Pictures

Here are some pictures from Christmas, Emma's birthday and Emma's birthday lunch at the MOA! Enjoy!!

Christmas

What a wonderful Christmas we had this year. Every year it gets more enjoyable with the kids. They are more excited and understand the excitement of Santa more and more. Christmas has always been my most favorite time of year. As a child I would wake up at 5am wanting to open presents. I was always the first one up and my parents would tell me to go back to bed several times before finally waking up to satisfy me. Last year Braeden was scared to get out of bed. He thought Santa was still in the house and wouldn't come out of his room. This year Braeden's bedroom is in the basement. I have a monitor in his room so I can hear him. I was up at 5:30am not so patiently waiting for my kids to wake up. Braeden woke up at 6:00am and it was still dark out. I could hear him through the monitor and he was saying..."AHHHH...why is it still dark out. I just want to open my presents from Santa. Why does it still have to be night time?" It was so cute. He didn't come out of his room to check to see if it was morning. He waited. I on the other hand was so impatient. I have been waiting for the day that my kids come running into my room saying "SANTA CAME"! I thought for sure this would be the year. Well Emma didn't go to bed early because she was so excited for Santa to come. She was up until 10:30pm. Charlie is our child that always sleeps in when we want him to get up early. I couldn't take the waiting so I decided to call my dad at 6:30am to wake him up. He was working in Virginia MN for the holiday. He had been up all night in the ER with patients so the wake up call was a surprise. He laughed at me and said that I have not changed. He told me to go back to bed and wait for me kids. We all know that was not happening. At 7am I went and woke up Emma and she ran downstairs to get Braeden! The kids charged our room and were so excited that Santa came. We had a great time opening presents as a family!!

We spent Christmas Day with my family at my parents' house. We sure missed my dad this year and hope he doesn't work away from home ever again!! It was fun to be with everyone and watch all the presents being opened by the kids. We made a snowman and shoveled the 2+ feet of snow that we got over the week. It sure was a memorable Christmas. Hopefully we do not get any more snow. The cold temps can stay away too!!

Saturday was Emma's 4th Birthday, which is also the day after Christmas. My mom, sisters and I have made a tradition out of going shopping for the Christmas clearance the day after. I was up at 5am to pick everyone up. It is so much fun to get up so early and shop!! We always have a blast and can't wait to see what bargains we can find.

Saturday night we took Emma to her favorite restaurant for supper, Applebee's. My mom and Alli joined us for supper. It was a chaotic mess with 4 adults and 3 kids but such is life with young children. Emma loved it and that is all that matters!!

Sunday was our Anniversary. We have been married for 6 years. It has gone by so fast and I can't believe that we are celebrating our 6th year already. We have grown closer every year and I can't imagine my life without my husband!! Alli babysat the kids while we went to Owatonna with Patsy and Graham to visit the Hoffmans'. It is a yearly tradition that we get together at Christmas with them. This year with my dad not being home it didn't seem like it was going to happen. Well the 4 of us still were able to make it to see them. We had so much fun! The time goes by way too quickly and we really need more time together next year. It seems to get shorter and shorter every year. Maybe a family trip is in order ;)

Today my mom, Alli, and I took Emma to the American Girl store in the MOA for her birthday. She got the Julie doll for her birthday and brought her with. Of course I did her hair just like Julie. She looked so cute and was so excited to go with just the girls and leave her brothers at Nana and Papa's for the day. We had a blast. You really have to go with patience! There are a lot of little girls at this store! I have a lot of respect for the people that work there. They were all so kind and in great moods. I have no idea how you do that all day long with the screaming fits I witnessed in the first 5 minutes of being there. Emma was overwhelmed but did great. We had a great lunch and it was so much fun to have a day with her. She got some new clothes for her dolls too!!

What a week we have had. We don't need anymore events around Christmas!! Happy Birthday to our niece Helena! She turned 1 on Christmas Day! I hope she had a great birthday.

Happy Birthday Emma Jo!!!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas this year!! We have been busy getting ready for Christmas this year. I can't believe that Santa comes tonight!! I think that we are all set. I have a hat to finish knitting and then everything will be done.

Last weekend we began the festivities with Zak, Susan and the girls. We all made the trek to Milwaukee to spend some time with them! It was a lot of fun. Our kids are getting really good at traveling in the car so that is good. At least it makes the longer drives a little easier! It was so great to see Helena and Lydia. They are getting so big and living 6 hours away we don't get to see them nearly as much. E and Lydia had a blast playing together. Our weekend went by too fast!!



Yesterday I had a birthday party for Emma with all her daycare kids. We got a pinata, decorated cupcakes and made ornaments. The kids all had a blast! Especially since it was also PJ Day!! I don't suggest doing a pinata inside. It was quite the experience. I was glad that Alli came over to assist. No one was injured and there are no holes in my walls!!

All my daycare kids. Charlie would not sit on the couch!

Today we are enjoying being home. We got 7 inches of new snow last night and have a ton more that will be coming! We don't have for to travel to be with family so that is nice. Freshly fallen snow is so pretty at Christmas time. Now hopefully the 20+ inches we are suppose to get by Saturday will all melt quickly!! Winters are so long in Minnesota. We finalized our trip to Florida for February. Hopefully it will be warmer in down there!!

We are wishing you all a Merry Merry Christmas!! I hope everyone is able to spend time with their family this year!!

Speech and more....

C had another session this week with his teacher. He is doing so well and we are so impressed with how far he has come in such a short amount of time. He is now saying mama and dada consistently. He also has expanded his signing language. It is so cute to see him sign thank you. As he signs thank you he uses his inflections to say thank you. We are so excited to hear him start to try to talk. We have been teaching him through music. He loves to listen to music and has a few songs from his teacher that he loves to listen to. We play them over and over and over again, all day long.

We are getting ready for Christmas. It sure is a big task every year but I wouldn't have it any other way. This has to be my most favorite time of year. I do over extend myself every year and every year I say I won't do it next year. Well shocking but I did over extend myself once again this year. I always survive and I will this year too. We leave for Milwaukee tomorrow evening. We are all so excited to spend the weekend with Zak, Susan, Lydia and Helena. It will be so much fun to see the cousins play together. Hopefully the weather is nice so we can get outside some too.

Auntie Alli is coming home! We can't wait to see her either. We are hopeful that we will get to visit with her on Sunday when we return from Milwaukee. It has only been a few weeks since we saw her in Michigan but it still feels like it was months ago. I am so glad that she will be home for a few weeks. We have lots of movies we need to watch, talking we need to do and Wii games to play. I expect to see lots of Alli and I can't wait!! We now have a bunk bed for her to sleep in so she should be all set.

Uncle Graham will be home as well! We haven't scene Uncle Graham in a long....LONG time! I know that Auntie Patsy can't wait for him to come home tomorrow evening. I can't imagine being without my husband every night. It will be nice for all of us to have time as a family, if Sean will share his daddy for a little while ;)

Christmas seems to sneak up faster and faster every year. I remember as a child it took forever to come. Now that I have children of my own I would like time to slow down some. I just want to bottle up these last few weeks to enjoy them a little longer. The long winter sets in January 2nd!!

Here are the pictures I promised from Santa. We sure had a great time.

Out of surgery!

Molly is out of surgery and everything went well. Now we just have to pray for a speedy recovery. At least she has time to rest! It is so stinking cold here that she won't be missing anything outside!!

Prayers Needed....

My sister Molly is having surgery this morning. Please say some prayers for her! I know everything will go just fine. Good luck Molly. We all love you so much!

SANTA

I hired the best Santa ever to come to my parents' house for a party. This is the second year that he has come to help celebrate Christmas with all my daycare kids. It was so much fun and I was so glad that some of our friends could bring their kids as well to celebrate. We got the best pictures and the kids all had a blast. I made hats for all my daycare kids for Christmas gifts. I was able to get a picture with most of them in it. I love them all and hope they can all enjoy their hats this freezing cold winter season! I will post some pictures soon from todays event!

All the daycare kids minus C and Jake.

Last week...

We had a great week last week. It was extremely busy but that is okay. We started the week with E's dance class having parent observation week. Nick, the boys and I were excited to see what she had learned. It was so cute and she had a blast! We are so proud of her.

Wednesday B started CCD. We had been attending Generations of Faith at our previous church. B and I would go and we would sit through a 3 hour class once a month. I dreaded it and knew we needed to find something new. I wasn't learning anything and when I asked B he just remembered playing with balloons but not what we had learned. We switched churches and LOVE IT! They have a preschool program for E on Sunday's and B is able to go to CCD on Wednesday nights. He loves it. He thought it was great that there were kids from his 1st grade class in his CCD with him. There were a lot of younger families that attend this church as well. It feels like a very refreshing move!! PHEW!

I started my new adventure last week. I decided to start selling Lia Sophia jewelry. I had a few parties and love the jewelry. I thought since I loved it so much I should start selling it! I am very excited about this opportunity! It is forcing me to get out of the house and away from my kids at night. What mom doesn't like getting together with some girls to chit chat?! It is perfect!! I have had a busy week but loving every second of it.

As I sit and type this we are in a blizzard warning. Oh the joys of living in Minnesota. I ask myself every winter why I put myself and my family through this. Tomorrow we are suppose to have -10 degree wind chills. I guess the days of playing in the snow are short lived. I will not be dragging 10 kids outside into below zero temperatures!

Here are some pictures from last week and then from today. I hope you all enjoy them as much as I do!!

Pictures from Michigan

Michigan Thanksgiving!!

We started our trek to Michigan on Wednesday night at 5:30pm. The kids did great! We stopped for Subway in Byron. The kids got to watch movies all night. At about 9pm we shut off the movies and they all fell asleep. By 12:00am we made it to our stop in Rockford IL for the night. It was a quick night. C didn't think he needed to go back to bed because he slept in the car. He was up in his pack n play until 3:00am. Nick drove the whole night so I stayed up with C. Nick needed the sleep more than I did. I just wish C thought he needed sleep too ;) We were up at 5:00am, packed, fed and on the road by 7am. We made it to Okemos MI by 1:00pm eastern time. We were so excited to see Auntie Alli. The kids did amazing on the drive. Charlie slept the whole way from Rockford...LITTLE STINKER! Nick drove the whole way and I was able to knit a hat for E.

We spent Thanksgiving at Alli's apartment. We didn't do anything but talk, relax and play with the kids. Alli bought a Wii and B was in Heaven playing it all afternoon. We had ravioli for supper. It was one of the best Thanksgivings ever!! I really just enjoyed being able to spend time with Alli. We played the Wii and watched football. I don't think it could've gotten any better. We did miss everyone back in Mankato. Poor mom was sick and in bed on Thanksgiving. I am sure they enjoyed a more quiet Thanksgiving at the Peterson house without the craziness that the Otto Clan brings ;)

Friday morning Alli and I got up and went shopping. It was so much fun! We didn't get up super early. We headed out shopping by 7am. It was crazy out with all the people but everyone was very nice. I was able to get almost all of my Christmas shopping finished. Nick stayed with the kids for the morning and we brought him lunch. I really enjoyed my time alone with Alli. We took the kids to Chucke Cheese's for supper. They had a blast but talk about overload! They were so over stimulated that it was hard to get them to bed last night. There were a few melt downs but we take them in stride since we are at Auntie Alli's.

This morning Alli and I got up early to wait in line for my final Christmas present for B. We were up by 5:00am eastern time and were 5th in line. It was perfect! Then we went to Starbucks for breakfast and hot chocolate. What a great morning without kids! Now we are just enjoying our last few hours with Auntie Alli until we have to start our trek home!

We have loved every second in Michigan and can't wait for Alli to come home for Christmas! The kids have soaked up every second they could get of Auntie Alli. They have wanted nothing to do with mommy and daddy. C was even head over heels for Auntie Alli. As soon as he saw her he melted and has followed her every where! It is so sweet to see how much my kids love my sister. We will definitely do this trip again. I hope the ride home goes as smoothly as the ride here!! I will post pictures when we get home.

Decorating

We started decorating for Christmas. Here are a few pictures I took:

Santa, H1N1, and the Flu

This weekend was busy but was a lot of fun. Friday B, E and Nick and I all got our new beds. The furniture store came and set them up for us. It is so nice to have nice furniture for everyone! B got bunk beds and was in heaven. He even got to break them in with a sleepover. One of his friends came over Friday night and spent the night. We all went out to supper even. Taking 6 people out to supper is a big chore. Wow...it is amazing how different one person makes. We had to wait longer for a table even. The kids were great and it was so much fun so it is always worth it!!

Saturday we had Santa pictures. This is an annual event between the King's and the Otto's. We always meet super early so that we can be one of the first in line. It is better to be first in line so the kids don't have to wait too long. I was there way too early but was the 1st in line. Patsy and Graham weren't far behind me. I brought a movie so the kids could watch a movie in the van while Patsy and I waited in line. Graham hung out in the van with the kids, Thanks Graham!! It was quite the adventure. First, Santa pulled up next to my van in his PT Cruiser and the kids were able to see him. They thought it was so neat!! Then, Patsy and I were able to get our numbers and get the kids out of the van. We had the 1st 3 spots so we could get family shots and then a cousin shot as well. E has always been my timid one when it comes to Santa. B always ran right up to him and told him everything and anything he wanted for Christmas. I tried bribing E with treats, toys or anything else I could think of to get her to take a picture with Santa. When we got inside the store she was not having it. She put on the breaks and my friend Kristen had to carry around for a little while. Sean went first for pictures. He did fabulous. He had so much fun and loved every second of it. Then it came time for the cousin photo. B ran right in and was pumped to tell Santa what he wanted. C got set on Santa's lap and immediately started screaming. E did the loose body thing and refused to get near Santa. The first picture I am in because I was dragging E into the shot....What a mom forcing her child to do something she hates just for a picture!! I finally yelled at her and told her to JUST DO IT!! The photographer moved a stool next to B and E sat there with her pout face on. It was classic. B and Sean are smiling and thrilled to be there, C is screaming and E is pouting. Does it get any better than that. When it came turn for a photo opt of my kids E finally did crack a smile but she still wouldn't look at Santa. C was relieved when I finally picked him up. Oh the joys of holiday pictures!!

After pictures Patsy and Graham took C with them so I could take B and E to the H1N1 flu clinic. They were holding the clinic at one of the high schools in town. It was pure madness when we arrived. I couldn't believe the line. It was LONG! We got in line and slowly made our way to the entrance. I was so impressed with my kids. They did great having to wait for over an hour for the flu mist. Thank goodness they could get the mist and not a shot! I was even able to get one so that was great!!

We spent the rest of the weekend starting to decorate for Christmas. We have some lights up outside but need to buy more. I think they make the strands smaller and smaller every year so that you have to spend more money every year. Oh well...the tree is up and we will decorate it tonight. Then I will try to get the rest of the decorating done this week.

B woke up with the flu in the middle of the night. Why does it always hit in the middle of the night? Nick and I jumped out of bed and had to strip our sheets, comforter and everything else because of course he didn't make it to the bathroom. My poor husband took one for the team and was woken up by vomit all over him! We now have the comforter at the dry cleaners and the carpet cleaners coming tomorrow! Ah the joys of sick kids. My poor buddy though. He hasn't kept anything down all day and is just miserable. He is now starting to run a slight temp. I am hopeful that we can get past this without anyone else getting sick. We are heading to Michigan on Wednesday night to spend Thanksgiving with Alli! Please send some healthy vibes our way!!

You can check out santa pictures online at Quality 1 Hour Photo. Go to view pictures online. Then find Saturday Santa. We should be on the first page of pictures. I believe my nephew Sean starts at picture 5 and we are shortly after him. Enjoy!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

Back into the swing of things!

It sure was a long emotional week last week. Good byes are so hard but we know Grandpa Chuck is in a great place now!! It was wonderful to see all the cousins that we don't always get to see. We even got to spend a little time with Lydia and Helena. It is amazing how big they are both getting. We miss them so much and wish we could see them more often. E and Lydia had a great time playing together.

This week is going by quickly. We are back into our schedule and crazy routine. Today was C's first appointment with the ECSE specialist. He did pretty well for his first visit. The other kids were very curious and I quickly learned that this may be a challenge having all the distractions around. We are going to see how the next few visits go and may have to ask someone to come help with the daycare kids. We shall see how it goes. They all may get use to it and then it won't be a big deal. I can't wait for C to start talking. We are teaching him some more signs and he is picking them up pretty fast. It takes a lot of patience to deal with a child that constantly whines and doesn't know how to tell you what he wants. We are working through it and my expectations are high with the specialist. I just hope we can have some words by the end of the year. No pressure though ;)

We will miss you Grandpa Charles!

Nick's grandpa passed away Sunday night. He was 89 years old and lived a wonderful life. He will be missed! I am so glad that I have been able to get to know him. He is a wonderful man and always had great stories to tell. I could sit and listen to his stories all day long. He loved all of our kids but Charles has a special place in his heart. When Charles was born grandpa would introduce him as Charles the 4th to everyone. He was so proud that we were carrying on the Charles to our son. He always would light up when Charlie was around. It was amazing to see him get on the floor to play with him. He was great with B too and would even try to run around with him. E is timid of everyone. Those of you that know E you know she has quite the attitude some times. Grandpa never pushed her to do anything she didn't want to. When E was ready she would say hi and maybe even give him a hug.

We all love you so much Grandpa! It sure won't be the same without you!!

Happy Birthday Nick!

Nick turned 31 today and we were able to celebrate with my family at our favorite pizza place in town, Dino's Pizzeria. It was a fabulous supper and great company. I hope my husband had a wonderful birthday.

Dessert Open House

I have a dessert business, Decadent Desserts, here in Mankato. My friend and I run it together. You can check us out online. We are having our 2nd Annual Holiday Open House on Saturday from 1-4 at the GrandStay in Mankato. If anyone is going to be in town you should stop by. We will have lots of desserts to sample such as cookies, cheesecakes and cupcakes! I would love to see all of you and bring a friend.

Developmental Delay

We have been meeting with ECSE for a month now. C has been evaluated, observed and tested by a few people including a speech therapist. I had a meeting with the team this afternoon and it has been determined that C does have a developmental delay in his communication. What this means is that he is below average on where he is suppose to be at his age. They are going to be coming to our house once or twice a week to work with C to get him talking. This is great news! I am so glad that I was not told that I just have to give it time. I am glad that our pediatrician listened to my concerns at C's 15 month appointment. C doesn't say anything right now. He babbles some but that is what a 8 month old does. I can tell that he gets frustrated that he can't talk to us or tell us what he really wants. When he needs something he whines, cries or tries to pull me to what he wants. It is frustrating for all of us. I am so glad that he is going to have some help and maybe we can get some words out of him before he is two!! The team of people that will work with him have great ideas on how to get him talking. They know what they are doing because they do this every day. I can't wait to see the improvement. I am sure C will be so happy to be able to tell us what he wants!

Halloween

What a great night for trick or treating! B was Optimus Prime, E was a witch and C was a blue monster. We were able to celebrate with Graham, Patsy and S. It was so much fun to see the cousins trick or treat together. S was Scooby Doo. All the kids looked adorable and had a blast. C even got in on the action this year. He would go up to the door and hold out his hands for candy. It is always fun to see the kids come home and dump out their candy to see what they have gotten. We hope that next year we can trick or treat with S again!

Here are some pictures of pumpkin carving and trick or treating:

NYC

My mom and I went to NYC this past weekend. It was so nice to get away for a few days. It was even better to go with my mom. I really enjoyed our time together without other people to interrupt. We arrived Thursday night at 6pm but it took 2 hours to get to our hotel because of traffic. It was worth the wait because our hotel was fabulous!! We stayed at the Marriott Marquis in Time Square. We had a great view and we were very close to a lot of fun places. My Uncle Jim came to our hotel and we were all able to have a wonderful supper. We even got dessert...YUMMY!! After supper we walked around and took everything in. NYC is an amazing place. I couldn't get over how busy it was in Time Square at 11pm at night. We walked around for a long time and then headed back to the hotel to go to bed. We were getting up early to stand in line for GMA.

Mom and I got up early, 5am, and waited in line for a few hours. Come to find out you need to have a reservation to actually get in the studio for GMA. We did not know this. There was still an opportunity to get in if there was enough room in the studio after everyone else got in. Unfortunately we weren't able to get into the studio but we were given the opportunity to wait outside for Sam Champion to come out and do the weather. Mom and I of course waited. Sam Champion is the person mom was most excited to meet. When he came out we were both star struck but I was able to get some great pictures! After Sam went back inside mom and I started our venture for the day. It was 8:15am and starting to get chilly outside. We didn't care. We started walking and kept walking all over town. We made it to the Empire State Building and then all the way to Union Square. I had a map but it wasn't clearly marked. The way it looked it seemed that we could walk to China Town from our hotel and it wouldn't take that long to get there. Boy was I mistaken. We kept walking and walking and walking but weren't getting any closer. It was almost 12pm and we were meeting Uncle Jim for lunch so we decided to forgo China Town until after lunch. After lunch we decided to take a nap instead. We were trying to cram everything we could into one day. It was exhausting!! After naps we had clearer heads and decided to accomplish a few things that evening. Uncle Jim took us to Soho and Little Italy. What a fabulous part of town. We found a baby shop, Bundle, tucked away on a side street in Soho. I was in heaven and bought Charlie the most handsome outfit ever! The owner was telling us that Jude Law had been in her shop the day before. DANG IT...I would have loved to meet him ;) We had a fabulous supper in Little Italy and then walked around some more. Mom and I were exhausted and our feet were done for the day. We had to get back so we could rest for China Town the next day.

Saturday we walked some more. It was so much fun to see everything that we could. We stayed by Central Park during the morning. We even had drinks at the Tavern on the Green. It was a fabulous place and what a treat to be able to stop in and check it out. China Town was in the afternoon and what an adventure that was. I don't think I ever need to go back there again. Every two feet I heard....'hand bag, hand bag, purses, purses'....ANNOYING!! Uncle Jim did warn us but we still wanted to check it out. We all made it out of there alive and with some great stories!! Mom and I did both get a purse so I guess they annoyed us right into a purchase! After our adventure to China Town we went back to the hotel to rest and get ready for the evening. We made it to Serendipity for dessert after supper and that was so amazing to me. After watching the movie I have always wanted to go there. It was worth the wait but the $45 t-shirt stayed at the restaurant. We ended our trip with drinks at the hotel on the 48th floor. The floor rotated around the hotel so we got a 360 degree view of NYC. It was amazing and a great way to end the trip!

I had so much fun with my mom and uncle! I can't wait to go back! I just hope to next time I don't have to sit next to the guy with B.O. on the airplane! The best part was when he dropped his cocaine on the seat! What a trip but it was so much fun!!

Wordless Wednesday

HOME!!

We are finally home from the hospital. C was able to be without any oxygen last night so they sent us home this morning. It was really close though. At 1am they came in to put the oxygen on him but he woke up. I got him up and we wheeled around the halls for an hour. When I put him back to bed he was able to keep his saturation at 96 the rest of the night! WAHOO!! I am so happy to be back home and out of the hospital. I can't wait to see B and E later today. My mom is going to keep them for awhile so C and I can get a good nap in first. Thanks to everyone for all your prayers. We hope that this is his last major illness!

Good Saturation Vibes Needed!!

C had a great day yesterday. He didn't have a fever and only needed one neb treatment all day. He was such a happy boy and flirted with all the nurses. He was sleepy and took a few naps. Some were short because random people would barge in our room. I finally asked the nurse to put a sign on the door. Now everyone has to check in at the nurses desk before coming in. That helped a lot! Nick took the day off to spend with C and I in the hospital. It was so great to have him here to help. The days get long with just me trying to entertain C. We spend a lot of time walking the halls and pulling C in a wagon. He ate grapes and a few bites of hospital pizza last night. We were so hoping that this was going to be our last night in the hospital. At 10pm things went down hill. His saturation while awake was at 91. The doctor wants to see it at 90 or above while sleeping before we can go home. When C fell asleep his saturation slipped to 86 and needed to be placed on oxygen. He was on oxygen until 3am. He woke up at 3am because the oxygen tubing got all tangled up in his legs. I took him for a walk and when we got back the nurse decided to try no oxygen. He has been able to keep his saturation at 95 while sleeping. The doctor said that he has to have a full night without oxygen before we can go home. I am thinking we will be here until Friday now. Please say some prayers that he can keep his saturation good today. We would love to go home! We miss B and E terribly!! B and E are sick so they are not able to come up to visit. It has been a long week for our family and I am ready for it to be over. My parents have been great help and we really appreciate it. Nick has to work today so my mom is going to come visit with C and I. I know C will love seeing Nana. Papa comes to check on him a couple times during the day and he lights up as soon as he walks in the room. I am hopeful that today he will finally start to eat and this will help turn everythind around!

Please send some good vibes our way. Yesterday, on top of everything else, Nick got a flat tire. He noticed it when he was going to leave to take B to school. When it rains it pours at the Otto house. Of course they couldn't fix the tire so he had to buy a new one! We don't need anything else to go wrong. We need healthy kids, working vehicles and houses that don't have things that break!

Still in the hospital...

C is still in the hospital and has to stay overnight. He has to go a whole night without any oxygen before he can go home. He is starting to get his appetite back a little. He ate grapes today and just had a few bites of hospital pizza for supper. He continues to drink a lot of milk so he doesn't need an IV. We have had a pretty good day. C wasn't able to nap much today because he keeps getting interrupted. We finally asked the nurses to put a sign on the door so he is left alone. Please say some prayers that we make it through the night without oxygen. We would all love to go home! I miss B & E. I picked B up from school today so that I could spend a little time with him. I dropped him off at my mom's and was able to see E too. It was great to give them hugs!

Almost morning time...

It is 5am and I can't sleep. I have too many things running through my head right now. C is sleeping so peacefully right now. He has gotten a few good stretches of sleep tonight. At about 2am he needed another breathing treatment. Then at 4am he had to be put on oxygen because his saturations kept dropping. He is also starting to spike another fever. Right now it is low grade so the nurse is just monitoring it. He has had so much medicine but has been a trooper through all of this. Tonight when he needed his treatment he was pointing to the mask and signing please. Broke my heart!! He knows that it makes him feel better and he does such a great job sitting through it. I am hopeful that he will improve some today. It would be great to go home and be in the comfort of home. The pediatrician will come in this morning to check on him and we will find out more at that time. Say some prayers!

Hospitalized :(

C had to be hospitalized last night. He was doing so well early on in the evening. He then woke up, got sick and spiked a high temp. I took him to the ER at 9pm. We stayed in the ER until midnight when we finally were brought upstairs to a room. He has had several neb. treatments and needs oxygen while he sleeps. His saturation is down in the low 80s while he sleeps and walks around. Poor baby! They tested him for RSV and Influenza and both came back negative. He spiked a new fever this afternoon and with him needing oxygen we were told we were staying another night at least. Long days and nights for us ahead! He didn't sleep last night, neither did I. He hasn't slept more than an hour at a time today. He wakes up and can't breathe. He won't eat and only drinks milk. It has been a long day but the nurses have been great. Nick just got here and he is so excited to see his dad! I am so excited to have 10 minutes of a break. I am hopeful that this will pass and we can get home soon.

WHAT A WEEK!!

We had quite the week last week and it seems that this week is going to be just as exciting! Last weekend C was sick and clingy all weekend. I took the day off on Monday so I could bring him to the doctor. He had Pneumonia! Poor kid! He had croup a month ago and now Pneumonia. He can't catch a break. He was put on an antibiotic and we were to wait it out. He seemed to get better as the week went on.

Thursday B had his Open House at school. He was so excited to show us around. We were able to meet his teacher, see his classroom and see all the fun things he does through out his day. I am so glad that he is enjoying 1st grade. He tells me quite often that 1st grade is awesome! He never said that about Kindergarten.

Then Friday came and E broke out in a head to toe rash. DOES IT EVER END? No it doesn't! I brought E to the doctor Friday afternoon. My father-in-law so graciously came and sat with the daycare kids so I could bring her in. The doctor said that she was fine and it was just a virus that had to run its course. Phew...nothing serious. Friday night B had soccer so Nick took him so I could keep the sick kids inside!!

Sunday C started coughing and getting clingy again. Here we go again! He was clearly not feeling well. He still slept well and took good naps. He was eating and didn't have a fever. We assumed it was just a new cold and this too shall pass. B had his last soccer game and it was freezing outside. Nick took him again so that I could keep E and C inside where it was warm!

This morning C was worse. He started have strider breathing again and I called the clinic. Nick took him in and they gave him breathing treatments. He is on a new antibiotic and hopefully the breathing will be better too. We are to give him treatments if needed. This is so stressful! I worry so much about him and hope that this will pass quickly. Poor little boy needs to get healthy so he can play with his toys!!

Classic B Moment

Last night B was standing in the pantry. Our pantry is over the basement steps so it has a a big step up into it. I was decorating cookies and Nick was standing by B. B says.."Daddy I have a great idea. Let me slide down you like a fireman's pole." Nick and I got the giggles and B said to turn to the side daddy. Nick turned to the side and B slid down him. I was laughing so hard! I wish I would've turned on the video camera. B thought it was so fun and Nick said it was upidstay!!

Busy Otto's

We are constantly on the go lately with sports, dance and running errands! It seems that we aren't home in the evenings as much as I thought we would be once school started. The cutest moment of the week is a phone call to Auntie Alli! My kids ask about her every day and miss her so much. C just lights up when we call her on skype and he can see her. He grins from ear to ear and wants to crawl through the computer. This week C has been battling another cold. He was so crabby yesterday. Auntie Alli called on my cell and he wanted to say hi to her. Instead of talking he waved at the phone. I decided to call her on skype so he could see her. He sat at the kitchen table like a big boy and waved, smiled and tried to crawl into the computer. It was the happiest he had been all day! Thanks Auntie Alli!!

I am hoping to have a quiet weekend but we shall see. It starts that way and something always comes up. Here are some recent pictures of the kids.

Look at that face! Can you tell he loves ice cream cones?

E all ready for dance

B's soccer picture

School Picture

B's school picture came home today. It turned out pretty good!

Fun weekend

This weekend we were finally home. We didn't have any plans so we got some things finished around the house! It was perfect. I really enjoyed finishing up the outside work and then organizing the inside. It always makes me feel better to check things off my long list of things to do!! We moved B to the basement bedroom Saturday. He loves it. We weren't sure how it would go and if he would like being in the basement. I wasn't sure I would like him that far away either. Well we all did great. He woke up Sunday morning and couldn't wait to move all his toys to his new bedroom. We spent the day yesterday moving everything into his room and getting him all settle. Now I just need to figure out a color to paint it and he will be set.

Saturday night we had movie night for the kids and the neighborhood kids. It was a lot of fun. I set out sundae fixings and let the kids make their own ice cream sundaes. They thought it was the best that they could put as many sprinkles, m&ms, chocolate sauce or anything else on as they wanted. My son called his a lava pile and piled on the chocolate syrup! They ate their sundaes outside and then we watched the movie. It was so much fun! I made them popcorn half way through so they had another snack. I don't think any of the kids went home hungry ;) After the movie was over Nick set them up with the Wii. It is so cute to see them all play and have so much fun. We will definitely have another movie night at our house!

Our weekend ended with soccer last night. Now we start the busy schedule again this week. E has dance tonight so here we go again! It never ends but at least our weekends aren't as busy now.