Things That Make Me Laugh

The interactions between Sarai and Jadon make me laugh multiple times every day. Today Sarai informed that Jadon pushed her down. Now you and I know that a 6 month old doesn't know how to push his 3 1/2 year old sister down. But explaining that to the 3 1/2 year old sister is a whole other obstacle. I couldn't help but laugh to myself as I listened to her cry and explain what happend while I watched Jadon roll around on the ground happily behind her clueless to why his sister was hysterically upset. Just wait Sarai! One of these days Jadon will REALLY push you down. Then you'll have a reason to cry :-)

But most the time it makes me smile and laugh because they are so sweet together. Sarai can just walk into the room and Jadon's face lights up. He adores his big sister and she loves him to pieces. I pray every day they grow up to be great friends. Here are a few pictures of them snuggling together. It starts off sweet. Then Jadon finds some hair to pull which he does quite regularly (notice Sarai's face). But Jadon has an innocent "I didn't do anything wrong" look on his face. And the whole drama ends with a kiss from big sister. Love it!

Last night during bathtime, I found Jadon lounging in his tub in a rather unusual position. Though he seemed completely comfortable! I love his face in the last picture. I imagine him thinking, "These pictures better disappear when I'm 16 Mom!"

Is It Really May?

So when I thought I might be able to keep up with my blog with two kids, I was wrong. Or at least, keeping up with it at the same pace isn't going to happen these days :-) Life has been busy!

Jadon has officially been home for just over 5 months now but he got to make a return trip to Children's Memorial about 4 weeks ago. Just about the time we felt like we were getting into some kind of "normal" groove with 2 kids, Jadon started having some weird symptoms. His belly would gurgle a lot when he ate and he would often get uncomfortable as he was eating. Initially we were thinking it was just his reflux but it continued to get worse. After a appointment and x-ray with his surgeon, we learned the hole in his diaphragm had rehernitated. Poor kiddo only had about a 10-15% chance of that happening and it did. Several days later he was back at Children's undergoing surgery #2. Not what mommy or daddy wanted to happen but we were glad to have an answer to his tummy troubles. Thankfully this time around, he was only in the hospital a total of 4 days and he didn't have to spend any time in the NICU. Because of that, Sarai was able to visit him this time around which was great for her. It was really hard for her the first time when she couldn't see him. Since surgery, he has recovered great and hopefully we won't have to go through this a third time. His surgeon put in a nice big patch for a teeny tiny hole with the intention of avoiding another reherniation. The drs would still like to see him gaining more weight but honestly, he is just like his sister: long and lean.

We are still on the search for a church and new ministry. Mike has been blessed with great part time job working at our local township's senior center. He is the afternoon receptionist and jokes that they hired him for his legs :-) He has really enjoyed this job and we are thankful for the financial help it has given us in the between time.

Winter has seemed extra long this year and I'm sure it was because I have spent most of it inside with a new baby and a 3 year old. So we were glad to see the temperature finally get above freezing so we could be outside. And we have been spending a of time outside! One of Sarai's favorite things to do right now is walk to our neighorhood lake and throw rocks in. The question is always, "What kind noise will this rock make as it hits the water?" We always hope that no one is fishing when we go since the throwing of rocks isn't very conducive to the catching of fish :-) Jadon has just hit 6 months and is such a smiley little boy. He LOVES his big sister and will smile at her just for walking in the room. It is so much fun to watch the bond between them grow. He is beginning to sit up on his own these days and babble. He says "mamamamama" a lot so I'm sure his first word with be "momma."

We took some pictures Mother's Day weekend for Nana and Grandma and I'll end this post by sharing some of them with you. The first pic though is one of the kids on a walk to the lake :-) It is still hard to believe some days that we have two kids but we feel so blessed every day. Hopefully it won't be another 4 months before you hear from me again. Enjoy the pictures!

Merry Christmas...A Month and a Half Late!

Someone wasn't really thrilled with getting her picture taken before she was really awake :-)

Much happier now

Christmas tree

Family tradition of reading the Christmas story before presents

As you can see, Jadon was really into all the presents

Sarai noticing that Santa ate his cookies and drank his milk

We bought Sarai a Bitty Baby as her big sister present when Jadon was born but we only gave her a third of the goodies that came with the doll. The rest we saved for Christmas. Here she is opening up the rest of the fun stuff for her Bitty Baby. She was sooooooo excited! She started jumping up and down as soon as she saw the American Girl box. She hadn't even looked inside yet!

The changing table she got from Grandma and Grandpa for her Bitty Baby

A new sled! Time for some fun in the snow!

Uno Moo game from her Uncle Scott and Aunt Adrienne

Hope your holidays were full of joy!

Finally Becoming a Family of Four

As many of you know, on November 3rd, Jadon Michael Foster became the fourth member of our family. It was such a bittersweet arrival. We couldn't have been more excited to finally meet him but our excitement was quickly clouded by unexpectedly learning he was born with a diaphragmatic hernia. Our world was quickly turned upside down as he made his way to Children's Memorial Hospital in downtown Chicago a mear 4 hours after his birth.

But I'm so happy to finally update you all and tell you that 34 days later, on December 6th, we finally became a family of four as Jadon was released from Children's and we were able to bring him home! Surgery went amazing and his recovery was phenomenal. I still don't think I fully comprehend how quick a recovery he had for a baby born with a diaphragmatic hernia. The nurses kept telling us that most babies born with this anomaly are in the hospital for months. But I know that it was because of all your prayers. So thank you for diligently holding up our family in your prayers and thoughts. I can't begin to tell you how much we were aware of them.

The only thing keeping Jadon in the NICU was his feedings. He was taking about 60% of his feedings via a bottle and the rest he was getting via his NG tube. My parents offered to take Sarai home with them for a week and a half so Mike and I could focus completely on Jadon and work on his eating. Because we were able to spend so much time at the hospital, the drs allowed Jadon to come home with his NG tube. They also anticipated he would improve quicker at home in a more comfortable environment. And they were right! A week and a half after coming home, we took out the NG tube and he has been eating amazing ever since! We will still visit his surgeon occassionally and have x-rays done to make sure he doesn't reherniate. The possibility of that happening is very small. But if you saw him today, you would never know that he had spent a little more than a month in the NICU and had surgery at 6 days old. He is our little miracle baby!

Here are a few pictures of the day Jadon came home. Sarai wasn't allowed to visit him in the hospital so this was the first time she met him or held him. She adores him and loves being a big sister. She is a great little mommy :-) The last couple of pics are around Christmas time sans NG tube.

Playing in the Leaves and Halloween

So it's been a few months. Having two kiddos is keeping me busy these days! But I thought I would try to catch up on some the pictures I hadn't posted yet.

About a week before Jadon's birth, we spent a beautiful fall afternoon playing in the leaves. Well, Mike and Sarai played in the leaves...my pregnant self sat on the back porch and took pictures :-) Sarai had a blast tumbling and jumping into the piles of leaves Daddy would rake. Mike buried her up to her ears at one point. I didn't think Sarai would go for it but she did it with a grin on her face!

This Halloween, Sarai asked to be Princess Presto from her favorite PBS show Super Why. I was lucky enough to find Princess Presto accessories at Toys-R-Us for less than a costume would have cost. We just paired them up with a tutu and a pink top she already had! Her best friend, Hannah, came over to go trick or treating with her in our neighborhood. Turned out to be a really cold evening and the girls had to bundle up. You'll notice in the last picture they don't have mittens on yet. They got one house down the street then turned around to get mittens and scarves before going any further. But they still snagged a nice amount of candy!