A Vacation to New Mexico

So there was a great big sale on airline tickets and we made plans to fly to my sisters, well the kids and I in January. A chance to visit and for us a chance to get out of winter we hoped for a little while! I was really nervous about flying with the kids by myself. It wasn't just one flight each way, was 2 each way. What if there were delays and what if the kids were fussy? Well, it turned out there were no delays and no fussing! yay! We didn't have any issues at all. Other passengers were so nice and offered to help me on each of the flights if I needed it. And the kids did great, Parker even took a nap on one of the flights! Addison did well also, still sleeping a lot from being sick, but was very agreeable and enjoyed it. One lady even asked me how much I traveled with them because they were "so well behaved, they must be used to all this excitement!". I graciously told her that this was the first time for Addison and Parker's second time on a plane. I gate checked the stroller and brought the baby bjorn. It was the perfect combo, as we didn't have much time in between flights, which was positive and negative. No time to change diapers, but no time to get restless in an airport either!

We had such a great time in New Mexico. We did some fun things, but also just hung out and rested. It was nice just to be. It did get cold and even snowed....gee I thought I came south for a reason! Oh well, at least we are used to it. I'll tell you more about what we did in the blurb's under the pictures, it's easier that way for me. We also had birthday cake one day for Addison's one year birthday and went swimming. Parker loved it, Addison thought it was too cold.

Addison sleeping on my lap in the plane. It was hard to take pictures on the plane, we flew in the morning and the sun was so bright out the window we couldn't really keep it open. :(


Parker watching a movie on the plane. It really helped pass the time when you can't get up and explore!

One of the first places we went was a restaurant called Weck's. We love this place and it's a must stop when we visit. Addison LOVED it, and Parker did too!

Parker at Weck's. They are famous to us for their bowl o papas...which are hashbrowns with some kind of meat that you order, then served with an egg on top and cheese. It also comes with red or green chile, we are wimps though and always get it on the side.


One day we went to the zoo and aquarium. It was a chilly day, but it was really enjoyable to go to the zoo when hardly anyone else was there. You didn't have to wait for anyone to move to look at the animals, and you could walk as slow and as fast as you wanted. We rode the train from the aquarium to the zoo and back...it was about a 15 minute ride each way. Parker loved it of course because he is so into trains and cars right now...along with dinosaurs.

Parker and Addison on the train. The way their we rode on the car that was outside, on the way back Parker picked the inside one with windows to look out.

Kelsey met us at the zoo. Addison took a while to warm up to everyone as she is so mommy attached and she had just gotten out of the hospital. But of course she warmed up to Kelsey rather quickly. Addison is so light she was spoiled and spent most of the day being carried around and not having to ride in the stroller or carrier!

Parker checking out the flamingos.


Addison sitting on a giant ant structure. Parker wasn't wanting to cooperate and be in pictures this day for some reason, so he missed out.


Parker and I under a giant garden dragon!

Addison LOVED the aquarium. She liked to look at all the fish as they swam right by her.

Parker and Addison in the aquarium.

Addison first checking out the fish. What do I see mom?!


One day we took them to the children's museum. Parker loved trying to figure everything out. This is Addison and I, she hung out in the carrier.

At this exhibit you have to figure out how to put all the pieces together and make them work like gears....Parker spent soooo much time here. He seems like such a boy sometimes! Denise and I were bored in no time, but Parker...nope!

Giant Bubbles!

Parker learning how water moves and how you can manipulate it to go where you want it to.

Aunt Denise amazingly has some empty cabinets in her home, I don't know, but she does. Uncle Lynn and Parker found them to be a hiding spot! When got home, one of the first things Parker tried to do, notice the word tried, is take all the Tupperware out of our cabinet to hide...uhhh no sir, we are not going to pick that mess up daily. Yes, Tupperware is reachable to you for a reason, but not for you to empty out everyday and hide in the cupboard!


Parker and I rode the carousel at the mall one day. He's my sweet boy.

Addison's one year birthday!

Addison Paylor

Addison turned one year old! Her birthday came right after her release from the hospital and on the day of our trip to New Mexico, so we didn't do anything big and dramatic. We were exhausted and just enjoying the wonderful life she is and that she was getting better. Addison is such a fun girl. She is quiet and observant, watching first to see what is going on. She loves her mommy and is super attached to her. Addison loves to play with Parker and is learning how to get his attention and get him to react to her. Oh the fights are around the corner, I can tell already. Addison has stunning blue eyes, and we get comments on them every where we go. She still can't walk, is really close, but it seems like being so sick set her back. Addison can crawl very well and cruise very well also. She pulls up on anything to get up and see. She still doesn't have any teeth! Everyone I've asked about it says that they have never seen a baby not get teeth, so they will come in some time. She loves to eat and drink. I think she eats more than Parker! We are running out of things that she can eat without any teeth as she is tired of "baby" foods. Addison loves baskets and bags and purses. She loves to empty them and examine everything in it, and then put it back. She also loves her bear and any stuffed animal she can cuddle. It's so sweet to watch her hug and give love to her animals and baby dolls. Addison doesn't like to be cold, so it's been a long winter for her. We haven't taken her for her well check yet, but will this week. After that, I'll add her size..but I know she's about 17 pounds....seems like her motor runs faster than the rest of us! She's a little peanut, but that's okay! We love her all the same! Happy Birthday Addison! We did have some cake at my sister's!



So we had Addison's one year well check yesterday! All is well. She weighed 18 pounds and was 29 1/2 inches long. She has to be 20 pounds to turn around in her car seat, so I guess she'll have to wait a few more months for that excitement. I remember Parker barely made the weight cut off by his first birthday. As for her kidney and double ureter issue, we are going to have to monitor her every few months to make sure she doesn't get any infection, as well as keep her on daily antibiotics to help prevent any chance of infection. So, overall it's a good report...nothing major like surgery required or more tests, so that's good!

Addison's hospital stay

Unfortunately, Addison had to be hospitalized! She hadn't been feeling well for about a week, just real fussy, sleepy, and a low grade fever. She wasn't eating well or being her normal self. We had a trip planned to fly to my sister's, and so a few days before we left, I decided I better take her to the doctor to make sure she didn't have an ear infection or something. So, in we went. They checked her out and her ear, lungs, everything seemed fine. They suspected more though, as she wasn't right and sent us to the Emergency Room. There they suggested it could be meningitis, encephalitis, a brain tumor...all kinds of things you don't want to hear them say. They were so fast and began ordering tests. I had called Micheal from the doctor office to let him know what was going on as I had Parker with me too. So Micheal worked his way out of work, and by the time he got there they had already done a Cat scan, a urine sample, a blood sample, started an IV, and did a lumbar puncture. All that was left was a chest x-ray. After that, they admitted us into the ICU while we waiting for the test results to come back. They said some of the blood cultures and spinal fluid cultures would take 48 hours before we would know anything. They started anti-viral and antibiotics right away as a way to start treatment for anything it could be. After 2 days and a night in the ICU and another night and day on the pediatric floor, we were released.

Turns out she had a mild viral meningitis and a UTI. The UTI led to an ultrasound of her kidneys and bladder, which led to further testing as they could see an abnormality on her kidneys. We have already started to follow-up with that and found out that she has 2 ureters on her right kidney...the tubes that drain into her bladder...and you are only supposed to have one. Hers also reflux, meaning it goes back to the kidney. This may or may not have caused the UTI. It's a really common issue, 1 in 100 children have this abnormality. We are still waiting to see what if any further treatment she will need.

Now is back to 100%, it took her a good couple of weeks to recover, but is back to her self and back to her routine. Thanks to God for healing her, thank you to everyone for all your prayers and support. It was scary seeing her so sick and tiny, and not knowing what she had.

Addison right after she had her IV inserted. She was a good trooper in the hospital. Mostly because I think she was too sick to fight and complain. She did cry, but would calm as soon as mommy or daddy held her close again. She got to the point where if a nurse or doctor even walked in the room she would wake and start to cry. This was in the ER.

Finally resting in the ICU.

Parker did so wonderful in the hospital. He was quiet and patient. He was so cooperative and did great while I comforted Addison during her tests. Later, some great people from church helped us occupy him with play dates so that he could get some time out to play and Micheal and I could focus on Addison.

Daddy and Addison, in the ICU. She really just wanted to be held all the time.

Finally, Addison started feeling better! This was like at midnight! Mommy was exhausted, but she was wide awake and so interested in playing, so I of course let her. She was released the next day to go home and rest, and we were cleared to go on our trip! Yay!

January 2010!

January was another eventful month. Time is flying by so fast. We continued our normal routine of just playing and having fun. It doesn't seem like anything new happened, but I know it did. I have 2 amazing babies...who are growing fast into not being babies! Parker is learning to sing along the songs at story time, not being so shy and watchful. He speaks clearer and clearer all the time, and in longer and longer sentences. Parker is figuring things out and surprizes us all the time with the things he has figured out. He seems to remember things so well, and it reminds us that he is always watching and learning.

It's finally thawing out a little bit to where we are willing to go outside longer than running from the car to the house or car to the store! We took a walk one day for some family time. Addison loved being in the wagon and going for a ride as you can see, and of course again, another example of how impossible it is to get both of them to look at the camera at the same time.

Parker and Addison have really begun to play with each other and love on each other. Parker hasn't been upset about not being in his crib since we moved here and he got a way cool toddler firetruck bed. He recently decided it would be fun to lay with Addison when she wakes up. They kick their legs, laugh, and have a jolly ol' time making a racket! Happy nap Addison!

Look at those gorgeous blue eyes and that pretty smile! Addison is so sweet and loving.

Parker loves to do whatever mommy and daddy do still of course. Micheal got a new camera for Christmas, so we have been letting Parker try out the old one. He has fun, and can take some pretty good pictures!

I clearly spend a lot of time picking up! Addison is very quiet and quick about taking things out. She loves to take things apart! I made a blockade with another toy she can't move after this occurance....I don't have time to be putting DVD's back up on the shelf on my To Do list.

Addison and Parker love music! They love to dance, love to sing, love to play and make noise....I mean music. They are quite the band!

A band wouldn't be complete without drums! The music even goes into the night as evidenced by the pajama dance!

December 09

December was a busy month, and it hasn't stopped it seems, thus the lapse in blogs. I always think about things to blog during the day or when I go to sleep at night, but then just don't take or have the time to do it. We have been having play dates, going to Bible Study and church events, and story time as well.....so to best describe December, I've attached a ton of pictures....enjoy!

Parker and I getting ready to go on a walk after one of the first big snows. We are definitely professionals at putting on boots, hats, gloves, and coats each time we go out the door. Since it's now February, I have to say, I am ready for spring.


Sledding is a must in the winter! We bought Parker a cheap sledding, hoping we'll only really use it one winter...we also got it big enough to fit Addison too, in hopes that it will one day be warm enough for her to go out too.....December never saw a day warm enough, with wind chills reporting it was -28 degrees...and that was in the morning when we got up! Parker loves to sled though, daddy pulls him around as they go find hills to slide down.

Parker fell asleep sledding on the pull back...strangely Parker has adapted this style of laying face first belly down a lot when sledding....I always preferred sitting on my bottom myself...

We had Breakfast with Santa this month...yummy pancakes along with a photo with Santa.


As expected, Addison was not too impressed, but Parker was excited to see Santa!

Grandma and Grandpa Pittman came to visit in December in between Christmas and Thanksgiving. It was so wonderful to have them visit us in the dead cold of winter. They also came right when there was a nice blizzard of 18 inches of snow. So, needless to say, their trip was some what house bound as it was too cold to take the babies outside too much. We went to the city of Redwing, MN one day to sight see. We saw the snow covered country side, the Mississippi River, and went to some pottery shops. We also went to the Mall of America, had a family photo taken, and just enjoyed getting to spend some great time together.

Parker is ready to go into the aquarium and see the sharks!

Grandma and Grandpa Pittman took us to the aquarium in the Mall of America. It was really fun, and Parker loved the sharks. Above, he's pointing at a shark that was swimming over our heads!
dad

Addison checking out the tortoise statue in the aquarium, it was a big turtle compared to my tiny Addison!


Grandma, Grandpa, Parker and Addison...of course you can NEVER get a pic now where everyone is paying attention at the right moment.

Grandpa and Parker rode the carousel in the mall!


Parker and Addison and mommy opening Christmas gifts.

Grandma and Grandpa Pittman got Parker a keyboard for Christmas. He loves it...it's a nice loud addition to his band.

Grandpa Pittman and Addison cuddling.

Parker and I took a walk one day, when we came back, he couldn't even stay awake for me to make him hot chocolate. He fell right asleep in Grandpa's arms.

The Shields Family also came to visit at Christmas time, just in time for another big snow! Guess our visitor's are supposed to come to Minnesota and experience the real fresh thing! They weren't here for long, so we really just stayed at home and had Christmas and played, but the company was still good and it was nice for Parker and Addison to have guests.

Parker's Uncle Schaun sent him this garbage truck for Christmas. He loves it, and when we were going shopping one day, he had to bring it in the car, then he had to bring it in the store....as you can see the reason for his stubbornness was his tiredness...he fell asleep soon after getting in the store and slept like this the whole trip.

Amma Shields and Addison cuddling.

Aunt Kelly and Parker and Addison....movie time!

Grandpa Shields and Addison...Great picture!

Amma and Grandpa Shields got Parker a train table for Christmas!!! He loves it. It provides minutes and minutes of entertainment at a time for both of them. Parker has really grown to love trains and cars in the past few months. He loves to race and to figure all the parts out.

Hmm...notice Parker is in the chair and the aunt is on the floor? Guess where Parker ranks in this world!

Addison opening some of her gifts. She loves putting things in things and taking them in and out. Purses and bags beware!

So December was clearly a busy month with visitors. It's hard to be so far away from friends and family, and harder yet to really connect and attach here when we know we will be leaving soon. Regardless though, Addison and Parker are very happy kiddos overall. They love staying at home and going out. Parker loves his sister and she him. So now, here's some pictures just from the month.

We bought Parker these chairs last summer. Sometimes it's fun to have a picnic inside and bring down your camping chairs and watch cartoons. Of course he wants Addison to sit right by him.


Parker gave up his afternoon naps months ago...but sometimes he falls asleep in the evening if he's been super busy and he stops and is still for a moment. This time he fell asleep in seriously less than 5 minutes...sitting on the floor with his head propped up! He had come in the kitchen for a snack, and I told him dinner would be ready in 5 minutes. He went into the living room and layed down to watch TV. When I called him for dinner he didn't come...when I went to get him I found him sound asleep on his elbow! So cute!


And yet another picture of him falling asleep at dinner time....it's like the first time he sits still all afternoon I guess and he falls asleep so fast! Clearly this night I got him to the table, but apparently not his plate fast enough!

Christmas brought lots of boxes to our home. Who needs toys when you have big boxes?! You can make forts, play peek-a-boo, hide, scare, and do all kinds of things in boxes!

Addison has gotten very mobile this month. She continues to pull up on everything and cruise but not walk on her own. She can clearly by this picture in December hold herself up well enough to open the lid on the trash can and not fall, but in the middle of February when I type this, she can still not walk!

Even though Addison didn't really plan to pose like this for this picture...it's still funny and a glimpse of how her personality really is!


With all the snow we can definitely not ride outside...so why not ride in the house?

Addison really began to crawl well this month...I thought she'd skip crawling, but finally figured it out.

And finally, Parker was in the Christmas program at church! They had 2 songs to learn. Of course not one of them sang the words. The 3 years old though knew all the words when they sang. It's amazing to see all the different stages of each age group as the performed. Thanks Grandma Pittman for the oh so handsome Christmas outfit! It was perfect for the program.