Happy Easter!

I hope you all had a nice Easter. Ours was a whole week of events. Cecilia has been really excited about Easter this year. I think it has a lot to do with her personality and partly to do with spring coming
and partly because her birthday is close to Easter (last year it was on it and this year it is more than a week different, but still close). I also enjoy Easter and Easter egg hunts. So a few weeks ago when Cecilia asked me for the millionth time when Easter was coming I asked her if she wanted a birthday party or an Easter egg hunt with her friends she immediately said Easter egg hunt. So last Thursday we
had over a few friends and had a great party. Cecilia and I filled 100 eggs the day before and we dyed real eggs with Shaun on Tuesday. It was a lot of fun getting ready. Then I hid the eggs all over the yard
Wednesday night after Cecilia went to bed. I mostly did it then so she wouldn't have to stay inside while I did it in the morning but once Cecilia noticed them in the yard she screamed "THE EASTER BUNNY CAME!" About 15 times in a row jumping up and down. I certainly didn't mean for her to think the Easter bunny did it, especially since she helped me fill them, but who am I to ruin her fun? If she didn't think it through then I'm certainly not going to crush her. So the Easter bunny hid the eggs. I wasn't feeling super great that day with a cold that wouldn't budge, but seeing her so excited made it worth the effort. Once the friends came we colored chicks and bunnies until everyone was here then we rushed outside to do the hunt. And hunt they did. Cecilia and Danica took at least three more trips around the yard looking for more eggs after they were all found. Fun was had by all. After the hunt we made egg salad sandwiches and peanut butter and jam sandwiches and veggies and fruit for lunch and played outside until everyone had to go home. The weather was gorgeous, and after this long cold winter was SO welcome to sit and play outside. After everyone left Cecilia asked me "how much longer until Easter again?" I told her it wasn't even over yet! Saturday we drove around town chasing after Easter egg hunts. The community ones are crazy as you may remember from last year. So we weren't too broken up about missing the whistle where the kids run out on a field and fight over a few eggs. Cecilia got to see the Caffee's and the Easter bunny and Madeline was nice enough to share one of the three eggs she got with Cecilia. The Easter bunny visited our house again on Sunday with a few eggs for each Vivian and Cecilia and a basket of toys. All in all it was a fun action packed Easter week. Topped off by new Easter dresses for church.

Kitty

Vivian saw and pet a cat for the first time at my parents house last
Friday. She was SO excited about it. Like whined for it and
practically leaped out of my arms at it. It was the cutest thing!

Phoenix

Two weeks ago, after all the illness in our house we decided to go somewhere warm for the weekend. We headed to Phoenix and stayed in a resort with 5 heated pools. We went swimming, had fun with Shaun's family and ate some yummy food. Vivian enjoyed playing with grass for the first time (she liked it a lot better than sand). Cecilia had fun swimming (as did I). And we all enjoyed the warm sun.



Shaun's sister and husband were generous enough to watch the girls while we went out to dinner with Shaun's parents. We went to a restaurant called Elements where Shaun knows the chef. He treated us like kings and we were all stuffed by the time we left. Here we are with him and the desserts.  Super yummy, thanks chef Beau!

The only bad part was Shaun got sick for a day.  But he is a trooper and after sleeping felt better the next day.  Here's hoping we are all healthy for a bit!

Sick Household

This month began with a punch. Vivian got the worst cold I've seen. The poor kid had SO much drainage out her nose! It was literally constantly running.  Thankfully it didn't turn into an ear infection so the worst of it was only three days then she started to get better. And she was able to take some great naps and sleep it off (just like Shaun can).  Then Cecilia got the stomach flu for the second time this winter (I've also had it twice). But it hit her really hard. The poor kid was throwing up night and day for two days before I said enough is enough. I saw in her the look that I get when I'm pregnant and need an IV. I called the doctor and talked to the nurse and she told me if she gets too dehydrated, take her to Primary children's hospital to the ER and they would evaluate her and possibly give her IV fluids. After I got off the phone I knew it was time to go. I called Shaun and told him. Luckily we had a babysitter that could come, so I put down Vivian for a nap and left her with the babysitter and took Cecilia to the ER. The poor kid was so lethargic that it took her a full minute to respond to me when I told her what was going on. I drove her to the hospital and they checked us in right away. Gave Shaun and I tags with our picture and name. It was pretty high tech. Then took us right back to a room and after a few minutes the doctor came in. She said she would give her an IV just from looking at her and said they would do blood work to see how dehydrated she was, if she was bad, they needed to keep her overnight. She asked me if I wanted her to give Cecilia "something to calm her stomach".  I said "Yes" with no hesitation. For two days (and nights) I heard nothing else but "my tummy hurts!" and "I want a big drink!" The poor kid was so thirsty. It killed me to see her go through something I've gone through that was so hard.  I remember dreaming about water and looking at Shaun drinking it without abandon.  I felt guilty drinking around Cecilia and wanted nothing more than for her tummy to settle and take the water she wanted so badly.  The doctor prescribed Zofran.  Which is what I take when I'm pregnant. It was very surreal. Cecilia was a champ while they put the IV in and I was really impressed at how efficient they were. Primary's is the best. We are lucky to have them so close. Cecilia started feeling better soon after the IV fluids started (she got half a bag). The Zofran kicked in quickly too and she was downing sippy's in no time. Her eyes lit up when the doctor said she could have juice and drink it as fast as she wanted (she had two cups in about 10 minutes). They ended up keeping her overnight and gave her another half bag of saline on a slow drip. The doctor told us she thought it would be a good idea to keep her but that it was up to us.  I said yes, if you think she needs it and will give her more fluids then lets do it.  It again threw me back to when I was pregnant and needed help getting back on top and stayed in the hospital for 4 days until I had enough fluids that I could keep something down.  Shaun stayed with her while I went home and slept with Vivian. I don't think either of them got much sleep. Cecilia came home and took a 4 hour nap (if that doesn't tell you how sick she was).  But the extra fluids were worth it.  Cecilia made a slow recovery. I was hoping she wouldn't throw up again after she came home but that wasn't the case.  We had a few more bouts and had to take it really slowly.  But there was one day about a week later that I think she ate all day long and finally made up some calories.  Luckily the girls didn't swap illnesses (but Shaun had a touch of yucky about a week ago and I was pretty drained for a day too).  I've reaffirmed hand washing,  hand sanitizer, and cart wipes at the grocery store.  Hopefully we are done with illness in our house for a while.  We've really had a hard time with it this winter. 

Vivian's terrible cold.  Poor red puffy eyes and nose and blotchy face. 

Just after Cecilia got hooked up.  Poor sick kid!

Cecilia showing off her IV.  

Mmm avocado!

Boy this kid loves to eat! She hasn't rejected anything yet. She is even getting good at picking up slippery things like avocado. Isn't she adorable?!

Amelia Bedelia moment

Have you ever read the Amelia Bedelia books? We have been reading them lately. They are all about the confusion that comes from sayings that are not meant to be taken literally. "Amelia Bedelia draw the drapes". So she sits down with a pad and paper and sketches them instead of closing them. Well we had one of those moments today. I looked at Cecilia and said "boy, you did a number on your hair. We will need to fix it before your play date". She goes "I want to see!" And runs into the bathroom to look in the mirror. She comes back disappointed and confused and says "I don't see any numbers. Where are they?" I laughed so hard, once I realized what I had said.

Happy Valentine's day!

Vivian has been doing this adorable nose scrunch when she smiles lately. And she started babbling yesterday. It is the cutest thing. It's all I can do to keep myself from gobbling her up!