Oh Brecken!

What am I going to do with my sweet little Brecken.  His tonsils are so huge that he won't/can't eat most foods - and the foods he will eat are getting fewer and fewer by the day.  He goes to the ENT in a few weeks and I am HOPING that she will take them out (before he eats NOTHING and he gets sleep apnea like all 3 of his older brothers).  

Yesterday, I was trying to get him to eat ANYTHING for breakfast without much luck.  I put ONE piece of Captain Crunch in front of him - he pushed it away.  I pushed it back - I should not have done that.  He started to GAG because it was too close to him and then he threw up!  Seriously, who throws up just by looking at a piece of Captain Crunch - broccoli I would understand, but a sugary cereal?  Good thing I love this little guy!

My Brecken

My cute little Brecken is such a character.  He has had a hard time the last several months - but is still such a cutie!  Here are some pages I made (before the twins came) of my Brecken back in May.  He is so much fun - and is so good at amusing himself (thankfully).

Poor little guy is sick right now - but just a virus.  He has a nasty sore throat (but not strep) - which for Brecken means he throws up (no fun) and has a high fever.  Hopefully he will feel better soon.

Shake it Brecken!

My sweet little Brecken has had a really hard time the last few months with me not being able to pick him up or play with him or take good care of him.  It hasn't gotten any better since the twins arrived and my c-section.  Luckily, he is very good at entertaining himself.  He will spend hours in my office playing with toys, reading books, DANCING, and playing with stickers.  Any time music is on, he is shaking his little bum.  Here is a cute picture of him DANCING - my cute cousin (actually cousin's wife) Amanda, took this picture.  She is here this week and it is so much fun to have her here (and a HUGE help - she is great at holding babies!).

Well Child Check-ups for Gavin & Brecken

I was able to sneak in 2 well child visits at once (okay - one was over a month late) before the twins come (and after my mom got here to help me since it is near impossible for me to pick up Brecken anymore).  They are both healthy and doing great!  Brecken is finally on track with his brothers as far as height goes - but I don't know what is going on with his weight (he is only in the 75% for weight).  Anyway - they are both healthy and happy and that is what matters!

Playtime for Brecken

I don't have much (okay, any) energy to play with Brecken these days.  Luckily, he is very good (and creative) at playing by himself.  I did manage to take some picture of him having fun - I couldn't resist, he is just so cute.  I am so lucky to have a little guy that plays so well - and most of the time he will play by himself.  What a cutie!

bedtime for Brecken

I must say, I am very lucky when it comes to putting Brecken down for a nap or bedtime (at least most of the time).  Usually, when I tell Brecken it is bedtime & take down the gate (keeping him from going upstairs), he takes off running to get up into his bed - especially if he sees I have his sippy cup / pacifier and his teddy bear / blanket.  And once he is in bed, he doesn't even cry (again, that is most of the time).  What a good boy - and what a blessing given my current condition.

Rough & Crazy Couple of Days

Poor little Matthew has had a ROUGH week.  He missed 2 days of school -  he was so sick but of course it was a virus.  Luckily, he is finally doing better - he has done a lot of watching TV with mommy.  And at least it wasn't croup like we thought at first (yucky cough and hard time breathing).  I love the picture of him where you can see he sleeps with his eyes open a little (which is creepy) - he sleeps just like his Aunt GG!

And what CRAZY weather we have been having (I guess really not that crazy for Utah - but it gets old after a while) considering it is Spring!  This past week it snowed (or rained one night before turning to snow) pretty much every day and was windy (our awning is now leaning but it has been too yucky out for them to come and fix it) and cold.  Not fun Spring weather - but good for our water levels.

And finally, my little Brecken had a horrible fall off the back of the couch - I thought for sure I broke him.  He didn't nap that day - which means mommy didn't get her MUCH needed nap, so I was trying to rest on the couch.  With an 18 month old, that doesn't work too well.  He was trying to sit on my shoulder/head when he went to stand up.  I reached up to grab him but by the time I did, there was no Brecken to grab - over the back of the couch he went (our couch is pretty tall too).  Let's just say I have no idea how I got off the couch as fast as I did to make sure he was okay.  And I'm not exactly sure how he landed but he was mostly standing up when I got to him and he had a huge rug burn on his forehead - and of course he screamed for a long time.  We were really worried about him since we didn't know if he hit his head or not but he seems to be okay.

Brecken Dancing

Brecken is hilarious!  He LOVES to dance.  Anytime he hears music, he will dance.  But especially when he hears the music from Madagascar or Madagascar 2.  As soon as I even turn the DVD player on, he is in front of the TV ready to dance as soon as the music starts.  So here is a little clip of Brecken dancing.  There is a little jump in the clip because Ed put the camera on me so I had to cut that part out.  And of course, Brecken has his "pacifier" (sippy cup) in his mouth the whole time and his teddy/blanket in his hand - those are his 2 favorite things that he is rarely without.  And yes, his shirt is soaking wet - he drools a lot these days.  

Enjoy his little dance!  It definitely makes me smile!

Fun in February

February has come and gone without a lot of pictures (at least not for me).  Here are a few of the pictures from this month.  I love some of the pictures of Brecken - he loves to sit in small & confined spaces like under the counter, under chairs, inbetween the chair and the ottoman or the couch and the ottoman - I guess with 3 older brothers, it helps him feel more safe.

And what a month for Dallin - he LOVES asparagus now!  That is HUGE!  

As far as sick kids - we did pretty well this winter until this month (and this month wasn't bad).  Brecken had a nasty ear infection (finally over it), Dallin hurt his neck (just pulled a muscle but missed 2 days of school because of it), and then last night Gavin's ear drum burst (I guess his tubes have come out).  

Brecken - a Little Boy Who Knows What he Wants

Brecken definitely knows what he wants.  Last night (or really this morning), he woke up and was crying (not normal for healthy Brecken).  Bless Ed, he went in to calm him down - but it didn't work.  A minute later Ed was back in our room and Brecken was still crying.  So, I got up and went in, held him for a minute and went back to bed.  When I got in bed this is how our conversation went:

Ed - How did you do that?

Me - I picked him up and held him for a minute and put him back down.

Ed - Oh.  I picked him up and he put his hand out and felt my face and started crying more.  So, I thought that meant he wanted to be in his crib so I put him back down.

Me - He loves me!

Ed - He just wants his Mommy!

Me - Oh, he needs to get over that!

Brecken's Rough Day

My poor little guy!  He has had a cold (nasty nose, cough) for over a week.  The last couple of nights he has been waking up at night (4 times last night - and each time he was crying and just wanted to cuddle, and he is NOT a cuddly little boy).  He has been really fussy, not eating well, and then this morning, his left ear started to oozy nasty yellow stuff.  So, off to the doctor we went (since I wasn't sure if his tubes were still in or not).  He had so much gunk in his ears that the doctor couldn't see if his tubes were in.  She tried taking the gunk out and was able to get some out (which must have hurt because I have never seen Brecken scream/cry like that, ever) but not enough to see.  So, he is getting ear drops and hopefully it will help - I really need the sleep!  But mostly, I need him to feel better!

This picture is of him in the shopping cart after getting his drops - he also has blood on his shirt from when he fell and bite his lip, he is drooling because he is teething - he is kind of a mess.

Brecken's Much Needed Hair Cut

Brecken's hair was getting way too long - it was cute and kind of curled - but was always crazy and a pain to wash.  So, last week off it came.  But where did my little baby go?  He looks so grown-up now!

Family Pictures (way back in August 2008)

Okay - so now that things have calmed down (holidays are over), I am trying to go back and finish up the pages I never got around to doing last year so I can get my first digital scrapbook printed!  Then I have to go back and do 2007 and the end of 2006 (I am so embarrassed to be so far behind - but I was really sick when I was pregnant with Brecken & we had a rough time the first 6 months of his life - and back then, I was doing traditional scrapbooking).  

So, here are a lot of the fabulous pictures my adorable cousin (okay, my cousin's wife) Amanda took for us last August.  She does a fabulous job so if you are in AZ, look her up (click here for her photography site).  Or, if we can get enough people up here in UT, she will come up and take pictures.  Anyway, she really does a great job.  I had a hard time picking which ones to scrapbook - hence the 7 pages!  Thanks again Amanda (and Angela - she was here then too and helped with the kids)!

Brecken's Favorite Chair

Okay - so it really isn't a chair but it is to Brecken.  Not only is it his "chair", it is his favorite place to be.  If he is unhappy, I can put him in his "chair" (luckily, he can climb in and out by himself) and he will be happy - especially if I put on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or Toy Story (I know he shouldn't watch so much TV but it is saving me these days).  And don't you love his "pacifier".  He has to have a sippy cup with him (and only this kind) and he doesn't care if it has anything in it - he just has to suck/bite on it.  Gotta love the way this little guy thinks!

Brecken's New Tricks

After weeks of working on it, Brecken can finally WALK and WALK and WALK!  For the past couple he is finally walking more than crawling.  It is so much fun to watch his cute face as he walks across the room - he is so proud of himself!

Brecken's 1-year Check-up

Yeah - Brecken was finally healthy enough for his 1-year check-up (just a month late).  I am just glad he is feeling so much better!

Brecken's New Favorite Toy

Brecken LOVES this new toy!  And Ed likes that I didn't buy it.  The Taylor twins were done with it and are letting Brecken use it.  He thinks it is a fabulous toy!  Part of why he likes it I think is because he can "jump" on it (like his bouncer from when he was smaller).  It is so much fun to watch his face light up when he is on it and listen to him SCREAM with joy!

Hair Cut for Brecken - YEAH!

Brecken really needed a hair cut.  It was suppose to get cut last week but he was too sick.  So, my wonderful friend (Dani) who is fabulous at doing hair was kind enough to come over to my house (she does not normally do house calls) to cut it (so I didn't have to drag 3 kids over to her house).  Brecken held really still but was NOT happy about it - those are real tears.  Poor little guy!  But he looks SOOOOOOO much better now!  Thanks Dani!  I owe you!

Croup - Not Going Away

Brecken scared me yesterday - he thought it would be fun to not be able to breathe.  He had had a rough day - wanting to be held but wanting down - just not happy.  By the afternoon, he was wheezing and hurting with every breathe (and cried non-stop for 30 minutes and it didn't matter what I did).  We tried the hot shower, steam thing (not cold enough outside) but that did no good.  So, I called the doctor and said we were coming in.  Then called my cute little neighbor and she came over to babysit the big 3.  When we got to the doctors (which luckily is about 3 minutes away), they took us straight back to the doctor and he immediately gave Brecken a breathing treatment - which was me holding a mask over his face for 5-8 minutes.  Let's just say Brecken did NOT enjoy it.  But he was a MILLION times better afterwards - he could actually breathe and seemed to be more himself!  They also gave him another shot.  Today he is better - I did have to sit in front of an open window with him early this morning (it definitely was cold enough) for about 45 minutes - but it helped.  And so far today he is still breathing!  He doesn't go far from me - we have cuddled a lot (which is NOT Brecken) - but he is taking a nap (at least for a few minutes) and seems to be okay.

You've Got to Be Kidding - Brecken has Croup!

My cute little guy has croup - no, not Matthew - Brecken.  That means 3 of my 4 boys have had croup in the last month (Gavin got croup at Disneyland - which I hope to be done blogging tomorrow).  Anyway, it has been a long day for Brecken - I hope it isn't too long of a night.  But again, there are way worse things (but my little boy not breathing is definitely up there).