More photos from a long time ago

It feels like a lifetime ago. And yet it was only six months ago.

Climbing into the car. I'm pretty sure I took this picture because she was wearing jeans and I had a moment where I saw her way more grown up and kind of freaked out. If only I could have seen her now!

One of the coolest birthday parties, for Jackson from Jayden's class at school. Jackson's mom works at a wildlife center, and she used to work at this one. The kids went on a nature hike, identified shapes and colors in nature and generally explored. It was very cool.

Dakota tried to participate and did the best she could. 

Paying attention to our nature guides.

Afterwards the kids got to touch a snake and other animals (I did NOT touch the snake).

We didn't get to touch the bird, but it was pretty cool to see this up so close.

#fashion

Sunday morning donuts.

Fun with friends, and Jasmine being patient.

Wearing my old shoes. This girl is certainly shoe obsessed. I wonder where she gets that from?!?

Go Duke!

Watching planes land at the airport - maybe picking up Daddy? Or Gramma? I think Gramma, but now I don't remember. 

Fun at Discovery Cube with Maxwell and Grant. 

Pulling themselves up. This was pretty cool. I tried it, and it was not so cool.

Group photo!

Our sweet little butterfly.

We stopped at the Disney store afterwards and they were having a buy one get one for their stuffed animals. Jayden chose the otter from Finding Dory. And he has stayed loyal to it ever since; it's the animal we cart to and from school every day so that he can sleep with it at nap time and at nighttime. His name is "Ottie" and he's a little more worn now, but he is still cute and cuddly.

Dakota picked out a giant Minnie. And she still loves her Minnie too, and sleeps with it too, when we let her.

Ms. Dakota has grown so much in the last six months. It's really fun for me to look back at these February photos and see how little she looks.
I adore these tights, though. The rainbows are just so cute.

She definitely has her own style, even when we're just eating dinner at home.

And then the many faces of Jayden.
#1.

#2.

#3.

and #4.

The morning of Jayden's ear surgery, where they put tubes in.
The animal he is holding is Quackers, which is from his school. His teacher knew he was having this surgery, so she sent it home with him the day before. His teacher is one of the good ones. We are sad to leave her.

With Quackers, getting ready to get medication and be wheeled back to surgery.
He was out maybe 30 minutes later. It took about 10-15 minutes longer than the doctor expected because the buildup in his ears was like concrete. So gross. But other than that, he was a champ.
When he was brought into recovery, we were able to go back so that we could be there when he woke up. He must have heard our voices subconsciously, because he soon woke up. He looked around, confused for a bit, and then suddenly remembered - popsicle?!? The nurse was awesome, very sweet and caring. She ended up bringing him two popsicles, which of course made his day. When it was time for him to be discharged, he had to be wheeled out, and it was raining and no parking spots close. So the nurse basically looked around, told us to grab him and carry him to the car. :) She was awesome.

I had been told that Jayden would need the day to rest and I should keep him calm. We get home and I'm prepared to sit down and have a quiet, relaxing day (I had taken the day off of work and was kind of excited to sit on the couch and do nothing for the day!). So, we get home by maybe 11 am, and Jayden looks at me and says "can we play soccer?" I look back incredulous, and cry a little.

I talked to a friend of mine the other day whose daughter had the same procedure. She told me her daughter took a FOUR hour nap the afternoon after the surgery. Why not my child?!???

But, the surgery has been great. He hears so much better and seems to be able to focus better. So great.

Swim lessons, for Dakota only since Jayden had to take the week off after ear tube surgery.

In the chair outside after swim class. I promise my kids are happy. These are just their faces.

Fun in the dryer. How else would you spend a Saturday afternoon?!??

Movie night with the Mobleys!

This lasted about half the movie, and then they spent the second had running all over the hallways. Jenn and I sat in the hallway and talked while the kids ran wild and the husbands sat in the theater and actually watched the movie. This is about how these things go down.

It is an interesting experience to try to write about what happened six months ago. I remember more than I thought I would. But I also think I lose some of the details, and some of the feelings that go along with these events. Life is exhausting. Sometimes in a good way, and sometimes in a bad way. Knowing that we've come through these little challenges, and still manage to love each other and care for each other is a good thing. And clearly we are lucky, that we can weather storms like ER visits, ear tube surgeries and other challenges. But when you're in the thick of it, everything feels so heavy.

I've now made it halfway through February. Turns out I also take a LOT of pictures!

Long six months

I can't believe it has been six months. So much has happened, so much has changed, and yet so much remains the same. I can't even begin to catch up on the six months, so I will just post pictures, and tell stories as I think of them.

As I realize that I am so far behind, the first thing I need to tell you is that thanks to Jayden, we ended up in the ER late one Friday night. He had an MRI the day before, and the results said "septic hip." Well, when anybody sees "septic hip," that means go get it checked out or else don't sleep all night thinking your kid is going to get his leg amputated. So off to the ER at Children's Hospital we went. Friday night during flu season at the hospital is a terrible time. A waiting room of sick kids and their siblings and parents.

It was a long wait, but finally we were sent back to a room. They got him in the hospital gown and hooked up to an IV. They had a TV, but soon after we arrived, a helper came in to offer him a box of toys - either legos or cars or something else of his choosing. CHOC is pretty amazing. So Jayden was happily playing away in his bed while I curled up uncomfortably in a chair and texted Carmen (who was stuck outside with Dakota - only one person could accompany the patient to the back). After some blood tests, and the CHOC radiologist reviewing the MRI from home, we were told there was absolutely no chance of a septic hip. The diagnosis was an effusion in his hip, which is basically fluid in his hip joint, likely from a recent virus. In other words, he was fine. Once we figured out he was fine, Carmen and Dakota went home (probably 10 pm or so). Finally Jayden and I got home, after midnight. We were both exhausted, but Jayden was a champ. And when he woke up Saturday morning, he was already feeling better. So thank goodness for that!

Cuteness in her moccasins.

Aaand he's walking again.

I climb in!

And there's so much more. I'll keep working on it, and will keep updating, as fast as I can!

It's good to be back. 😊

And somehow we made it to 2017

I think I've said this many times before. But 2016 was just hard. I was looking forward to 2017 until November 8 happened. And now I alternate between being hopeful and devastated. On a local level, our Orange County Bar Association incoming president published his first article where he called out immigrants and refugees and said they were coming to our country not to "assimilate" but to "remake this land into the very kind of oppressive and violent nation that they escaped from in the first place." As you might imagine, working for an organization that regularly assists immigrants, both documented and not, this struck a chord with us. So I spent a good part of my weekend working with our ED (who is on a boat in the Caribbean somewhere) and two Board members to draft a response that will be published in a future publication. I was feeling empowered and grateful for the support of our community. And then Monday and Tuesday happened, and we all realized just how difficult and scary the next four years are going to be. I don't even want to be around for the reaction tomorrow, when it is officially announced that a wall is being built. That wall better be one brick tall.

In any case, enough about politics. I include that mostly to help you understand where I'm coming from these days, and to explain (not that I need to, but I do think context helps sometimes) why I am so fired up about some things these days.

Once we got back from Seattle, it was back to work and school. That first week back was incredibly difficult this year for some reason. I think there is just so much to do, and Dakota has finally hit the age where I really enjoy her, so it was harder to send her back. Plus, she is growing by leaps and bounds, sometimes it seems on a daily basis, and it's hard to miss out on some of that.

Sibling cuddles, among a mess of toys and clothes.

Playing corn hole with the Duke corn hole boards Santa brought us for Christmas.

Wild hair

What it looks like when I ask Dakota to close her eyes:

Jayden taking a picture of this really cool book that counts from 1 to 100. Jayden could already do it, but this book definitely made him more confident. I'm not sure who gave it to us, but if it's one of the 5 people who read this blog, thank you!
We also have the Alpha-Block book. They are beautiful books. I highly recommend them if you need gifts for 2 to 5 year olds.

Shoe-obsessed.
Recognize the shoes, Lizzle?!?

Dakota usually wakes up from her nap before Jayden does, so she and I play on our bed for a little bit. This day we put socks on our ears and took pictures. 

And then we put goggles on. Because, obviously.

And then it was time to cheer on the Seahawks! I love these kids.

Just a pretty picture. She picked these shiny red shoes out herself at Old Navy and wears them all over the house. She shows such joy on her face, it's hard to not feel that same joy when you're with her.

January 12, 2017: 19 months old, and in her shiny red shoes, of course.

Dakota has started swim lessons. Since we now have two kids in swim lessons, Carmen and I switch off who gets in the pool. He gets in one week, I get in the next. I'm not sure what we'll do when one of us can't be there. Hopefully Maxwell's family will be there and will help us out!

At a friend's birthday party at an amusement park. The kids had a blast on the go-karts. 

Zooming around the track.

He rode this dragon boat alone, and then recruited a bunch of friends to ride with him.

Dakota loved the carousel. I think we rode it 15 times. I didn't even need to hold on to her - she was completely comfortable. So different from Jayden, who only started riding the horses this year. Up until recently, when he and I rode the carousel we would sit on the bench.

One of those rides that takes you to the top and then drops you down. The kids loved it. They put their hands up, were screaming, it was awesome.

Four friends smashed into the train. I was sitting in a train car with Dakota behind them. These four friends are great together - rarely any fights, just fun.

Dakota checking out her brother on the go-karts.

Racing games. Jayden actually came in 5th I think on both races. We were pretty impressed considering he has pretty much zero steering skills.

Of course Dakota had to try too.

On MLK Jr Day, we met Maxwell's family for lunch, since we had missed Maxwell's birthday party the day before. We wanted to give him his present and to celebrate with him, at least a little. The poor family, all of them had been sick the previous week, and the parents were still getting over it. But there were little cars where we ate, so the kids played for a few minutes while Jen and I caught up. These two were so cute, and were actually really good at sharing.

Cheering in the kitchen. Because why not.

One night I was overwhelmed, so I went and sat outside on our driveway. Jayden later came out to sit on my lap. And then Dakota joined. So we sat in our driveway, watched the cars go by, looked at stars and played games running around the driveway. It was actually really fun. And Jayden recognized Orion's Belt in the sky. The things that he retains are crazy.

I have started braiding Dakota's hair, because I can usually get the braids to last a few days, and it eliminates the morning struggle of brushing her hair. I am not skilled at it, but I am practicing and getting better.

I did three french braids this time. She currently has two french braids. I also have done a single braid, and a number of braids around her head. Practice, practice, practice!

Snuggles with Mama - this is from a few weeks ago. 

I have more pictures to add, and more stories to tell. But for now this will have to do.