Hit the jackpot!

Stryker hit the jackpot of tickets at Chuck E Cheese! He couldn't get over the tickets being taller than him!

Snuggling before church

A little snuggle time before getting ready for our church's Christmas service.

Breakfast with Santa & much much more!

Coco took all of us to the McWane center this morning for a fun filled Christmas experience. It all began with a yummy breakfast which included biscuits, scrambled eggs, sausage, gravy, fried potato bites, fruit, & blueberry muffins all with Santa! Stryker insisted on a little bit of everything on his plate. What can I say, he's a growing boy. He ran up to Santa when it was his turn & requested dinosaurs for Christmas with a big smile. He turned for a picture before waving bye saying Merry Christmas & thank you. Such a sweet little boy. LakeLynn was asleep in the stroller so we didn't want to wake her to sit on Santa's lap. Enter Winter Wonderland! We did everything there was to do with Stryker running all over the place from one play area to the next. He ice fished, slid down a huge slide, petted stingrays & sharks, played in snow, & many more activities. After enjoying every aspect of all 4 floors, we watched a Santa versus Snowman movie on the IMAX. Surprisingly, Stryker sat through the whole movie wide-eyed! He was amazed at how massive the screen was. LakeLynn also stayed awake looking at all of the colors on the screen. They both passed out quickly in the car! Thank you Coco for the wonderful time.

Warm weather in December?!

We have definitely been taking advantage of December's unusually warm weather. Stryker has been to so many different parks around the Birmingham & Gardendale areas. He loved having baby Lake & me slide with him! After playing up a storm, my kids are filthy. So, off to the bath we go. Stryker wants to help with Lake's baths but she loves watching him play with his bath toys.

LakeLynn: 3 months old

Well, baby girl you are officially 3 months old now. I really wish I could slow time because you are growing so fast & your brother is at a fun age! But time truly needs to slow because I have to return to work full-time on Jan. 2nd. You have blessed us more than we could have imagined. Your brother is very protective & loving of you. Enjoy it because it might change once you can play with his toys! We enjoyed being a family of 4 for Thanksgiving & look forward to making Christmas memories in a week. I will continue to treasure each moment while I am home with you & Stryker. Here's what's new this month:

*sleeps throughout most nights (waking only once between 3-4am for a bottle on occasion)
*smiles, giggles, & babbles
*awake longer periods during the day
*loves watching Stryker
*eats about 4 oz every 4-6 hours
*weighs about 10 lbs 9 oz (taken several days ago during a sick visit)
*continues to sleep in swing (thank you Fletch!) in our bedroom
*loves to go strolling (thankful for warm weather that allows us to stroll outside)
*prefers to be held, rocked, & talked to
*wears size 1 diapers
*mostly 3-6 months clothes
*first hospital visit, well after your NICU stay following birth - you can read about our visits to Children's ER, Children's after hours, & pediatrician's office
*loves to look at the Christmas lights
*falls asleep in the car (needless to say, we've driven around many times)
*doesn't mind to take a bath
*likes tummy time but only short spurts

Ms. Sickly

My poor baby girl has made it almost 3 months without any sickness until this weekend. All week she has been experiencing sinus symptoms without any fever, fussiness, etc. Unfortunately, she began to scream & fuss late Friday afternoon. Her fever increased somewhat that night along w/ vomiting. The on-call nurse insisted we take her to Children's ER due to vomiting twice within a 2 hour period, inability to keep formula down, irritability/pain, & increasing temperature along with her premature birth history. Not wanting anyone to catch the flu or any other sickness, Logan stayed home with Stryker. Thankfully, they got us back to a room quickly avoiding LakeLynn being exposed to other children in the waiting room. Her temperature had increased on arrival to the room so they attempted 2 oz of pedialyte which she vomited after only 1 oz. Next attempt was 1/2 oz of pedialyte which she vomited several min afterwards. We were rushed for an abdominal x-ray which showed a slight intestinal blockage even though her tummy was soft & non-tender. LakeLynn received a suppository to help with the blockage.  The doctors were concerned about UTI. A urinary sample showed some ketones & protein indicative of slight dehydration. Syringes of pedialyte were able to be kept down at that point. We were sent home after 5 hours with instructions of followup care at the pediatrician's office Monday unless vomiting reoccurred.

Friday night was filled with Logan & me pacing the floors to soothe our baby girl & feeding only a total of 2 oz of formula. Saturday morning began with Lake vomiting again but with her temperature almost normal. The on-call nurse advised us to see the MD at 11:30am at the after hours clinic due to overflowing of patients at the pediatrician's office. Again, Logan stayed home with our boy. Lake was able to keep 2 oz of formula down while we were at the clinic even though she was extremely fussy. They sent us home hoping we were on the upswing of whatever was the culprit. Needless to say, we did too. Saturday was a little better until nighttime. Lake became fussy & irritable again along with spitting up some.

Sunday was about the same. LakeLynn was trying to smile & make noises for us but we could tell she was still not feeling like herself. Logan decided to stay home with her allowing me to take Stryker on the Polar Express train ride that night. She vomited a little in the late afternoon & was restless. We gave her another suppository which helped only minimally. She slept the whole night due to pure exhaustion.

This morning she was acting somewhat better until she vomited again after only 2 oz of pear juice & 1/2 oz of formula. We will be seeing the pediatrician at 12pm so praying we get answers.

Polar Express train ride

All aboard the Polar Express! We're off to the North Pole! Poor baby Lake was sick so daddy stayed home to care for her. Coco & I took Stryker on the train ride this year. Hoping the rest of the family can join us next year. It was a rainy night but that didn't spoil our fun. Stryker was wide eyed as he explored the train & played with other kids. On the way to the North Pole (rode on the C&NW cart which is the first to reach the North Pole, the last to leave the North Pole, & first to see Santa), we sang Christmas Carols & heard the Polar Express story. The lights were turned off so the kids could hold their glow sticks & see the Christmas lights out the windows. On a side note, our train had to back up so sand could be applied to the wet track in order for us to make it uphill to the North Pole. On arrival to the North Pole, we were able to see Santa's workshop along with Santa, Mrs. Claus, & the elves waving outside the window! Santa & Mrs. Claus boarded the train to visit the kids. Stryker jumped up in his seat & hopped right into Santa's arms! Yay for excitement & no tears! He gave him high five, told him bye & Merry Christmas. He kept the big smile on his face the rest of the night while grabbing my phone to look at his Santa picture & tell us ALL about it! Love my boy's enjoyment! Santa's elves distributed golden keys & train ornaments to everyone. We also received cookies (choice of double chocolate & white chocolate macadamia nut) & chocolate milk. Stryker gobbled down his double chocolate cookie & insisted on eating the white chocolate macadamia nut cookie we were saving for daddy. On another side note, our elf has a son who is a senior at Ole Miss! Hotty Toddy! The Polar Express arrived back home as we sang & danced to more Christmas carols.