a LONG overdue update

I know this is a rough update, but given that I can’t sit here at my computer for too long before my legs go numb, I figure if I get this out than at least I won’t feel so bad if I just post new stuff until I can sit long enough to finish all of my older, still waiting posts.

So, here is goes.

*Ezra is getting really big and so very smart! He says over 75 words, and he also can recognize from sight all of the letters of the alphabet and his numbers 1-9. He knows some sign language, and uses it often. He loves to color, play with cars, trains, blocks and he really LOVES to read. Mickey Mouse is his favorite character, even though he doesn't get to watch him often. He was always a 'big' boy on the charts until 9 months, when he seemed to decide it was time to slow down. He has only gained 3.5 lbs since then (he will be 2 in a few weeks) and just barely started to grow taller. He went from being in the 90% to the 15%. It was a big drop but he is making up for it quickly. He still has to have lactose free milk, but can finally have cheese, ice cream, and even regular milk in moderation. He just has a sensitive stomach. His asthma is doing better now that it is starting to get warmer, and I'm so glad. He loves to run around outside and really do anything while he is out there. He is such a smart, loving little boy and it is so fun to be his mom.

*Addie recently decided it was time to grow, and within a month went up a size in her shoes, clothes and maturity level. :) She is very well behaved and is such a great big sister. She is very helpful and almost always the most polite. She loves to take care of Ezra and to do anything with him. They are attached the entire time she is with us. She has been struggling in school, for some reasons that I don’t feel comfortable sharing here, but mostly because of her inability to pay attention and stay focused. She is smart, but she is so very stubborn!! She definitely does her homework the best for me, she does pretty well with Jarom, but she fights her mom about it quite a bit. She has started to come over more and we were able to help her stay caught up on her homework until school was out and she did really pretty well. I think it is hard for Addie to come here sometimes, because she knows she has to do her homework before anything else, and she usually comes with an entire weeks' worth when it is due the next day. She always does it, does well, and actually does it all fairly fast (if I do it with her). But it isn't near as fun as what she gets to do with her mom every day. She will be with us for almost 5 weeks straight this summer, and we are really excited. We had some big plans for before the new baby comes, and some have had to change, but Addie is still really excited to come and we are excited that she will be with us, and that hopefully we can get some good habits going before she goes back in hopes they will help with school. She was just recently diagnosed with ADHD (mostly the AD, not the H) and we are currently working with the doctor trying to find the best treatment for her with the least amount of medication. (Hard because we have to get things through 2 homes, but we are all working to do the best we can for her.) Oh, and she is getting baptized on August 13th. She is such a smart, loving and beautiful little girl who is just growing up too fast!!

*Baby #2- Edison Kay- that is what we are naming him. The Kay is after my dad and my grandma Gilbert.:) He is growing really good, he is about 4lbs right now, which is good. He has had some shots to help develop his lungs more in case he doesn't make it to 37 weeks. He is completely out of room in my body. At my last appointment, the dr said "There are no picture taking opportunities today; his face is completely squished into the bottom of your uterus." We tried to move him, and there just wasn't anywhere for him to go. We could see on the ultrasound the back of his head, but if Dr. H went near the baby's face it would just go black. Dr. H said that it's a good thing he doesn't get his oxygen from breathing through his nose/mouth because neither one of them would be able to get any air with the way he is. [lol] He is head down though which is good (not quite as important since I have to have a c-section though.) He has bruised my ribs badly from his frequent kicks/attempts to move. He knocks the wind out of me multiple times a day, and where he is sitting is also pinching my sciatic nerve making my legs not feel so great. But even with the hard parts, I'm still so grateful that I get to be able to have a healthy baby and to be a mom. It will be easier to remember that when I can feel my legs again though. ;)

*Jarom is working.. and waiting for school to start up again. He is such a great dad and he loves to get down and play with the kids. He is also a great husband and takes good care of me and our family. :) He is actually doing everything at the moment- cooking, cleaning, child care, and doing all he can to make sure I am comfortable and have everything I need without needing to get up. He is a good man, and I feel very blessed every day that he is my husband. He is kind of nerdy though, and I've been seeing that a lot more lately as he has been trying to entertain Ezra with his imagination and dance moves. Even Ezra thinks it is too silly; he will cover his eyes and say "Oh, Daddy. No more." It is hilarious. We are very lucky to have him!

*I have been doing a lot of nothing the past 2 weeks, since I fell and passed out at church. When I fell, I caused a small placental abruption that could have been really bad. The baby’s blood mixed with mine, but luckily I got my rhoGam shot before it did. I have O- blood and so does Jarom so there wasn't really a chance that the mixture could have hurt me, but it still is a concern if/when they mix but things with that should be good. I also may have torn my inner c-section incision a little, which could be very bad, but there is not really any way to tell. The pain is still bad around my incision, so we are watching it closely. I am going to see my dr once a week and I am on bed rest until this kid comes out. I have to take medicine every 6-8 hours to stop the contractions, which are still happening all day, every day. The medicine does break them up a bit so they aren't consistent, most of the time. The last 2 days it hasn't seemed to work very well. My nearly dead blood pressure (I'm usually 90/40) has jumped in the past week to 125/60. While that is still in the "normal" range, it is rather high for me. I haven't seen it over 110 since two days before I had Ezra, and I had preeclampsia then. I am swelling really badly, even though it does go down some. They are watching me closely for preeclampsia (I got it at 36 weeks with Ezra, and delivered at 37 weeks, 3 days.) and while I don't want to be a downer, I can feel my body getting worse, and see the swelling getting worse each day so I'm sure it’s coming. But I know that we are in good hands with Dr. H and the Ogden Regional staff so I’m not too worried.

This has been long and sorry for the lack of pictures, I will add those the next time I sit here for a long period of time so you can see how they have grown and changed.

Until then…

I hope you all are happy, healthy and doing good!

PS… I need to give thanks.

 I know that there aren’t many people in my ward who will see this, but I want to say how grateful I am to be a member of such an amazing, loving, and caring ward. We have had meals brought to us and daycare for Ezra Monday – Wednesday both of the last two weeks which has been so incredibly helpful. The ladies in the ward are so wonderful, and I don’t know what I would do without the help we have received. Ezra is loving making new friends with their cute kids, and I am enjoying getting to know some of the women more. I especially want to thank my neighbor Michelle who not only has volunteered to take Ezra, but has let me come sit on her couch and visit for hours so that I can get out of the house a bit. I need to come up with something good to do for each of these wonderful women who have helped so much, and also for the wonderful men and women who took care of me when I collapsed at church, and took care of me until the paramedics took me away. I feel so blessed and so grateful to get to be near all of these wonderful people! If you are one of them, THANK YOU!

Also, thank you to my best friend Sue who brought me a bag of books and movies to keep me entertained, and to my wonderful aunt Kathy who made sure to bring books by for me so that I have something good to do. I’m lucky to have these two women in my life!

Oh.. and to Sue, my other mom, for being there for me each day I was in the hospital, even when it was the middle of the night. Thank you for driving to Layton to pick me up, just to drive me back to Ogden to go to the hospital. I don’t know how I would have done that without you.

And my siblings and anyone else who has helped in any way… I am so eternally grateful for all you have done and continue to do! Thank you for helping me keep this little boy inside as long as possible. You are all helping to better his life and I am so thankful for that!

THANK YOU!