Staying Healthy

In an effort to stay healthy this winter, we have been spending more time at home.  Thankfully, the weather has been mild enough to get outside a bit.  When there is snow, these guys love being pulled around in their sleds.  Inside, we have to get creative at times, but we still have fun.  

A quiet morning playing in our PJs

Owen was moved to dress up one morning.

I made rainbow noodles, which entertained them a couple different afternoons. 

Their current favorite activity is putting pipe cleaners in a colander. 

Seriously, it's really exciting!

Farm!

We have two of the luckiest toddlers around because their Aunt Sarah and Uncle Jerad have an awesome farm full of friendly animals to feed and pet.  We made a trip to the farm last weekend to celebrate Christmas a little early and had a great day!  It was a warm day outside, so Owen and Maren were able to spend a lot of time outside, and they have been talking about the goats, cows and their new favorite puppy, Buddy, every since!

Tis the Season

Owen and Maren are excited about Christmas this year!  They love Christmas music and say "Ho Ho Ho" whenever they see Santa.  And, just in case you're wondering, every present in sight is Maren's. 

Over the past few weeks, we've been able to enjoy a few holiday activities. 

The kiddos were able to help decorate the tree this year (and un-decorate it a few times). 

We were able to meet Donner and Blitzen at the Grand Meander.

We decorated Christmas Cookies. They frosted cookies with paint brushes, and Josh had the fantastic idea of putting sprinkles in salt and pepper shakers, which contained the mess a bit. 

It didn't take long for Owen to move from decorating to eating the cookies. 

Maren ate a bit, as well.  

Jonah was the only one who didn't eat too many cookies this year. 

Uncle Eric and I also brought the kiddos to the Mall of America to check out all the Chirstmas decorations. Owen loved the huge ornaments hanging from the ceiling.  We didn't meet Santa this year, but we did peek at him visiting with other kids.  

The highlight of our trip to the mall was getting to ride on the carousel.  It was such a hit that Owen started crying when his second ride ended and didn't stop until we made it home almost an hour later. 

Finally, we celebrated Christmas early with the O'Keefe Family, where Owen and Maren tried bowling for the first time. There was a minor meltdown before we left the house, but they ended up having a blast!  We'll definitely have to bring them bowling again. 

It's Cold Outside

We haven't been able to get outside much in the last couple of weeks, so to prevent moments like these, we've had to come up with some new indoor activities.  

Crib forts have become a favorite weekend morning activity. 

We have a sensory bin filled with beans.  Beans, measuring cups and toy cars keep them busy for almost an hour at a time.  

 This is generally when we have to put the bin away. 

We made play dough.  Maren loved it! Owen was just more into his ball that afternoon. 

Grandpa Dave made a felt Christmas Tree with ornaments.  Owen and Maren decorate it every day.  

Also, although there is no photo proof, we are watching our fair share of Super Why, Thomas the Train and Barney, as well.  Josh and I can already name every train on the Island of Sodor.  I think it's going to be a long winter!

A Late Halloween Post

Maren loved everything about Halloween, including her ladybug costume.  Owen loved everything about Halloween, except for his costume.  He didn't really show any interest in picking out a costume, unlike his sister who wanted both a frog and ladybug costume.  She was eventually persuaded to choose the adorable (cheaper) ladybug costume.  We grabbed a Batman costume for Owen thinking he would at least like the cape.  We were wrong. 

On Halloween, Maren put on her costume and spent time with me at St. Kate's.  She loved the attention and all the pumpkins around campus.

 That evening, we did some trick-or-treating at a few houses in our neighborhood.  Owen opted to carry a ball instead of a pumpkin to collect candy. He put most of his treats in Maren's pumpkin.  I'll be curious to see if this happens when we actually allow them to eat the candy. 

We had to sneak the cape on Owen on our way outside.  

Daddy and a ladybug

The highlight of the evening for both kids was handing out candy to other kids trick-or-treating.  Here they are eating their dinner and staring at the door.  Just waiting. . . 

Our October Virus

This blog has been terribly neglected lately.  A virus haunted our home for almost the whole month of October, making it very difficult to do anything other than hold sick kiddos and clean the very dirty clothes of said sick kiddos.  The virus started with Owen and a little runny nose.  Within hours, he was wheezing, so we started nebulizer treatments.  He got progressively worse throughout the next day (wheezing, vomiting and fever) and was admitted to Children's Hospital for a two night stay.  

Here's our sick little man right after getting his IV.  

 He was needing nebs so frequently that they put him on a continuous neb, which is why he  has a nasal cannula.  We were told he would adjust quickly to the cannula, but 5 hours later he was still crying and fighting it.  After some nudging (harassment) from this mom, the doctor agreed to nebs every two hours, so Owen could get some rest overnight.  He decided losing the cannula wasn't quite enough and pulled out his IV, too.  Owen may not be the best patient. . . 

There was very little we could do distract him from the cannula but books helped for a bit. 

After a very long first night, Owen was looking much better and was excited to eat breakfast (after a full day on a clear liquid diet).

 

 As he started to feel better, it became difficult to keep him entertained in his room, so the hospital brought some toys.  Owen was thrilled!  

We also took walks in the hallway several times a day (sometimes at crazy times like 4:30 a.m.).  He fought the mask at first but gave in as soon as he realized the mask equaled freedom! This picture is Owen getting ready to take his victory lap just minutes before being discharged. 

He fit in some last minute playtime with his hospital toys while Josh and I talked to the nurse.

While Owen and I were in the hospital, Maren stayed with Grandma Colleen and Grandpa Dave, so Josh could easily get back and forth to the hospital.  I hated having to be away from her, but she had a blast.  She came home a few minutes after Owen got home from the hospital and was a very happy little girl. . . until her nose started running minutes later.  That same evening, Maren spent the majority of the night screaming.  She had a really rough next day, as well, so I brought her into Urgent Care to have her throat and ears checked.  

Here she is at urgent care, where we found out that she did not have strep or an ear infection.  Fast forward a week, and she did end up with a double ear infection. 

 So, for the month of October, we basically did a lot of this.  

Everyone is feeling better now, but I'm already nervous about the next virus lurking around the corner.  We have Owen on an asthma management plan this winter that includes two nebs per day to prevent his lungs from becoming inflamed if and when he catches another virus.  The hope is that by being more proactive we can avoid another hospital stay.  I really hope this is true.  I also hope we don't have to test its effectiveness anytime soon!