Sick Days

So Mr. Cayden had a rough start to this new year. Started out with a simple cold, and runny nose, and quickly got worse near the end of January. By the beginning of February, we had had three trips to the doctor, an overnight stay in the hospital, lots of medicine, and countless breathing treatments. Sick days mean lots of moaning, groaning and sleepless nights for everyone involved.

Here's a video Cayden sent Daddy before going to the doctor and being admitted. Breathing was very fast and shallow, and he was just plain Miserable!

He was admitted to the Pediatric Department in the hospital where I work...which definitely has its perks! He was given lots of toys to play with while we were there, and even more to take home with us! We set up covered mats on the floor right next to his bed, and he played here for hours - breaking only to do his breathing treatments every 2 hours!

He gave me his "Happy Face" despite coughing nonstop and feeling pretty crappy!

He was diagnosed with RSV before the night was over, but the rest of his bloodwork was all normal. Cayden (and Mama) didn't sleep much that night, but when he did catch a few minutes of sleep, the coughing stopped and he looked pretty peaceful.

By morning he was feeling better, with treatment intervals increasing to every 3-4 hours. He hadn't had much of an appetite since this illness started, but was pretty interested in watching Mickey Mouse House and popping Cheerios in the hospital bed!

By 10am his doctor had made her rounds, and she was confident that I could continue to take care of him in the comfort of our own home (perks of being a nurse!). So we were excited to get outta there, and spent the next few days doing treatments and medicine at home! We followed up with the doctor after the weekend passed - Cayden was still pretty miserable through the nights, not sleeping and with fever. Ended up that he had a double ear infection on top of everything. Ugh! But I'd have to say that as of today, 2/5/11, he's Much better! Still on antibiotics, and treatments now only as needed, we're on the road to recovery!

And if you're wondering about little Mya...yes. RSV is quite contagious. I'm positive that she ended up with it as well, to a much lesser degree. She has been very snotty, with a terrible cough, but with treatments for her as needed, she's handling it pretty well! For a while there, I felt like placing my children in quarantine somewhere! But we made it through the worst of it...with much thanks to Meme who allowed for some respite time for Mama!

Is winter over yet?!?!

Best Friends!

Boy oh Boy! Can't beat this smile!

My baby girl is 5 months already. I can't believe that.

She is eating her fruits and veggies like a champ and finally growing (everything but her hair!)
She's definitely got a personality...she's very spunky. I have a feeling she's gonna be my trouble! But she's so darn cute!

She's obsessed with chewing on her fingers these days, drooling like a champion, and loves playing with the toes on her right foot (random, I know but she loves it!) It's to the extent that I pull that foot out of her little outfits so she can get to her piggies! So funny :-)

Check her out! Sitting up like a big girl, with her little hands folded. And look how she's grown! So much bigger than her little 1 week photo with that pillow :-)
Cayden is still obsessed with his little sister, until she slobbers on him! He loves to get just close enough for her to grab at him, then he just rolls away...laughing that big belly laugh of his!

Going in for the kiss....

So here's my big man...with mama's shoes on! I bought myself the Zumba fitness videos for Christmas, and Cayden loves to do "my work" with me! He cracks me up. Every time he sees me putting on my tennis shoes, he runs and gets his shoes, brings them to me and says, "Mama! I do work too!?" Then he insists on putting his shoes, stands in front of me and proceeds to step forward and back yelling "Front and Center, Back and Center!" We'll both be in great shape in no time!

This is a typical afternoon in my living room! Cayden playing hard (in his mis-matched jammers) while Mya sits and watches in awe.

These two play all day! Cayden asks me all the time, "Mama, Mya get me?!" And he shrieks and squeals when I put her on him, or stand her up and "pretend" walk her towards him to "get him!" Lots of fun...more pictures to come!

Lots to Share!

Miss Mya

4 months

13 lbs, 5 oz

24 in.

...And so darn cute!

This is my newest favorite!!
Mya, all dressed up for Christmas :-)

I want to start the rest of this post by thanking my great hubby for the awesome new digital camera (thanks mom and dad, too!), and the new MacBook I got for Christmas- both of which will make this blog just so much better! I'm a lucky girl! :-)

Okay, this one's gonna be a little lengthy...I'm terrible and haven't been able to keep up with everything that's going on! I have lots to write here, but even better are the adorable pictures that I've captured over the last month! I'll start with Christmas... this year was really fun for me. It was the first year that we were really able to teach Cayden some of the great things about Christmas, and actually see that he fully understood what was going on. We watched and talked a lot about Santa and his reindeer (Rudolph is his favorite, of course!); He became obsessed with Frosty; and he really understood that Santa would bring him new toys if he was a good boy. To see the wonder and amazement in his eyes for the weeks leading up to, and on Christmas morning was more than I could have asked for!

He woke up around 8am Christmas morning. I ran upstairs to get Mya, and Cyle got Cayden from his room. Cayden came running from his room to look under the tree...but his very first thought was to see if Santa really ate all of the cookies that he and Daddy left out for him the night before (I unfortunately had to work, so wasn't home for the Christmas eve rituals...but was delighted to find that Cyle had set everything up just perfectly!). He ran to the toy stand, where they left some cookies, to find a few crumbs left behind by that messy old Santa!

Without a second thought, Cayden scooped up the crumbs and tossed them down the hatch! Typical Cayden...he'd never let a good cookie go to waste!! So funny! And luckily Cyle and I did opened our gifts Christmas Eve, so we were able to capture him at just the right moment with my new fancy camera! :-)

He did a great job opening his gifts all by himself this year, but had a hard time continuing on to the next one after opening something fun - he just wanted to play!

Cayden is POTTY-TRAINED!! We tried with him a few weeks before Christmas, and in a matter of 2 days, he had it pretty well mastered! He loves his big boy underwear, so for Christmas he got some new Diego undies...and his face says it all!

Mya didn't get a whole lot for Christmas this year, except for lots of lovin'! She watched her big brother, with the widest of eyes.
A few days after Christmas, we took down our big boys crib, and Daddy set up his new big boy CAR bed! And in it went all of his favorite blankets, and some brand new McQueen bedding! Cayden was so excited to sleep in his new bed, Cyle and I..not so excited. Well of course we were excited to see him so happy, but we've been putting this off for quite awhile, wondering if he'll be less safe, or more prone to getting up and falling, breaking bones, etc...a parents worry...

But in the end, we can't keep him in a crib forever, and I guess a fall from him trying to climb out of the crib would be worse than one falling from a 2 ft. high toddler bed, right? As you can see though, we weren't too happy with the fit of the mattress - and jammed blankets and pillows into any possible space that he might be able to stick his little fat feet into...nice, huh?!

But he absolutely loves it!

Cayden is really entertaining these days. I feel like he's really getting smarter and smarter each day, and I'm baffled by the conversations I have with a 2 year old some days! He's so funny - such a big personality for such a little boy! These days, he's counting to ten, spelling his name, and when asked, he's quick to tell you his name is "Townsend Cayden Wilkinson!!!"
He is really such a great big brother too! He loves to get down on the floor and play with Mya. He laughs when she giggles at him, and his laugh just makes her giggle even more!
Cayden got some new coloring books for Christmas, and i was able to get a shot of my boys, winding down before bedtime...Coloring in little boy undies - freakin adorable!

So, I know I've been terrible about writing on this blog, but there are so many new things going on, and I have such great new equipment to use, that more posting is inevitable! I promise I'll be better!!