And this is where I get my butt handed to me...

Ugh, where do I start.  I thought last week sucked.  I woke up Monday with a bit of a cold.  I was annoyed because it's the third time I've been sick since Josh left.  So apparently my impenetrable immune system is no longer impenetrable.  Tuesday, I still felt sick, but not horrible.  I went running with Cailin and the girls went to Mother's Morning Out at Garber.  Wednesday, I went to get the girls in the morning and Josie was having trouble breathing.  It really scared me, so I called the Koupals and they told me to bring her in a hot steamy bathroom with me, which I did and it helped a lot.  I brought her to the doctor and he prescribed prednisone to open up her airways and gave me extra in case Piper came down with the same thing.  Thursday and Friday, I felt sick enough that I contemplated going to the Now Care because my chest was so tight and I was having trouble breathing too.

Meanwhile, Jackson had surgery scheduled for Friday to remove a big tumor on his hip.  It was supposed to be a routine surgery and would help address the limping and the trouble he has moving that hip around.  The vet called Friday afternoon and said it was much more complicated than she was expecting, that the tumor was wrapped around muscles and nerves, that she actually severed his sciatic nerve while she was in there, and that she was recommending we biopsy it. :(  He came home Friday afternoon and I couldn't even get him up the stairs.  Heather helped me get him inside, then came back later that night and helped me get him out to go potty.  We won't know the results of the biopsy until late next week and pray that it's not the big bad C word. :(  We love our Jackson. 

Josie and I are finally feeling better today after a week of sleepless nights and loooong days.  Piper never came down with it (knock on wood).  I told her to stay healthy so she can take care of all of us!  We're also sans babysitter now after I let go the new one who did not work out last week.

Here's some proof of our crappy week:

Josie looking a little disheveled and not feeling so hot after a nap.  

 Poor guy is already getting sick of being stuck inside.  He hobbles over to his frisbee when I take him out to go potty. 

 Huge cut to remove a big, bad tumor. :(

Just fine, happy as can be.

How I have been spending my nights

Making hair clips and stuff.  I guess boredom sometimes breeds creativity

Ups and Downs

This has been an interesting week.  It started out a little rough.  I was worn out, tired of taking care of everything myself, dealing with two teething babies, a dog that needs surgery, things that keep breaking in the house (the faucet, the garage door, etc), lame medical bills and insurance companies, and sort of in a bad mood overall. 

Everything is taken care of and I have had some time to think about how grateful I am for the people who support me and help me on a day-to-day basis.  I truly have some great friends here and I'm not sure how we would manage without the support we have from them.  I can't even count how many times Kimzey has come over to help with dinnertime/bath time - at least a couple times a week.  This has been such a huge help to me I can't even explain it.  Heather has brought over food several times (despite the fact that she was on her own too), Kenzie has kept us company for playdates and brunch.  I also appreciate my family and the support they always provide me - even if it's from a distance. 

The week ended on a high note with the birth of baby Gavin Cromwell.  We are headed over shortly to meet the little guy.  I also had a great race at the Bridge Run Half Marathon yesterday with a time of 1:37 - more than a ten minute PR.  It was also fun seeing my friends there and having time to catch up with everyone.

Here are some pics from the week:

Help!!

 

 Oh boy, things have changed around here in the last month.  There is no more sitting babies down with a couple of toys while mom gets a few things done.  They are everywhere!  Both girls are crawling and not content to sit anywhere at anytime.  They are also both starting to pull up on things - and always things that seem to be major hazards, like the swing, or an open drawer, or a chair that could fall over them.  This is a picture of them in their crib when I went in to get them from a nap.  The major upside to all this mobility is they crawl over to each other in their cribs and entertain themselves for a little while until they really want to get up. 

 Here's Josie escaping the confines of the playroom to explore the kitchen.  She especially likes to crawl over to Jackson's bowl.  Awesome! 

Here's Piper practicing her pulling up on the door.  Unfortunately, she's taken a couple of spills practicing her new skill. 

Koupal Cousins

The Koupals came up to visit last weekend, so the girls got a little extra love and attention.  Poor Piper was having a bad day.  She has two more teeth coming through and was feeling pretty miserable! 

Here are some of the pics we took:

 

Happy birthday daddy!

We love you and miss you!  Can't wait for you to get home so we can celebrate.

Ten months!

Josie and Piper are ten months!  The last month flew by with our trip to Utah grandma and grandpa visiting.  We now officially have two mobile babies and their little personalities become more apparent every day.  The girls are eating table food and great at feeding themselves their bottles, which helps me so much!  Here's some of what's been going on:

Josie:

• Finally has her bottom two teeth!  They broke through just a couple of days after we got back from Utah.
• Is crawling like crazy.  It took her a little while longer to get the forward motion going, but she is getting very efficient and moving around like crazy.
• Has been doing great with her table food.  She loves waffles, quesadillas, sweet potato pancakes, and pretty much anything we put in front of her.  She's a great eater.
• Loves to play patty cake and sometimes it almost sounds like she is trying to say "patty cake" when we play.  
• Is sweet and silly and funny and still a little shy, but getting better and better with new people.  

Piper

• Still just the bottom two teeth which she has had for awhile now.
• Is also crawling and has been pretty good at army crawling for a few weeks now.  She's also trying to pull up on things and very good at getting back to sitting.  When I go get her in the morning, she is always sitting up in her crib waiting.
• Is not such a fan of eating table food.  She throws a fit and scrunches up her lips anytime I try to give her anything new.  Sitting in her high chair is far too boring and lame for her!
• Is crazy and fun and sassy and constantly on the move. 

Here's proof of their mobility.  Usually they head in different directions, but the blinds must have lucked really interesting. 

After the rain

We had 16 inches of rain around here from last Sunday through Thursday. It might be hard to comprehend just how much rain that is so trust me when I say it's a lot! After being stuck inside all week we got out Friday for storytime at the library with Cailin and Reed, followed by 7 miles with the strollers. Then Saturday we ventured down to Morehead City to see the Koupals and check out the Seafood Festival. Fall is officially here and the temps aren't supposed to get above 70 degrees all week. Yay!!!!!

Here's some of the aftermath of our epic storm. The dogs appreciated it!




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Six-month old shots (four months later)

Here are some of the best shots from Josie and Piper's first photo shoot.  They were only six months here and are already starting to look like little girls and not so much like little babies.  Sweet, beautiful girls!

Sayonara Utah

We are home now after a great two weeks in Utah. Eleven days turned into two weeks after a canceled flight last Wednesday, which turned into a lost bag, and then a very angry mommy. So angry that even I am embarrassed by my behavior. The Delta folks still aren't sure what hit them. Nonetheless, we made it home on Friday with my dad, who was nice enough to make the not-so-fun trip with us. We enjoyed a weekend with him, and he flew out in thunderstorms yesterday.

Some of the highlights from the rest of our trip:

Lunch at Uncle Jeff and Aunt Leslie's

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My grandpa's birthday party in Syracuse


The girls finally got to meet their great grandparents




The girls with their second cousin Hadlee, who is just a few weeks younger than them


Uncle Jim and Austin drove out to meet them after a weekend of hunting


We had a fantastic time in Utah! The girls were great little travelers and in general just loved all the extra attention. I hope we get to go back sooner, rather than later. There's a reason we threw a fit and got those Delta vouchers...

Time to drop someone's crib

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Little cougars???

Daddy is going to be mad!!


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Partying with the Joneses

Tonight we went to Uncle Jer and Aunt Erika's house for a Jones family party. We ate pizza and the girls got to see Grandpa and Maryann and meet their cousins and Aunt Rebecca. We missed seeing Jim, but hope to see him before we lave.

Josie and Jer


Piper and Rebecca


Allison and Piper - I think these two might be kindred spirits


Josie and Amanda


The girls with grandpa and Maryann


All the kids with grandpa and Maryann