Restricted Airway Condition

Thats what the doctor said Carson has. He's had this wicked cough for the longest time but hasn't really been sick, so I finally took him into the doctor today. I had wondered if Carson has asthma because that tends to run on my side of the family. When we were in Utah this weekend Kris had suggested we get him checked out, I'm glad she did. The Doc said that it isn't quite asthma but it is similar. It is brought on by seasonal allergies, which means that each time the seasons change, he'll get it. So he has been put on a nebulizer. Do you have any idea how much those things cost? $200. Yup, at least thats what they told me they are going to be billing my insurance. The Doc told me to buy one instead of rent one because we'll be using it a lot in the future. Good thing the medication that goes in it is only $4. My poor little guy, he was up all night coughing and wheezing. I hope this helps.

This morning we also went to my doctors appointment. So right now I am 31 1/2 weeks, but I measured to 34 1/2 weeks! Yikes! I know it isn't because of weight gain because I haven't even gained 10 pounds yet. This little guy just feels bigger than Carson. I also asked Dr. Crouch about the excessive pain I've had in my pelvic area. It was so bad that last night I couldn't even climb up into our bed so I slept in the recliner. He suggested a maternity girdle because the baby is sitting right on my pubic bone. So while I was at the medical supply store today I priced one...$60. Yeah, that on top of the nebulizer, I don't think so. So hopefully I'll find another solution so I can at least walk around. I had the same problem at the end of my pregnancy with Carson and ended up gaining a lot of weight because I couldn't get around to exercise. Arghhh, Mondays! The good news is that I am down to my two week appointments, the end is in sight! Then I suppose, the real work begins.

I Want To Go To Yellowstone

Tonight Jeff was packing up to go to Yellowstone for the week. He ended up finding a stow-away waiting for him in his bag. I think Carson misses Jeff during the week, what do you think?

The Sweetest Husband

I have the sweetest husband ever! Last night he took Carson to the grocery store to get some items that we needed. I stayed home because I wasn't feeling well. I was in the bedroom when they got home and I heard Jeff say to Carson, "Now go give those to Mommy." Carson came in my room with a dozen roses and said, "Mommy, we got these for you!" It was so precious. Thank you Jeff, I love you!

Lets go for a Car Ride...

Thursday afternoon when Jeff got home from Yellowstone, Carson told Daddy that he wanted to go for a car ride. So Friday morning we packed up a lunch and headed out, not knowing where we were going to go. We headed out towards Palasades area, but the road began to be solid ice and I suggested that we turn around because driving on ice isn't my idea of fun. So we headed back and ended up in Idaho Falls. We went to see the Pharaohs display at the Museum of Idaho. They have a children's room upstairs where you can let your children run around and play. After the museum we went over to the river and fed the ducks. Carson's idea of feeding ducks is chasing after them, yelling, "Birdies! Come here!" It was hilarious to watch. We finally convinced him that all he had to do was throw the bread at the birds.

Jeff was disappointed that we had only ended up in Idaho Falls for our drive, so we got on the Interstate and headed south...we ended up in Salt Lake. Jeff called his sisters to see if they were home and said we were in town and wanted to stop by, but first we had to go to The Train Shoppe and let Jeff look around. Carson was so excited to get to Braydon's house, but when we got there Braydon was still in school, so he had fun playing with Alex until Braydon got home. Kris brought back pizza with her when she went to go get Braydon. After dinner she got out a new bubble set that the Easter Bunny had brought and let the boys play. Carson was having so much fun and laughing so hard at Braydon.

Even though we hadn't packed any overnight stuff, we ended up staying and Kris graciously offered her bed to us. It was way fun to spend time with family and hang out. We ended up leaving at about 3 o'clock this morning because none of us could sleep and Carson was throwing a fit saying that he wanted to go to "his house". So we headed off in the middle of the night and missed the Utah traffic. We made it to Downey before we had to pull over and get some sleep. We slept in the car for over and hour. We didn't make it home until after 8 this morning because we also made a few other stops. Overall it was fun to get out of town and actually go somewhere where the grass is green and the flowers are coming up!

Things are Okay

Just a quick update...
On Monday I went into the doctor's office because I had been spotting again. All Sunday night I had been having a LOT of pelvic pressure and pain. When I talked to one of the nurses at the office she suggested that I come in ASAP because it sounded like I might be going into pre-term labor. I was just a little freaked out, to say the least. Anyways when I got in, Dr. Barton did an ultrasound and everything looked normal: head down, placenta high, and the umbilical cord looked fine (By the way, our baby has such an adorable face, at least what I could tell from the ultrasound!). Then he did a pelvic exam and everything was okay--no dilation or thinning, whew! So he thinks it might have been stress related and told me to try to relax. Like that's possible when you are home all day with a moody two year old, so we ended up going to stay with my mom Tuesday night. I am pretty sure it was a reaction from my horrible experience with Carson at church on Sunday. I've never had a harder time with him and I am so thankful for my visiting teacher who took pity on me and came out in the hall to help. Its hard to try to explain to a tired little boy that he can't go sit and play with daddy. Carson is really possessive of Jeff when he is home so Sundays aren't the most fun day for me.

Easter Festivities

Saturday morning we went to the Easter Egg Hunt in Firth. Grandma had to hand out out candy for their business so we decided to go help her. Carson participated in the three to four year old hunt. He was very fast about getting his three eggs and as you can tell from the pictures he was the first one to head back and go get his prizes. I got to see a lot of friends from high school that I hadn't talked to in years and I even saw my cousin Rachel, but didn't get a chance to go chat with her. After the hunt was over we headed to the Blackfoot airport to go on an airplane ride with Grandpa Larsen.

Carson was excited to go on an airplane ride. He had fun looking at things from "way up high" and asking Daddy what things were. Jeff also had a fun time and loves to fly. He said that he was very impressed with the smooth take off and landing.
When the boys were done flying we went to Red Lobster in Pocatello for lunch. Grandpa took Carson to see the lobsters and he even got to touch one. He loved it.

After he looked at the lobster I took him across the hall for a potty break. When I came out of the bathroom I got a dirty look from a lady who was waiting to be seated. Lesson learned: Don't come out of a public restroom with a child in one hand and a camera in the other!
Today we went over to Jeff's dad's house for an Easter dinner. Carson had a lot of fun playing with his cousins and even got to do another Easter Egg Hunt!

Here is a video of him playing with his cousins.

What a Long Week

I must say that this week has gone by soooo slowly. We've been busy everyday except today and today has just dragged on. Carson and I had a better week this week than last week, but it still has been a challenge to not have daddy home. All night last night Carson kept asking where daddy was and if he could play with him. It was a long night because Carson had a late nap yesterday (I shouldn't complain, at least he took a nap yesterday...only because I drove him around). He didn't go to sleep until midnight and that was because I let him come get in my bed. My intent was to take him back to his bed as soon as he fell asleep, but I was drained and fell asleep too. So I spent the night with both the baby and Carson kicking me, what fun. Carson has been obsessed with dressing up as a fireman this week. Here he is posing for me. He wanted to go out on the balcony and play earlier today. So I told him to go get a jacket and some shoes...here is what he brought me. In case you can't tell he is wearing rain boots.
Today has been especially rough since I've had a lot of pain in my abdomen and even some spotting. I was hoping Jeff would come home early today, but he stayed to work overtime. I don't even have the energy to pack up Carson so I can go to the Doctor. Maybe tomorrow. Its already almost 5 and he hasn't' had a nap today. I must confess, I've plugged him into two movies to try to get him to go to sleep. I'd take him on a drive again, but then I'd have to haul him up three flights of stairs and I'm not into doing that today. Oh well, Jeff will be home tonight and then I can have a break.

Blast Off

Yesterday Tiffany and I took the boys down to Blast Off in Idaho Falls. Carson and I had never been there before so it was a new experience. We let the boys play in the big playground which had a ball pit, tubes, slides, and much more. It was a great way for Carson to get out and run! Carson ended up losing a sock in the ball pit and after attempting to look for it, I decided it was a lost cause. After about two hours of playing we took the boys to Wendy's for dinner, where I am sure the people who had to clean up our table were angry because there was lots of spilled chocolate milk everywhere! Anyway, it was a great way to spend an afternoon.

29 Weeks 3 Days

29 1/2 Weeks with Jonas 37 1/2 Weeks with Carson

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YIKES! So here is another belly pic, I think I look HUGE! I seriously look as big as I was 9 months with Carson. Here are the pics to prove it. And even though I look ginormous, I have only gained 7 pounds and am still wearing a lot of the clothes that I had before I was pregnant. So I have like 10 weeks left and I don't even want to know what I'll look like then. I think I'll start doing my workout video twice a day instead of once. I am pretty sure that this little guy is going to be bigger than Carson. I am already very uncomfortable and I didn't get that way with Carson until the last month. I am just hoping that he isn't a 9 pounder because I'd probably end up with another section. Last week I had my gestational diabetes test and passed, but they found out I am very anemic. No wonder why I have had no energy. I work out and then feel like I could sleep for two hours. Doctor Allred said that with my iron so low my body had been working overtime to make enough blood. Well, I am down to the last stretch and can't wait for our little guy to get here.

Book Tag

I was tagged by Tiffany, here are the rules:

1. Pick up the nearest book (at least 123 pages).

2. Turn to page 123.

3. Find the 5th sentence

4. Post the 5th sentence on your blog

5. Tag 5 people

The nearest book I had was Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth (Oprah's book club!). So here goes what I read. Keep in mind this is a deep book about breaking through the confines of the ego. "People unknowingly sabotage their own work when they withhold information from others or try to undermine them lest they become more successful or get more credit that 'me'."

Jeff was sitting right by me and wanted to play along too (oh yeah, he was able to come home early from Yellowstone, YEAH!!). The nearest book he grabbed was The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. This is what he read:

"Now is the time to do it in the face of the Enemy."

Okay so now you know that we are nerds and like to read deep books. Oh well, we also like to go shopping in bookstores (when we are in IF Carson will always say, "I want to go to 'arnes and 'oble!" and yes we were there again today). Also, I have recently discovered the wonder of amazon.com....actually we just got another order of books in yesterday! We also had sitting out on our desk: Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child, Supernanny: How to get the best from your Children (thanks for the suggestion Tiffany, it came in my order last night and I can't wait to read it!), Basic Painting and Weathering for Model Railroaders, and Standing for Something. Yes, we love to read at our house!!

I tag: Alisha, Megan, Deanna, Christine, and Maria.

Alone

So I guess I should update on what is going on with our family. I know that I had told some of you we were going to be transferring to St. George. That plan has changed. Jeff ended up working at the cabin in Ashton too long and the opportunity to go to St. George passed. I am not really that heartbroken about it because I didn't have my heart set on going. He has been transferred to Yellowstone Nat'l Park to work on the Old Faithful Inn. The job is supposed to go to mid summer, so we will be staying here in Rexburg until then. We have to stay with the company until the baby is born because we are on their insurance. After that, I wouldn't be heartbroken if Jeff found another job. Anyways, so we'll be able to have the baby here with family for support and I won't have to try to find a new doctor (what a relief). But the downside is that Jeff is up there working. He left today to go up there for an 8 day stretch. We had originally been told that he would only be gone 3 1/2 days a week and home the other 3 1/2. I was okay with that because 3 days can go by fast. But he has to stay up there for this long stretch because they are closing the park down to open the roads for spring and if he came home he wouldn't be able to get back in. So I already miss him and it hasn't even been 1 day yet, actually only about 6 hours. I think this will be a great test of my patience. Jeff and I are so close and it is hard not to have your best friend to talk to all the time. Why is it that time always seems to go so slow when you are missing someone?? I came home from church and threw myself into picking up the apartment. However about 7 o'clock I calmed down and now I am just hoping that the next week and a half goes by fast. I suppose I should set some goals for myself and Carson so we keep busy. The worst thing I could do would be to sit and stare at the clock. My biggest hope is that all goes well this week and that we are able to get Jeff's last check from the cabin.
This will be the longest that we've been apart since my trip to New York. And let me say, it is a lot harder when you are the person stuck at home and not on the trip. Hopefully I can find something to keep me entertained. Of course having a two year old is a lot of entertainment, and I am so thankful I have Carson with me! Well, if any of you want to take pity on me, give me a call this week and lets go do something!

Laughs

Here are some of the hilarious things Carson has said over the past few weeks:

Carson loves to pretend to throw imaginary snowballs at Jeff. They'll get in an "snowball fight" with each other. One night Jeff decided to pretend to eat one of the snowballs when it was "thrown" at him. Carson looked at him in surprise because Jeff had never done that before, then he smiled and said, "Daddy, I peed on it!" We both broke out in laughter... I guess telling him not to eat yellow snow backfired.

The other day I was in the bathroom with Carson watching him take his morning bath. All of the sudden he stops playing with his toys and says, "Mommy, you want to see my bum?" I said no thank you that I'd seen it plenty. Then he said, "No, you want to see it." He then laid on his back and grabbed his feet in his hands and was spread eagle. "See my bum" he said. I replied, "Yes sweetie now you can sit up." Then he said in a louder voice, "Mommy, now say thank you!!" I guess he thought I should appreciate his gesture.