January?

Birthday Boy





He needed a little help.


Cason and his friends at his birthday party.

Such a cute birthday boy.

Our thunder babies

I love them to the moon and back.

Sweet Kellan

In his Sunday outfit.

Hitting some balls

Wow, where did January go? We celebrated Cason's birthday with lots of friends and family, and he had a blast. Cason is a proud two year old now!!! He is getting so big and talkative. He jabbers all the time. Chris and I often look at each other and just laugh. His sweet nurturing personality really shines when he accidentally hits you and sweetly says, "sawwy." He is still all about playing ball. We had a couple of nice days at the end of December and took full advantage of them by playing golf in the yard. I may be biased but he has a great swing. When it's cold he hits the ball inside, which will have to stop soon because when he makes good contact there is some zest in the ball. LOL He also got a basketball goal for his birthday and he shoots balls throughout the day every day. To say the least, he loves to play ball, any kind.

Kellan is also getting so big, so fast. I unfortunately couldn't keep up with his eating demands, especially since I'm back to work. He's eating at least 5 oz every 3-4 hours now. He takes bottles and formula without a hitch. He's been such a trooper through this transition. Mom on the other hand is feeling some guilt. I feel bad for not being able to provide for him any longer. He's so little and he needs mommy's milk, but I also feel relief for not having to lug the pump to and from work every day. Having to pump and clean all the parts every 3 hours in between taking care of patients was exhausting to say the least. I've gone back and forth with "is this the right decision?" I know he will be fine, he's a big boy!

The Kates' home was plagued with the respiratory syncytial virus(RSV) a couple of weeks ago. Both of our sweet boys were hit by this scary virus. It consists of lots of coughing, fever and difficulty breathing. Cason was the first to come down with it and Kellan started showing symptoms about 2 days later. This virus spreads easily and is very difficulty for newborns. Our pediatrician said we were very lucky that Kellan didn't end up in the hospital. Both boys had to do breathing treatments every 4 hours with 2 different meds first thing in the morning and last thing at night. Each med took about 10 minutes. I cannot brag enough on both of our boys. They were champs at the treatments. Cason would crawl up in our lap and watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse during his treatments and Kellan would just lay there, often times falling asleep. I also can't begin to praise Chris enough. I have started my new job and we weren't fully staffed until this week so of course, I had to work the entire weekend and Monday that the boys were sick. Chris didn't complain, he just did the treatments and went on. He took off the Monday that I worked and stayed home with both boys. I also have to praise my mother. She took off Friday and watched the boys, doing their treatments without complaining and also helped Chris out throughout the weekend. We are so lucky to have family that is ready and willing to help. Cason and Kellan are both doing well now and our fingers are crossed that no more yucky bugs/viruses visit our house anytime soon.

I've started my new job and it is going well so far. January was a little tough with working weird hours and more often than I wanted. Things are settled down and, as I said before, we are fully staffed now so a normal schedule is in sight. I will be doing 8-6 and 10-6 for now. Just getting off that one hour earlier than before is so nice. I still have time to cook and spend time with my family. I'll be working 2 Saturdays in Feb but that is because one of the other nurses has some military commitments to attend. It is nice to see more time for family on the calendar.

All in all, January was nothing short of eventful and fast. I feel like I only blinked once and now it's February.