a few "little moments" and one "big scare"

The last few days the boys and I have had "Dance Time" together. Usually I plug in my Ipod to the dock and we sing & dance the afternoon away.  Their favorite album right now is Michael Buble's "Call Me Irresistible". They love "Everything" and another song that has the words, "Baby, Go! Go! Go!" and when they sing along, it is just so adorable!  They will also occasionally throw on the headphones and rock out on their own.

You can tell in this picture that Logan just woke up from naps.  That may very well be my favorite part of the day.  I have eaten and enjoyed a small respite, and am ready to be joined by my little buddies by the time I hear those little "knock-knock's" on their bedroom door. They are so snuggly when they first wake up, all warm and sleep faced.  Like when they were babies.  I love it.

Yesterday Josh let me sleep in and when I woke up and joined them in the living room, Logan ran up to me, hugged my legs oh-so-tight and said, "Good morning, Mommy!" in the sweetest little boy voice ever.  It was one of those little moments.

When we wake up in the morning, the boys and I get to work first thing making Daddy's lunch.  They absolutely love being my helpers. Jack likes to get the green apples out of the fridge and Logan likes to get Daddy's "soda".  I make the sandwich and the boys steal chips from the baggie I load up for Josh.  Most mornings we also try to include a note or drawing for Josh to read on his lunch break, telling him how we love him so.

They are not only my helpers, but Josh's helpers, too.  They are such mini-me's. Anything daddy is doing, they want to do as well. Here Josh is measuring for the coat hooks he wanted to hang, so Jack got into his own toolbox, found his miniature tape measure and started measuring right alongside Josh.  It was so precious.

I made snack for Logan yesterday and he said, "Thank you, mommy, for making pineapple for me. It's my favorite!'

And when I was switching the laundry, he heard me open the dryer and came running into the laundry room, "I'll be your big helper, mommy!" I handed him the towels and he put them into the dryer for me.

 Their favorite movie right now is "Up" and every once in a while I will hear Jack pretending to talk to "Russell" (whom he calls "Muscle") the little boy in the film.  He will also ask me if our house is going to float away in the sky with balloons. I tell him that's just pretend and silly.  Then he'll tell me, "I'm being funny, mom!"

 I was in the bathroom getting ready yesterday and heard them getting their stools to take in the kitchen. "You can't use those in the kitchen," I hollered, "You'll fall down." 

"Okay, mom," Jack shouted back.

Then I heard labored breathing, lots of grunting and some teamwork ("Get it, Logan." "Come on, Jack!") When I came into the kitchen, this is what I saw.

Both boys, on their reading chair, in the kitchen, getting m&m's out of the Potty Jar.  I couldn't help but crack up.  I was actually quite proud that A) they didn't use their stools and B) they worked together so well.  These boys keep me on my toes!

 Last night we had a big scare with Logan. He'd been complaining off and on about a belly ache, grabbing his belly and nearly doubling over in pain.  When he seemed to be having another attack at 6pm, I decided it was time to go Urgent Care.  Before we left, the boys said goodbye to each other and Jack hugged Logan and said, "You be brave, buddy, okay?"  I could have cried.  He was so worried about his brother.

Well, we went to Urgent Care and the pediatrician there said that with just a fever and belly pain that was focused near the appendix, he was concerned it might be appendicitis, so he suggested we go to Legacy Salmon Creek's Emergency Room since they have a Pediatric ER there.  So my mom picked Jack up and took him to her house (since I had the car with both car seats) and Josh met Logan & I at the ER in Salmon Creek.  At that point Logan was burning up. His temp was nearly 103 and he was so lethargic and out of it.  He just rubbed the tag on his bubba over & over, laying his sweet little head on my shoulder.

Finally it was our turn to be seen and we headed back.  The nurses there were amazing and I felt very confident about the care he received.  The first order of business was to talk with the doctor and get some motrin in Logan.  Slowly (very slowly) his fever started coming down and the doctor ordered some tests to rule out the appendix.  She wanted blood work, a bag of fluids in him and an abdominal ultrasound.

I was super nervous about the blood work because last time we had to get an IV in him, it took three tries and was quite traumatic.  This time the nurse came in ahead of time to scope his veins and choose the best one.  Then she brought a coworker with her and they swaddled him up, one arm out.  One nurse leaned on his body so he couldn't move, and I held his bubba's tags to his face and stayed where he could see me, near his head.  The other nurse took his arm and went for it.  He had cried a bit when I told him he was going to have to get a poke, but had calmed down again, then was scared as we swaddled him, then calmed down, and then cried for, maybe 30 seconds, as the actual needle went in, and then he was fine.  He just watched the nurse work on drawing the blood and setting his arm so he wouldn't bend it.  It was amazing. I was so proud of my brave little trouper.

When it was all said and done he got to watch Stuart Little and he was so happy. "I was a big boy, Mommy?" he asked.  "I was brave, Daddy? You're so proud of me?"  We just took turns holding him and loving on him. And I never stopped praying.

I was terrified that he was going to need surgery, and that is super scary any time, but especially on young patients, and I was just imagining how awful the recovery time would be.  I just prayed for God to guide the hands of those caring for Logan and for Logan to be okay.  Then I called to check on Jack and let the boys talk. Jack asked Logan if he wanted to come home.  And when I got back on the phone with Jack he asked, "How's Logan doing mom?"  I told him that the doctors were taking care of him.

Next we headed to ultrasound, where I sat on the bed with Logan in my lap and they "took pictures" of his belly.  At this point it was 9:30pm and he was almost asleep during parts of it.  Then around 10:00pm, we got results- his appendix and all his insides looked great and normal.  The doctor said his blood work also looked great, only showing a bit of dehydration that is common to see when a child has been having diarrhea.  Strange, because Logan hasn't had diarrhea, but she said as soon as we got a bag of fluids in him, we could go home and manage his fever there.

When the boys were reunited, I should have had my video camera out.  Logan ran to Jack and the two embraced as Logan asked, "You were worried about me, Jack?" and Jack asked, "How you doing, Logan? You went to the doctors?"  And Logan told him, "I was brave, Jack."  I just stood there watching in disbelief as my two year olds passed information back and forth, filling each other in and hugging at random intervals.  It was such a proud mommy moment.

You could see the relief on Jack's face, which mimicked my own, and we were all four never so happy to go in their bedroom, sing "Sunshine" and tuck them in their own little beds.