, he was acting fine Friday morning so we decided to send him to school. I was on high alert every time my phone rang on Friday, hoping it wasn’t the school calling me to tell me Brody got sick. But, it never happened. He was fine all day on Friday. It took him a couple of days to get his appetite back, but he seems to be much better. I guess he just ate something that didn’t agree with him (atleast that is what I am hoping). At this point, the rest of us seem to be doing fine.

So, anyway……that all happened the week before Christmas! Luckily, everyone was good and healthy for our Christmas celebration. My parents, Christy and the kids all came over Christmas Eve day and spent the night. That is our Christmas tradition so we can all get up in the morning and celebrate Christmas morning together and have our annual Christmas breakfast. As always, it was a great time. The kids of course were extremely excited and it was so much fun watching them open all their presents. Brody did understand Christmas a little more this year than last. Molly, of course, would have been happy with just a box and some paper! But, we all had a good time!

The best part of the day was that Brody did an awesome job of using the potty. We decided since there were many people at the house that we would put him in big boy underwear and get him to use the potty as much as possible. Well, we went through a couple pair of underwear in the morning, but he did a great job in the afternoon and had no accidents. Then today, we did it again and he had no accidents!!! I am so proud of him. I am off work this week since Brody’s school is closed and I am hoping that by the time he goes back, he will close to being potty trained during the day. I can’t even express how proud I am of him. And I love to see how excited he gets when he goes! He is so darn cute!

I am including some pictures from Christmas in another post! I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Grand Finale!

So the grand finale to our week is that Brody has pneumonia! I couldn't believe it. He was coughing earlier this week and had a runny nose but I was assuming that it was because it was so cold outside. We have now had snow two days this week, which is extremely rare for us in December. And the temps have been extremely cold. Well, he started acting real lethargic on Tuesday night and spiked a fever Wednesday morning. Ted stayed home with him yesterday and I scheduled a doctor's appointment for him. Ted said the doctor checked him out, said he had pneumonia and an ear infection. Great combo! They gave him two breathing treatments in the doctor's office and they sent him home with an inhaler and an antibiotic for the ears. I am hoping he starts to feel better soon. Nothing like being sick for the holidays!

Whew! What a Week!

Whew! What a week!

This past week has been rough. I will start at the beginning. Again, prepare for a long post……Let’s start at Thanksgiving…..

My grandmother came over for Thanksgiving dinner. My parents picked her up and of course, we were worried about all the noise and commotion that is normal for us at the Crumb house. She was in good spirits and she was doing pretty good. After dinner, my parents took her home and that was that.

Well, the next day, she apparently started to get sick. My Mom said she had some type of cold but the folks at her assisted living place weren’t worried too much about it since she didn’t have a fever. They just told her she needed plenty of rest and hopefully she would kick it soon. Well, that was Friday. The following Tuesday (November 30th), my Mom called and told me that she was going to pick up my Grandma and take her to the doctor. The staff at her place called and said she had a fever and she didn’t seem to be getting better. My Mom took her to one of the small ERs we have near our house and her pulse oxygen was low. They said they wanted to transport her to the hospital and that she would probably be admitted. At that point, they weren’t sure what was going on, but they were running some tests to see what she had. After the tests came back, they said she had pneumonia and she was jaundice so her liver was starting to fail. Additionally, they said her gall bladder was inflamed, but since she was so weak, they couldn’t do anything about the gall bladder or the liver until her pneumonia was better and she was a bit stronger. That was Tuesday-Wednesday, and by Thursday, she still wasn’t doing better. My Mom was up there everyday and helping her eat her meals since she couldn’t do it on her own. Well, Friday morning, my Dad called me and told me that Grandma took a turn for the worse and that I should get up to the hospital pretty quickly.

Sidebar: Now mind you, my Mom watches Molly so I had to figure out what to do with her since she couldn’t watch her. I ended up taking off work on Wednesday, and luckily, my neighbor’s daughter was able to watch her half a day on Tuesday, all day Thursday, and half a day on Friday. At this point, we weren’t sure how long my Grandma was going to be in the hospital so we called in reinforcements – Ted’s Mom! I am so thankful that she was able to come out and help take care of Molly. We are officially putting her in daycare in the beginning of January! More on that later.

Okay, so Friday morning, I immediately left work and headed up to the hospital. When I walked into the room, I was not prepared to see my Grandma the way she was. She was having such a hard time breathing and you couldn’t understand what she was saying. She did answer a question I asked her, but that was it. After that, she pretty much went into a semi-conscious state. The doctor’s told my parents that her organs were starting to fail and that they were pretty much making her comfortable at this point. They prepared us and told us she had about 48 hours to live. I couldn’t believe it. I mean, she was just at my house for Thanksgiving!! So my sister and I stayed up at the hospital all day long on Friday (Ted offered to pick up Anthony and Ashleigh from school and let Christy stay. So sweet!) and my Mom and Dad stayed with her Friday night. We got back up to the hospital Saturday morning and she actually looked more comfortable to me than she did the prior day. My Mom said that she had a few scares the previous night where her heart rate plummeted but it went back up. Her breathing was worse, but she was still holding on. The doctor came in around 11:00 am and we asked about the oxygen mask she had on and if that was keeping her alive. Since my Grandma had a living will, she did not want any extraordinary means keeping her alive. The doctor said it wasn’t hurting or helping and he took it off. She took her last breath around 11:30 am. I am so thankful we were able to be with her and say goodbye to her one last time. I can’t even imagine how hard all of this has been on my mother, having to say goodbye to her Mom like that, but my Grandma was a strong woman who had a full life of 97 years! We will miss you Grandma!

So that was Saturday. Like I said, Ted’s Mom was able to fly out and take care of Molly and we picked her up on Sunday afternoon. My Grandma wanted to be buried next to my Grandfather back in Ohio and apparently arranged and paid for everything 25 years ago. We arranged for her to be flown back and the funeral was scheduled for last Thursday. So, my parents and I, Christy, Ashleigh and AJ booked our tickets and headed to Ohio last Wednesday. Well, that morning, Christy apparently kicked her suitcase and thought she broke her toe. When we got to the hotel in Ohio, we asked where the nearest urgent care was because she wanted to get it checked out. Little did we know how important that question would be.

So Wednesday night, we decided to venture out and get something to eat. On the way there, my Mom started complaining of chest pains. We all told her that it was probably stress or anxiety and that she had a lot going on, but it probably would be best if she got checked out. So after dinner, we headed to the urgent care and they said that if it was chest pains, she needed to go to the hospital. The nearest hospital was about 10 minutes down the road. So off we went. I stayed out in the van with Anthony and Ashleigh while my Dad and Christy took her in to get checked out. The plan was for them to get her settled and then my Dad would take me and the kids back to the hotel. So he came out about 30 minutes later and said that she was waiting to be seen. So I put the kids to bed when we got to the hotel and waited to hear.

My Dad called around 8:00 and said that they had her back in a room and that they weren’t sure what was going her. Her vitals were funky and they were going to run some tests. At first, they thought it might have been a pulmonary embolism. Luckily, the tests came back negative for that. After all her tests came back, they ended up admitting her with pneumonia. She was trying to fight with them telling them she needed to go to the funeral the next day, but they weren’t letting her go. She needed to get antibiotics into her system.

So, while all that was going on, my sister got her foot checked out and apparently she dislocated her toe. She came home with a boot on. So, here we are, in Ohio for my grandmother’s funeral and my sister has a boot on her foot and my mother is admitted into the hospital with pneumonia. I mean….when sh*t hits the fan with us, it hits hard!

My sister and I, plus Anthony and Ashleigh, attended the funeral, which was sad but I am glad we were able to go. We were able to see relatives that we hadn’t seen in a while, which was good. My mother, of course, was heartbroken since she wasn’t able to go, but we brought her back some stuff and I was able to take a video of the ceremony at the cemetery for her. After the funeral, we headed up to the hospital and luckily, my mom was able to be discharged Thursday night. So we flew back Friday morning and made it home safely Friday afternoon.

After we got back, I had my department Christmas lunch/dinner, which I was thinking about not going to, but I am glad I did. I had a good time and it was nice to be able to do something happy for a change. Then, I went home and crashed and prepared for Molly’s 1st birthday party the next day. Yeah, I forgot to mention her party was scheduled for this past Saturday. I went back and forth about cancelling it, but I decided to go forward with it anyway. Again, I wanted to do something happy and I really wanted Molly to have her special day. My next post is dedicated to Molly’s Birthday so read on and enjoy some pics from her special day!

Molly's 1st Birthday Celebration!

Saturday, December 11th, my baby girl turned 1! I absolutely can not believe that she is 1 already. Time sure does fly around here. Considering all we had going on the last week, I am so glad I prepared alot of stuff early for her party! (Thanks Tab for pushing me to do so). I was pretty much prepared but just needed to get up early and get the house straightened up. My sister was gracious enough to take Brody Saturday morning so I could concentrate on cleaning first thing. It is definitely a lot harder to clean with a 2 1/2 year old running around. So I went a little crazy with the invitations and invited about 40 people, including 15 kids! It was a mad house on Saturday but we had a good time and I hope everyone else did too!

Here are some pictures from her happy day. She has her 1 year checkup on Friday and I will post her stats then. I am definitely curious to see how much she weighs because she seems sooo small to Ted and I. But I guess looks can be deceiving!

The Birthday girl in her party dress!

Molly and her BFF, Mallory!

Molly and her Pop-Pop!

Brody was having fun having people blow up the balloons and let the air out.

This is what Ethan and my neighbor's son Benjie were doing during the beginning of the party!

My super-talented friend Lisa made Molly's cake! It was so stinkin' cute! This was her theme. You can see the plates in the top right corner.

And, she made Molly her own special little owl cake!

Here we are singing happy birthday. She looks like she is ready to dive right into the cake.....

There she goes........

And this is what she looked like after her second bite. She did not like it! I think it was too sweet for her. Or she is just like her Mommy and doesn't like sweets. This was pretty much the extent of it!

I am so thankful to all my family and friends who were able to make it and celebrate her special day with us. We had the best time and loved spending this special day with everyone!

Letters to My Kids

I have been pretty emotional these last couple of days. I know it is a combination of a lot of things, including the fact that my daughter will be turning 1 in 10 short days. I remember being sad when Brody turned 1 because he was turning into a boy too fast. With Molly, I definitely feel more emotional because this is my last one. I am 99% sure we are not having anymore kids, which means I will have no more baby cuddles, baby cooing, baby drool, baby smell, and no more BABY! I definitely feel like these last 2 and half years have gone by way too fast and it makes me sad. Don’t get me wrong, I am happy to see all my children grow and develop, but the other part of me wishes I could freeze them in time and not let them ever grow up. The other day, Ethan was standing in the kitchen and I can start to see hair on his upper lip! I mean really??? He is 12. His voice is changing, he is almost taller than me, and is starting to become a man! It is crazy!

Anyway, I have been writing some things down about the kiddies that I would like to post so one day I can look back and remember these times. I also want the kids to read these one day when they’re older and know how much each one means to me!. It is like the Trace Adkins country song…. “You’re gonna miss this. You’re gonna want this back. You’re gonna wish these days hadn’t gone by so fast! These are some good times so take a good look around. You may not know it now……but you’re gonna miss this!” Ain’t that the truth! I definitely don’t want to forget these days/moments!

Brody:
Right now, at 2½ almost 3, you amaze me everyday! You look and act much older than you are and your personality has definitely blossomed into a spirited, sensitive, loving little boy who smiles with your whole face, not just your mouth! You have the biggest heart and when you think I am not looking, I see that heart as you give your little sister a kiss, or you grab her hand and walk with her around the house or down the hall. I love how you want to feed her and you can’t stand it when she wants to take the bottle from your hands and do it on her own. I love how you call her “sweetie” and you tell her “everything will be okay” when she starts crying. I can already see you and Molly developing a bond that will grow stronger and stronger everyday. You constantly say “Molly is funny” when she laughs at something and your laugh is infectious. When I am having a bad day, I take one look at you and immediately smile and laugh with you. It is definitely the highlight of my day.

Your vocabulary is huge and people often think you are much older than you actually are by the many things you can say. You can carry on full conversations with us and can understand everything we say to you. You don’t always listen, but we are working on that! I love how you always want both Mommy and Dad to put you to bed, with one of us reading you a book (that you don’t always let us finish before you turn the pages). You always want a kiss and hug from both of us before we leave the room (with Daddy giving you a “roar” hug and Mommy giving you a “right” hug). You don’t always look forward to going to school in the mornings, but you end up having a great time once you are there. I love how you always come running to me when I pick you up like you haven’t seen me in days and you are excited to go home and just be with us.

Brody, you were our miracle baby and we prayed and waited for you for almost three years. We could never have imagined how much joy you have brought to our lives and you have surpassed any expectation I could ever have imagined. I am so proud to be your Mommy each and every day! I love you to the moon and back, Brody!

Molly:
Molly, you are our angel baby. Your brother set the bar extremely high for being such a good baby and I have to say, you beat him! Having you as a baby made your brother look difficult and that was an extremely hard thing to do. I remember when I was pregnant with you and we were going to the doctor to find out what we were having. I honestly was okay either way, boy or girl, but was so happy to find out we were having you. However, my excitement was overshadowed by the look in your Daddy’s eyes when they said “it’s a girl!” He lit up like a Christmas tree and from that moment on, I knew you were going to be an extremely special little girl.

From the moment you were born, you came out on a schedule (eating every four hours at night, and every three during the day). I think God knew what he was doing because I am such a planner when it comes to you kids. You have always been the more laidback baby, going with the flow and only crying on occasion. You are NEVER fussy, except when you are extremely tired, and that is rare. You are the best sleeper I know, sleeping for almost 14 uninterrupted hours, with one 2-3 hour nap during the day. In the morning, regardless of if you wake up on your own or we have to wake you up, you wake up in the best mood, kicking your legs as we grab you from the crib. You are happy from the moment you wake up until the moment we lay you in the crib at night.

You have now been walking for over a month and you get better and better with it each day. You are the prettiest little girl I have ever seen, on the inside and out, and you have the best personality. You think Daddy and I are the funniest people on the planet and we love to hear you laugh and giggle. You have the greatest little laugh and when you smile, we can’t help but smile right back at you. Right now, you only have two little bottom teeth and we are anxiously waiting for the others to arrive. Hopefully they will show up soon so you can start eating more solid foods! Right now, you are not a big eater, but you definitely understand the word “eat” and get excited when it is time. We are starting to introduce more and more foods to you every day, but right now you don’t seem to like mashed potatoes or noodles. I am sure that will change.

Molly, it is hard to believe that you will be turning 1 in a little over a week. It seems like you were born just yesterday. I remember thinking when I was pregnant with you that I could not imagine loving someone as much as I loved Brody. Well, it is true that we are capable of spreading the love amongst our children and I could never, ever explain the amount of love I have for you. You are now, and will always be, our little baby girl! :)

Ethan:
Oh, Ethan, where do I start?! I have been a part of your life since the day you were born, and I am extremely blessed to be such a bigger part of your life now as your stepmom. I remember the blond haired little boy who used to throw horrible tantrums one minute, then smile and walk around in my shoes the next. When I look at you now, it is hard to believe that you are still that same little boy. Over the last year, you have started to mature and grow, almost too fast for me. Your voice has deepened and you are almost taller than your Dad and I. You are starting to enter the “teen” phase that so many people dread, but a part of me is looking forward to it. I am excited to see your interests and to see the type of man you are turning out to be. Pretty soon you will be driving and doing things with your friends so I am trying to enjoy having you around as much as possible, knowing you have no other option than to be home! :) I know that’s wrong, but it makes me happy.

Watching you with your brother and sister takes my breath away. I remember when Brody first came home from the hospital, we asked if you wanted to hold him and you said you didn’t want to….you were scared. That first night, you sat in the chair with Kevin and he helped you hold your little brother for the first time. It totally melted my heart. You have been such an awesome big brother from that moment on! I loved to see your face when Brody started to recognize you and when he started to laugh at the things you said. I even have the video from my first official Mother’s Day, when we were all in our bedroom and you gave Brody the toy you picked out for him. Those moments are the ones that will be ingrained in my brain forever. Even though he can’t totally express it, I know how much Brody loves you and how much he looks up to you as his big brother. He is extremely lucky to have you in his life, like we all are!

With Molly, you were a little older and more secure being around babies. You took to her almost instantly and held her more in the first month than I think you did in the first six months of Brody’s life. You interacted with her from the start and even talked about how you were going to quiz her boyfriends when you come over to our house for Sunday dinners when you are older. I love that about you. I definitely see you as a big protector for her and with you and Dad there, I definitely feel sorry for any guy that wants to take her out on a date! :) I watch Molly light up when she sees you and I see you do the same. Thank you for being who you are and never change!

Ethan, you have turned out to be such an awesome kid and you have made your Dad and I so proud. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to take on the role of your stepmom, a role that was both unfamiliar to you and me, and I love you more than you will ever know. I only hope that as your teenage years approach, you will always remember that your Dad and I will always be here for you, day or night, for whatever you need and that we both love you very much.