Out For A Walk

Today was gorgeous (a little windy so jackets were needed for part of the trip, but not too bad) and we needed to get out of the house, so Aaron and I went on a walk. I learned very quickly that the area we are in is not fond of sidewalks ... but rather a solid white line with a few feet before you find a ditch. Ugh. So we moved carefully until we reached a main road - and learned the main road only has a sidewalk on one side... the dangerous side.

I call that side of the road dangerous, because in a matter of 2 blocks, there is a Wendy's, McDonalds, Burger King, and Taco Bell... and that doesn't include what's further down!

When we passed McDonalds, we had to get out and see the fountain!

Apparently McDonalds is stepping it up and getting fancy! They had several areas with fountains. Wow.

Aaron reluctantly got back in the stroller and we continued on our way - but we didn't get far when my tummy started rumbling and grumbling and making all sorts of contentious noises... It needed French Fries... So we turned right around and went back to McDonalds.

As we were headed in, we discovered Palm Trees! It made the day feel even warmer - if we didn't have jackets on, I might have convinced myself we were in California.

Aaron loves fast food and watching other kids, so he ate great! He even tried dipping his chicken into my sauce.

After we finished eating, we went to play on the play place. It is Spring Break here so it was very packed!

 I stood near Aaron to try and keep the other kids from bulldozing him, but it only worked for so long. Eventually he got knocked pretty hard so it was time for us to go. He didn't mind though because we went out to the fountains again!

Hopefully we get to know the area better and we can go to parks and such - but McDonalds was just what we needed today. :)

A Break From Packing

We interrupt your regularly schedule programming (aka: Packing) to bring you these super cute photos and stories!

This first one is from 3 weeks ago. It was a gorgeous Sunday and we decided to go to a park (up in Washington ... it was a nice drive!).

We learned that Aaron is fearless - I mean, we already knew he was a little crazy, but this is insane! Eric did not help at all - he had his hands close by to guard and protect if necessary, but it wasn't necessary. Aaron climbed that ladder all on his own.

We also found one of these fun things ... I have no idea what they are called, but I'd never been on one before, so this was fun! Aaron and I sat/stood while Eric spun us in circles!

After we spun on this thing, Aaron took off running - as you can see, there are puddles everywhere. He was headed straight for a puddle. Eric sprinted to catch him and right as Aaron's foot entered the puddle, Eric snatched his hand and lifted him as the two of them jumped over the puddle. The splash followed them but failed to reach either of them. It ... was ... epic! I wish I had recorded it! Holy crazy!

We also have a few other fun videos to share:

This first one, apparently this is something Eric has done a time or two with Aaron that I was unaware of ... until Aaron was on our bed and suddenly did a summersault! I was so shocked! Here is a video I got a day or two later.

This one is ... well ... Aaron on a sugar high ... I thought it was entertaining. I like how he tells me which he wants - marshmallows or chocolate... lol

And last, this is Aaron wanting to be clean... this is pre-bath, pre-getting dressed, and him managing to sneak a binky out of his room...

 I have a lot of photos that I snap during the day that get posted to facebook, that I need to dump in here. I'm sure I'll do a long post of status updates and random photos... Hopefully you get to hear from me again soon. Things have been crazy with the being sick and the packing and the car buying and everything ... but eventually, it all needs to calm down, right?

Our New Addition

We had expected our baby to be the newest addition to our little family, but it turns out ... our cars had other plans.

Both of our vehicles were gifted to us by relatives and we are so grateful for them! But, they both decided to kick the bucket - so we bought ourselves a new (new to us...) car!

I was planning to model on the hood of the car - because I know you all secretly want to see a crazy pregnant lady on the hood of a car - but we decided it would be best to have Aaron be the model. He definitely enjoyed it.

We Survived

Seriously - I feel like we deserve a bumper sticker that says, "My Family Survived the NoroVirus."  What an icky, awful virus!

When Aaron first got sick, we didn't know what it was. It seemed to hit him fairly easy... he had diarrhea and threw up 4 times Tuesday evening ... after that he was simply clingy and whiny (the normal, "I'm sick, hold me," child whine). We assumed he had the flu, I felt like a terrible parent for only having him get one flu shot, and we moved on...

Here we are Wednesday when Aaron only had diarrhea left - he was super snuggly. And then he discovered the pull strings on my hoodie...

 Then Wednesday night, I fell. I'd had a hard day anyway - contractions consistent for a few hours (yes, this happens regularly) and a migraine. When Eric got home, I collapsed. We put Aaron down early and luckily, he went down. I laid as still as possible till 9 pm when the system reboot began. This virus makes makes your intestines and stomach inflamed and forces you to purge everything ... There is intense cramping and lots of throwing up. The cramping lasts for a few days. For me, the throwing up lasted until 2:30 am. I won't upset you with the number of times I threw up, but at one point, I was so shaken and so miserable I asked Eric for a Blessing. I have a very strong testimony in the Priesthood and knew that through it, I could get the peace I needed to sleep. I was obviously very scared for the baby inside me - I needed to provide nourishment and that was something I simply could not do. In the Blessing, Eric said that through this virus, I would learn the power of prayer... huh - well, ok. After the Blessing, I was more calm. At 2:30 was when I stopped throwing up. I knew I had to get something in my for the baby so little by little and prayer by prayer, I had a few sips of water. My cramping was still miserable, but at least I was keeping down what I drank - even though it caused the cramping to be worse.

Around 3:30-4, Eric started writhing in the bed. The cramping had begun for him and it was so intense he was in capable of holding still. I stroked his hair and did what I could, but wished I could do more. Then, I remembered my Blessing - that I would learn the power of prayer. I don't think Eric could hear me, but I whispered to him that though I could not give him a Blessing to help his body calm as he did for me, I could pray for him. I leaned over near his ear and said aloud a prayer for him and for our family. It was not long after that his movements calmed and his breathing regulated. He was asleep. He slept until 6:30 when Aaron woke (Aaron slept through the night. He woke each time I threw up but put himself back to sleep. Thank goodness). He felt well enough to get up and get Aaron ready to depart for Mark & Ane's home. Now that Eric and I had each experienced the virus, we knew what we had. I called a friend of mine, Britney, who is a nurse and had just gone through the virus herself and learned how it spreads. With caution, we knew Mark & Ane would be safe - there was no way Eric and I were capable of taking care of Aaron. Aaron was lucky and it appears the virus did not hit him hard - he did not seem to have the pain we experienced and he bounced back ridiculously fast.

We spent the day in bed. Aaron was brought back in the evening and put straight to bed. We finally ate a meal Friday evening. Prior, it was all crackers and clear liquids (Thank you Britney for the medication and Ane for the crackers, liquids, and the soup we were finally able to consume). Aaron was bored since we weren't terribly active, but he found ways to entertain himself.





Saturday, Eric was weak, but healed - I was still healing. Come Sunday, we knew we should stay home from church, but we felt well enough for a celebratory breakfast:

Can you tell which plate belongs to the crazy, over eager, pregnant lady who over did it and paid for it later, but it was so totally worth it???

I am so grateful for the people who helped us through this virus and for the Lord - He Blessed us in many ways and I learned a lot from this experience. One other thing I learned... Aaron loves music - he always has. Every night before bed (and recently, every nap), he asks for a song. This week, I was singing I Am A Child of God and something hit me. I had always sung it as a declaration that I am indeed a Child of God ... but as I sang the other verses, I realized, it is also a plea - a plea from the children to their parents to teach them and guide them in the ways of righteousness... The line in the second verse, before it grows too late scared me, but I am grateful I caught it while my children are this young. Aaron's bedtime routine involves him brushing his teeth, then climbing on Daddy's lap to read from the Children's Book of Mormon. Aaron then races to his bedside to kneel for prayers (p.s. he is pretty awesome at saying his own prayers with our help). I know that he is on the right track and is gaining a love for the Gospel. We show him pictures of Jesus and the Temple, but I know that I can do more to integrate Christ into his life. I am taking this song to heart and accepting the challenge to do so.