Cabin Fever

Remington, Squirt and I went to the farm for the weekend that Nathan was out of town for work. I have been fighting a cold or some junk all week so I thought the comforts of home and being with my parents would help. I took Remington to get his haircut and that proved to be the beginning of the nightmare. He screamed and cried the whole time. I'm glad I didn't take him to some random salon in Highlands Ranch. Della did a great job trimming him up and was so patient with his tantrums. Later that night, we went to a high school basketball game. He enjoyed it as long as he was sitting on my lap. With a packed gym and being 4 months pregnant, I didn't need the extra body heat to keep me warm. Oh well, what's a mother to do. The next day, Remington slept for 5 hours...should have been another clue as to what was ahead. By that night at yet another hs bball game, he had a fever and just wanted to be held. He was a trooper. He woke up in the middle of the night crying so I took him out and set in the recliner with him. We both slept ok but by 5 am, his fever was so high that it burned me when he touched me. I gave him some Tylenol and changed him into a t-shirt and placed a cold washcloth on his head as long as he would let me. For the rest of the day, I had to hold him. He didn't eat anything and only drank 7up or orange juice. On Monday, mom and I decided to take him to the doctor since he wouldn't eat or walk anywhere. He was so pathetic. We got him to the doctor and they took blood. The doctor checked all the signs for a cold or flu but lungs/ears/nose and throat were all clear. She suggested he had a stomach bug of some kind which just takes time to get rid of. YUCK! So we took him back home and continued the fluid diet and holding therapy. I had called my doctor to get antibiotics for my cold. What a miserable weekend. Again, he didn't sleep well so again, I held him and slept in the recliner. By Tuesday, I was completely exhausted and supposed to drive back home. I decided to stay another day to rest and hopefully both of us would be better. Wednesday, we came home to a sick Nathan!

So here we are, all three of us sick and no one feeling good to take care of the others....Squirt isn't much of a nurse. So we suffered through a couple more days. By Friday, I felt pretty good...good enough to go grocery shopping. But once back home, it was nap time and baby holding.

Valentine's Day was spent napping and watching tv. How romantic!

Sunday we all had cabin fever so we went to Jason and Kim's for brunch. Nathan and Remington stayed there to watch the Daytona 500 while Kim and I went shopping....AHH! Life is back to normal!

Christmas #2

This year was Remington's 2nd Christmas. On December 20th we left Denver and went to my parents' for a few days. We had a Christmas party at my brother's house with my mom's side of the family. Remington got lots of hugs and kisses from my aunts and cousins. He also gave out lots of kisses and high fives. On the 22nd we had Christmas dinner with my parents, brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew. We also opened presents. Remington doesn't understand the presents or Santa thing yet but he liked sitting on the boxes and ripping the paper. He would rip a piece of paper off and then go give it to my dad and say, "thank you." He's pretty proud of saying thank you when he gives you something.

While we were there, Nathan, my brother, my dad and my nephew did a lot of hunting. Geese and elk in which they were successful at both. Remington and I just hung out at the house while I did some work. Nothing too exciting and definitely nothing eventful.

We came home on Christmas Eve and went to our friends' Kim and Jason's for dinner. We shared gifts and ate a wonderful meal. I felt crappy so I fell asleep on the couch with Remington. Again, pretty uneventful.

On Christmas morning, we went to Nathan's parents. We opened gifts first. Remington again was happy to sit on the boxes. He got really excited when our 5 yr old nephew opened his gifts. Brendan was so excited about Bat Mobile and whatever other toys he was opening. Remington clapped and squealed because Brendan was so excited by his gifts. We had a wonderful lunch and then all headed over to Mammom's house with the extended family. Everyone was there. Small house with 20 adults and 4 or 5 kids becomes mayhem very quickly. We stayed there a few hours and then came home. Again, pretty uneventful.

Nothing like last year when our dog locked us out of the car while it was running!

Baking

I started doing some last minute baking when this is what happened.

cookies

Today while I was working, I had to find something to occupy Remington's attention for more than two minutes. I put him in his chair and gave him a cookie. Much to the dog's dismay, she gets put outside for this activity because she always ends up with the cookie if left inside. Here are some pictures of Remington enjoying his cookie!

climbing equals new toys

So now that Remington can pull himself up to things, he has found several new play things. Monday I was baking and he found himself next to me playing with the "lazy Susan" cabinet and trying to reach the stuff in there. He got mad when I would hold it closed. Tuesday he found himself at the kitchen trash can and being over 20 lbs pulled it over. There were lots of things in there to play with. The funny part of this story is that the dog was outside watching the whole thing and when I let her in, she went to her kennel immediately like she was in trouble! Wednesday I was putting dishes in the dishwasher and he thought that if I put the silverware in, he needs to take it out and play with it! Today Remington was standing next to the dog kennel on which I have plants. One of the plants has longer leaves and he was playing with the leaves that he could reach. He loves to climb when you hold him. He always wants to be up higher or reach for something that is up. SO BUSY!!!!! But love every minute of it!

Harrison Family Reunion 2008

Over the weekend, we went to the 30th annual Harrison Family Reunion in La Veta, Colorado.
This started in 1978 because cousins from Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Colorado and where ever else decided to get together sometime besides funerals and weddings. The cousins I'm talking about were my grandpa and all of his cousins. Over the years, they have become known as the "blue bloods." This year there were three blue bloods there. I have gone every year except 2003 when Nathan & I were on our honeymoon. My brother and dad are the only two that have gone every year. Partly because they travel less than 100 miles.

We stay at Sulphur Springs Camp. It's a old ranching lodge with 6 cabins. The cabins used to have multiple bunkbeds and one bathroom so my grandparents and all their kids and grandkids could stay in one cabin. About ten years ago, a new guy bought the joint and turned each cabin into a little cottage with kitchen facilities and living room. Now each cabin sleeps only 4 to 8 people instead of 14-20. Every year, we laugh about why we didn't buy the place way back when instead of paying rent on it every year!

As always, there is always too much food! We had wonderful pork BBQ on Friday night, pancakes and sausage on Saturday morning, beef brisket on Saturday night and biscuits and gravy on Sunday morning. There is always yummy desserts that you HAVE to eat...like S'mores.

There is this rock mountain (aka Rattlesnake Mtn) that everyone has climbed.....I have yet to climb it. There are rattlesnakes in the area and I don't need to find one. Like my dad says, "I didn't lose anything up there that I need to go find." Opposite Rattlesnake Mountain is another mountain that the kids have named Bear Mountain because one year they saw bear tracks up there. It is a straight hike up a small dirt trail. This year I pushed Remington in the jogger stroller up to the end of the trail. The small kids (under 10) needed a chaperone and I needed the exercise.

There was a low note in the weekend. Cousin Sid's daughter Linda and her family weren't there as they flew to Washington DC to see her son Tyler. He was part of an ambush in Afghanistan and was hurt but alive. A reminder that we all know someone who is fighting for our freedom and freedom for those who have no voice. Whether the troops are abroad or serving here in our country, we need to keep them in our thoughts and prayers. If you know someone in the military, tell them that you love them and thank you. No matter what political team you run with, the truth is that our country wouldn't be where it is today without men and women serving in the military.

Fun pictures of Remington

Here are some fun pictures of Remington. top to bottom

Him and Grampy Galen are folding down the air matress.

He gets stuck under his chair often.

He has a gig with Kellogg's (or should get paid for being so cute)

He is licking the bowl clean.

Solids

Remington started eating "sollids" today. I don't understand why they call them that. They are anything but solid...quite squishy and runny actually. We started with carrots to promote good eyesight. He squinted and gave a sour face but continued on well. He likes to eat! It's crazy how expensive formula is compared to cereal and baby food.

Gag!

Today Remington started eating rice cereal. The texture made him gag. He kept choking or what adults know as dry heaving. Poor little guy. I kept reassuring him that he was ok. He didn't want to swallow so we incorporated the use of his pacifier. With the sucking, it forced him to swallow.

Turkey with the Tolands

With the passing of my grandma, we decided to come home and have Thanksgiving with Nathan's family as planned. This would give us a chance to rejuvenate before heading back to the farm for the funeral.

Remington got to meet more of Nathan's family and took special pictures with his Great Poppop, Gampa and Dad. He laid on the floor next to me during dinner. Like always, we had too much food. We are so blessed to have such wonderful families. What a special time to be together. I sat and watched how everyone interacted and recalled memories of childhood and early adulthood as we gathered at my grandparents house for such occasions.

Who are these people and what are these things?

Remington got to meet more people today. I took him to meet my coworkers at lunch. Terri had seen him already but Rick, Dave, Brynmar, Scott and Kristen hadn't seen him. It was good to see all of them again. I do miss them but not work itself. Remington laid on the table until the food came. I don't think he could see all the way across the table. He's impressed with his hands and how they move. He's not convinced that they are connected to his body and he controls them! It's pretty entertaining to watch his facial expressions as he gets frustrated with his hands.

Wrestling heavyweight

Finally, Remington weighs enough! We went back to the doctore today for a weigh in. He's 8lbs 3oz. I guess the formula is what he needed. I would love to be able to breastfeed but it's not getting him what he needs. I will continue to do both but not at every feeding. I'll probably alternate the two between feedings.

Double fisting

Today we had another appointment with Dr Katz to see if Remington is back up to birth weight. No such luck! He's 7lbs 7oz. So that results in twice the food intake until he gets up there. The doc wants me to breast feed on both sides and then give him up to 4oz of formula every three hours. Holy cow...that's all I'm going to get done. But whatever it takes to get the little man to gain weight I guess.

Sweet Suite

Today Nathan was off to Nashville for his last conference. My department at work had a suite at the Rockies game. Dave threw out the first pitch. He was so nervous. My mom and I drove down to the field and parked in handicap parking and we took the wheelchair and crutches in. There would have been no way I would have made it in without the wheelchair. There was tons of food and a bunch of my coworkers there. I was glad that my mom got to meet them or reacquaint herself with them.

The Rockies won after a delay because of lightning. They delayed the Bronco game as well. I think there were more people at the Bronco game because it's the start of the season and the Rockies have to win a lot of games to have a chance at the playoffs!

When will Nathan_____?

Today my mother-in-law hosted a baby shower for me. All the women in the family came. It was really nice. My mom was still in town so she was there too. I'm glad she's been at all three baby showers I've had. All the Toland women pitched in and got a crib for our little man. It's really beautiful. We played a couple games. For one of them, we had to taste baby food and write down what it was. Yuck....I think it was the texture I didn't like or the fact that there are no preservatives in baby food to make them taste good. My mom won that game. The other game was multiple choice. We had to predict when Nathan would change the first diaper, when he would get peed on, when he would make dinner, when he would get spit on, how many cigars he would hand out in celebration....etc. It was pretty funny. This was his mom's way of poking fun at him. After he's born, I will go through and find the winner. I think he will do most of the stuff within the first day or two. He's going to be a great dad.

On the way home, Nathan said, "We need to talk about when to have round two!!!!" I exclaimed, "Can we get round one done first?!?" He's excited about our new little family.

Diaper Cake & Pink Bananas

My friends Deborah and Hollie hosted another baby shower for me today. They were so thoughtful and had it at my house. No packing me up or packing up the gifts.
Our little boy got church clothes, camo, boots, pajamas, a diaper cake and multiple cleaning products. We played a game where we had to guess the baby food. Who knew that bananas are pink?! The food was great, however, I never saw what kind of food there was or saw the cake before it was cut. The joys of being on crutches!

I had a great time with many friends. At the start, everyone had to introduce themselves and say how long they've known me. A friend of our family, Nancy, has known of me before I was even born. It was special to have her come.

Don't let the pigeon drive the bus.

They had a baby shower at work for me today. Erin put together a very nice party. My little boy got some cute clothes and more baby stuff than he'll ever use. I think after this, he won't need anything. My mom was here for that so it was special.

Craig made me read aloud one of the books they got for us. Don't let the pigeon drive the bus. Very cute. Ethan picked out his favorite books to share with our little guy. That is a special memory.

I saved all the gift bags and tissue paper.....at this rate I will never have to buy a baby gift bag ever again!

Tastes like coke

Today I had my blood glucose test. I had to drink this cola an hour before being stuck with a needle. A friend of mine told me to boost up on proteins (namely eggs) before my test. I am slightly allergic to eggs but forced myself to eat two of them with my "coke." I got to the doctor's office and they took me to the back. The nurse stuck me and took about 5 tubes of blood. I really hope I don't have gestational diabetes. Life is already difficult enough without a modified diet.

In sickness and in health....

Today is our fourth anniversary. We went to dinner and a movie. It's difficult and tiring to get around on crutches. I had fish and chips...a food I have become very fond of during pregnancy. We watched the new Die Hard movie. I loved it.

The next three months are going to be very difficult for us. Nathan hs taken great care of me and will continue to do so I'm sure. It's at this point that our wedding vows come into play...in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer.

If you don't have any food for me, don't ask me how I'm doing!

I had an appointment with the nurse practioner to check on the baby before I go under the knife this afternoon. I was hooked up to a fetal monitor and given a thorough exam....just when I thought I wouldn't have another one of those. The baby was moving around great and his heartbeat was back up to 160bpm.

On to the hospital for surgery. My surgery was scheduled for 2pm so they took me back to the room at 12:30 to get the local anethesia started. Reminding everyone that I couldn't eat or drink anything after midnight. It's now twelve hours later, on one of the hottest days of the year, I can't take any drugs for the pain nor can I have any water to drink. When your pregnant, you're supposed to drink as much water as you can expecially when it's hot. So with that being said, the next time some one walks in and asks me how I'm doing, I'm telling them exactly how I'm doing.....I AM PISSED! I AM HUNGRY!!! I WANT A CHEESEBURGER!!!!

The anethesiologist put a blocker in the back of my knee and then started the deadening meds. For everyone's understanding, the reason they don't want you to eat after midnight is so that the anethesia doesn't make you sick when they put you under. Because I'm pregnant, I'm not going under. SO I COULD HAVE EATEN!!!! Anyway, off to the operating room I go. The entire time I'm in there, there is a nurse keeping her attention on the baby.

It was an outpatient surgery but because I'm pregnant, they want to keep me overnight. They want to make sure I can deal with the pain once the anethesia wears off. They also want to make sure I can deal with crutches...I've been on them for three days now, I think I got it down. I had no contact with the outside world because I didn't have my cell phone. Nathan came and got me around noon.