A Beautiful Easter Sunday

We enjoyed the most wonderful Easter Sunday together. The Easter Vigil service on Saturday night was beautiful with ten new people joining the Catholic Church at Holy Redeemer. The vigil mass is longer than a regular Sunday service and it's late at night, but all of readings, the worship music, and the sacraments of initiation make it that much more special. It was a great way to begin the Easter season. 

 On Easter morning, both kids were so excited to see what the Easter bunny left for them in their baskets. They both got sticker books, pajamas, DVDs,  plastic eggs filled with coins, play-dough, books, and tee shirts. Ella also got some candy in her basket. Nicholas lucked out and got his very own piggy bank. He has wanted one since the tooth fairy visited a few weeks ago, and the Easter bunny was happy to oblige. 

This tree in our front yard is in full bloom and it's gorgeous!

Little Elizabeth let me snap a couple photos of her in her Easter outfit. She looks so grown up in this photo.

Jeff & I were so grateful that Nicholas was back to baseline just a few days before Easter. He really enjoyed the holiday since he is back to feeling like his happy-go-lucky sweet self. 

I feel to blessed to mother these two precious souls. They make me laugh everyday and I feel such joy in their small accomplishments. They love each other so dearly and they have created such a beautiful bond between them. 

We had Easter brunch at my folks' house with my brother & his wife, my sister-in-law's brother, my grandmother, my parents, and us. My parents' yard was full of beautiful blooming daffodils, which were perfect for Easter Sunday. 

After brunch I hid several plastic eggs and Nicholas and Ella went on a hunt to find them all. Nicholas was much quicker than Ella this year of spotting an egg, calling out to Jeff, and helping his daddy put it in his basket. 

Ella ran all over the place searching for eggs, but she would often run right by one and I would have to coax her back to look again. Her cheeks were all rosy and flushed after all the running in the warm sunshine. It was nearly eighty degrees yesterday, and for Washington weather, that's HOT!

My sis-in-law snapped this photo of our family. It's probably one of the best photos of us since every body's eyes are open and everyone is smiling. I also love that my boys are wearing their sunglasses. They are such cool dudes. 

After the Easter egg hunt, Ella wanted all of the eggs in her basket, including Nicholas'. Her kind brother was more than happy to share with his little sis. 

While the rest of us sat on the patio, chatted, and soaked up the sunshine, Elizabeth got on her tricycle and pedaled around and around the sidewalks. Nicholas enjoyed playing with Eric & Tina's dog, Moco. It was a great opportunity for Jeff to point out that he thinks Nicholas should have his own dog. I will admit, I think if we found the right dog (small, no shed, not a barker, good with little kids) I would be okay with getting a pet. I know both kids would love one (and Jeff would be thrilled) but I am reluctant because I fear that I would be the one taking care of a puppy most of the time, and I already feel like there is so much to do! 

Thank you God, for sending your only son to Earth to live and die for us, so that we may see you again when we return to Heaven. Jesus is risen, Alleluia! Happy Easter everyone!!

Sweetest Things

Nicholas is back to baseline!! We couldn't be more thrilled that our little guy is feeling so much better and our routine is back to normal. For the past three days, Nicholas wakes up in the morning and asks that his bi-pap mask be removed right away (and doesn't need extra bi-pap support during the day), then he asks to go out of his room and join us in the living room, and he has little to no secretions in his nose anymore which means nearly no suctioning during the day. It's really so nice for everyone, especially our sweet Nicholas, that he is feeling so much better.

Nicholas has also resumed talking up a storm. He has spoken the words that are closest to my heart several times now:

"I love you, Mom."

Oh, how I longed to hear those words when he was so sick. Every time he says them, my heart skips a beat, tears brim my eyes, and a huge smile is plastered on my face. I feel so grateful to be able to respond, "I love you, too, Nicholas." Time is so precious and has proved to be on our side with our little fighter making a full recovery from his bout of RSV.

These photos show how much Elizabeth loves her little brother. She is probably the most thrilled to have her brother up and feeling good enough to play with her again. And you can tell by the look on Nicholas's face how indescribably happy he is to feel better and be around his little sis again. As I type this, Ella is sitting next to Nicholas on the sofa, and they are watching Wreck It Ralph together while she twirls his hair in her fingers. It's absolutely adorable and it is a moment I have seared into my memory to treasure for always. 

Ella is such a sweet, cuddly girl these days. She loves to climb up on my lap and read books. In fact, I think she could listen to me read all day long. She also loves to sing and dance. It's so funny when she spontaneously breaks into song complete with crazy dance moves. She definitely keeps us entertained around here. 

Ella had a play date on Monday with her favorite friend, Annabella. They spent the day playing with Play Dough...

creating art...

eating snacks & playing outside. Ella talks about Bella almost constantly so she was thrilled that she could spend time with her little buddy. 

Last Saturday, my best friend, Lyndsey, celebrated her birthday. I found this photo of us taken in 1996 at the airport before we departed to Mexico with Lyndsey's mom to celebrate Lyndsey's 16th birthday. I feel so blessed to call this woman my best friend and the wonderful sisterhood we've created in our twenty years of friendship means the world to me.

Ella had another play date last Friday with her friend, Leah. Leah's mommy works with my dad and the girls are only three months apart so when my mom and dad baby-sit Leah, Ella gets to go to my folks' house and play with Leah which makes her super happy!

Last week I had to work a couple of evenings so my mom came to the house to watch the kids. This is what I found when I arrived home. Nicholas and Ella love their Gramme so much and get so excited to have her at our house to baby-sit. My mom was reading Dr. Seuss books and making funny voices and the kids were doubling over with laughter. 

Oh, how I love Target. I found this floral bag that's perfect for spring. It's big enough to pack stuff for the kids, some items from my purse, with room left over for items purchased at the store or to bring home work materials. I can see it being a beach bag for summer days and a great carry-all for the Farmer's market. I just love a great find for a great price. 

Before our weather got all nice and warm (we're looking forward to 70 degree temps. this weekend) I was still making cold-weather food. I tried a new recipe from The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond, shown below. It was an absolutely delicious beef stew, with a beer broth. I don't think my husband could eat it fast enough and he commented that it was the best stew I have ever made. If you've never heard of The Pioneer Woman, you can check out her mouth-watering recipes HERE.

We can't wait for the warm, spring weather to arrive this weekend and plan to spend as much time as possible outdoors. The kids will be so happy to hunt for Easter eggs outside on Sunday. We wish all of our readers a very joyous Easter season!!

Spring Has Arrived

 Today is the first day of spring! Yippee! I, for one, am looking forward to longer daylight hours, more sunshine, and hopefully less rain. I spent last weekend planting beautiful flowers to bring some spring color to our house. More about that below...

Last Saturday afternoon, Ella, my mom, and I attended the Missoula Children's Theatre production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It was Ella's first play and she LOVED it! All of the actors (except for one) were cast on Monday and performed on Saturday. One of the blue birds was a girl from our church, so we went to support her. It was a little over an hour long which was the perfect amount of time for a two-year-old to sit and not get too fidgety. 

 After the play, I met my sister-in-law, Jami, at the local Mexican restaurant for drinks & dinner. We enjoyed margaritas and good conversation. I love her so much and feel so lucky to have her in my life. I always wanted sisters when I was growing up, and by marrying Jeff I was blessed to get, not one, but two awesome sister-in-laws!

I spent most of Sunday afternoon outside planting primroses, ranunculus, pansies, and succulents in all of our patio pots that have been mostly empty for a few months. It's so nice to glance outside and see color now!

This tree is in our front yard and I love the bright pink blooms. It's a sure sign of spring!

Our sweet Nicholas has spent a significant amount of time off bi-pap in the last few days, which is a good sign that he's starting to feel back to normal. The photo below shows his crazy bedhead...

and this one shows what he looks like after Jeff cut his hair. We miss his curls when his hair is short, but it grows back pretty quickly. 

Ella loves spending time around her brother. When he feels well enough to venture out of his room the sits next to him pretty much non-stop and enjoys singing to him or telling him stories. When he wants to be in his room, she brings toys to play with him and will often crawl up on his bed to rub his back, tickle his feet, or cuddle next to him and watch a movie. It's absolutely adorable and Nicholas lights up when ever Ella is around. 

 A couple of nights ago, after the kids had gone to sleep, I snuck in some 'me' time in the form of a relaxing bubble bath complete with candles, a book, and quiet instrumental music. It was heavenly and I honestly cannot remember the last time I got to soak in the tub for more than ten minutes. 

This is the book I am reading right now that my friend, Leslie, let me borrow. It's pretty entertaining with interesting photographs inside to help tell the tale. 

 I captured this moment today between father and son. Nicholas was so happy to have his daddy by his side. Jeff looks kind of tired, but I think that's normal for a guy working such crazy hours these days. Maybe spring will also bring some warmer weather so I can see more of my hubby's face again!

In the last post I spoke to Elizabeth's keen sense of fashion (ha!)...here's another photo to prove it. I have come to the conclusion that she's really an accessories girl. She prefers hats, sunglasses, purses, hair ribbons, and shoes over any article of clothing she owns. She's definitely my child in that sense. 

Happy spring everyone!

Return to Routine

 Life is starting to resume to a normal routine here, which is such a wonderful blessing. The photo above is Ella's "cheeeeeese" face. Little Miss is so happy to have all of her family under one roof again and has spent the last week loving on each of us, especially her big brother. Ella really is such a blessing, she shares her gift of laughter, silliness, sassiness, and love with us all and it's such a delight to raise a child who enjoys life's simple pleasures as much as we do. 

 Our Nicholas feels more and more like his happy non-sick self every day. He has been taking longer breaks from his bi-pap during the day, but he is still working on getting back to baseline. Baseline for Nicholas means that he only wears his bi-pap at night for sleeping. We realize that because SMA is a degenerative neuromuscluar condition, being on bi-pap more frequently may be Nicholas's new normal, and that's perfectly okay with us. What ever we can do to help our child feel comfortable and relaxed is what we plan to keep doing for him. Nicholas also has more secretions than normal and we assume those will lessen as he continues to improve, but, again, we realize that this could be Nicholas's new normal. When Nicholas got bronchitis before his second birthday, that illness took away much of physical abilities: the ability to feed himself, the ability to sit unassisted for long periods of time, and most drastically the ability to swallow food and eat by mouth. Typically, most SMA children loose some strength when dealing with an acute illness so we know that Nicholas may never regain some of those things he lost while hospitalized with RSV. We do hold on to hope, though, that with some time, Nicholas will be back to baseline and not too much will have changed just yet. 

These beautiful brown eyes have captured our hearts forever.

Ella has enjoyed dressing herself every day this past week. In these photos she chose her brother's winter cupcake hat, a hand-me-down daisy shirt from her friend, Aubree, and her jean jeggings. 

Today when I got home from work she was wearing her rainbow striped pajama pants, a long sleeved white tee shirt, and a blue and white polka dot swim cap. I just looked at Jeff, and he said, "What? That's what she wanted to wear after her bath. At least she matches." No part of our daughter's outfit matched, so she gets her sense of style from her father, obviously.

I think she looks like a true artist, don't you? 

Since we sprung forward last week I have been planting like crazy. All this extra light in the evenings combined with warmer weather makes me eager to be outside. So Ella and I usually spend time in the afternoon in our backyard tending the flowerbeds and planting new flowers to bloom this spring and summer.

When Nicholas was at Doernbechers, the wonderful child life coordinator, Jan, brought him this wonderful Storytime Sticker Book that both Nicholas and Ella really enjoyed completing together with a little help from mommy.

The kids liked it so much that I ordered several more for them which will be delivered by the Easter Bunny on Easter Sunday. Shhh, don't tell...I cannot wait to see their excited faces!

That about sums up our week back at home. Even things like dishes and laundry don't bother me these days as being home just feels like such a blessing. 

First Tooth Fairy Visit

When Nicholas was intubated the first time, the anesthesiologist noticed that his upper left lateral incisor was loose so she pulled it out to avoid him swallowing it. So last Thursday evening Nicholas was super excited to leave his first tooth out for the tooth fairy. He fell asleep in sweet anticipation that she would visit in the night.

 I was lucky enough to capture the cute little fairy on camera while Nicholas was asleep. He was beyond excited to see her picture in the morning! He said, "Wow!" when he saw that she came into his room while he was asleep. 

The tooth fairy was very generous-she left Nicholas's tooth for him, as he had requested, and she also gave him $2.50. He was very excited to see that his tooth was still there and that he got some money too. Now he would like his own piggy bank to keep his money in. 

Today Nicholas is feeling good enough to be off his bi-pap. He has been off it for two hours now and is doing great! We are so happy that he is starting to feel like his regular self again!!