Hot Tub Fun at Grandma and Grandpa Mac's!

Well last Sunday we went to my mom and dad's house. We wanted to visit them one last time before I have the baby. Not, that it matters, because I still haven't had the baby! ARGGH! But, we did have a lot of fun. James Micheal, Makayla, and Daddy, got to enjoy the hot tub. I got to sit and watch, cause I am cursed to not be able to go into a hot tub, even though I really want too. James Micheal had fun turning on the bubbles and giggling his head off. Makayla had fun until James Micheal would turn the bubbles on, they scared her a little bit. James enjoyed himself too, and wants to go again soon, I am sure. All in all, it was a great Sunday visit and my mom took some cute pictures. Enjoy!!

Good and Bad

Well I have bad news, Makayla got her swallow study re-evaluation today, and well it showed the same results. She still has deep penetration, and is still aspirating on liquids. Makayla's speech therapist and I were just in shock. She has been doing so well with eating and drinking. We still feel like a nose tube for fluids is not the right choice for her. She would constantly be pulling it out, and a g-tube is major surgery. So, we are going to continue with the thickened liquids, and pray she stays healthy and doesn't get aspiration pneumonia. James and I are relying on the Lord and feel like the tube just isn't the right choice right now. But, if she does get sick again, and it is pneumonia, we will probably have to do the tube. Either way, we just want what is best for her and she seems happy, so no big decisions yet. Now, to lighten the mood I wanted to show you some cute pictures of my babies, playing the piano together, they are so darling. Love them to pieces.

Ode to James Micheal

James Micheal has been getting so big lately. He is definetly a little firecracker. He loves playing with his dad. James was trying to get him to do a flip, but every time he would grab his legs, James Micheal would act like he was jumping and just let go. He sure had a fun time though. Below are some pictures of him being silly with dad. He also said something really funny the other day. We have been talking about the baby a lot to him, and we were in the car on the way home, and he asked if baby Eban was coming soon. And we always tell him not yet he is still cooking in mommy's tummy. James Micheal said,"Oh, he is cooking us pancakes for dinner." James and I just laughed and laughed, and then James Micheal laughed, of course he didn't know why, but it was sure cute. He also loves the little mermaid,and wants to watch it all day long. I have no idea why, and it is probably killing his dad that he loves such a girly movie. But, it was my favorite movie and so I think it is cute. He also asks why to everything. We tried to ask him why after everything he said the other day, and he got annoyed and said,"Why you keep saying why? Stop it." We were hoping he would see how annoying it is, but the next thing we said, all he said, was, "WHY". Either way, he is such a sweet heart and we love him very much, he is excited for his baby brother to come, but we will see how long that lasts.

Makayla's New Shoes

Makayla recieved her new orthotics for her feet. She is doing very well with them and is even taking steps with help. She can stand on her own two feet for at least a second, she is still afraid to let go, but the shoes are definetly making a big difference. Hopefully, she will be running around the house soon.

Christmas!

Sorry, it has taken me forever to document Christmas. This baby is wearing on me and I can't wait till he is out, 30 more days!!!. Anyways, we had a great Christmas. We went up to Mom and Dad Divis' house for Christmas Eve, we made candy trains which are my favorite Divis tradition. We also, went up for Christmas Eve at Grandma and Grandpa Divis', which I think is a wonderful tradition, and we love going. We were convinced to stay Christmas Eve night, because the roads were terrible and it was snowing like crazy. We were happy we stayed till morning, and got to spend the morning, watching Dustin and William, get very excited over their new Wii, which is pretty awesome. We got some great presents for the kids from Aunt Laura and Uncle Craig. Thanks again you guys, for the nerf ball shooter, for my very crazy little boy, luckily he isn't strong enough to pull the handle yet, so he just asks you all day if you will help him shoot you. We went home Christmas morning early, and James got to talk to his brother Jordan who is in the mission field right now in Brazil. It was a lot of fun to hear his voice. We then went home and had Christmas morning at our house, James Micheal was surprised that Santa knew to go to both homes, amazing how that guy works. Later that day, we had Christmas dinner with my family. My mom and dad brought the fried turkey, yummy, yummy, yummy, yummy, yummy!!!!! I have a deep love of fried turkey, it is so good, and not Christmas without it. Liam and James Micheal had a lot of fun together,and we had a fun time playing a game of, "Would you rather!" Which is a lot of fun. I only have pictures of Christmas morning at our house unfortunately, but we really had a great time and made a lot of fun memories. Oh yes, another fun highlight that I don't want to forget so I am writing down is James Micheal puking Christmas Eve at 2:30 in the morning. He ate way too many M&M's. Luckily he wasn't sleeping with us, but with William and Dustin. William was kind enough to clean it up and Dustin was kind enough to tell us what it looked like. What else can you think of that is brown and in a pile. James and I had a good laugh and went back to bed, and James Micheal was all better afterwards. We love are family and are thankful for the time we get to spend with you guys. Enjoy the pictures and Merry Christmas.Getting excited unwrapping a present.
Makayla having fun with a new toy.
James Micheal's new plane and train set all put together.James with his wireless headset.
James Micheal and his new train set.
James Micheal and his new plane set.

Snow, Snow, Snow!!!

Well, we haven't been able to have a lot of fun in the snow, but James had fun shoveling the snow,well not really, but he did pose for some funny pictures.We got a total of about 2 feet, a record breaker. James Micheal then proceeded to follow him and try to strike a pose too. What a funny little guy. Enjoy the pics.

Finally Moved In!

Well James and I are finally feeling a little more comfortable in our house. We possibly moved on the worst day possible. But, James and I both had a lot of family and people from church come and help. I can't believe our 3 bedroom apartment, had enough stuff to fill a 5 bedroom house. The kids rooms are done, the kitchen, living room, TV Room,Guest Room, and Upstairs Bathroom, are all done. By done, I mean there are no boxes in them. The only rooms left are the downstairs bathroom, our room, and the nursery. The nursery is literally piled to the ceiling with boxes, which is driving me crazy, cause by now I usually have the baby's room absolutely clean sanitized, and ready to go if I had the baby tomorrow. All I can say is I am happy that we have a house, but man is there a lot to do! I had no idea how much work it is, and being eight months pregnant with two small kids, and moving in the middle of December was not the best plan, but it is the way the Lord blessed us to be able to have a home so we are grateful. Hopefully, all my stress will be gone soon, yeah right, that is all I am a ball of stress. Oh well, there is always retirement right?

Rocking and Movin'

Well, James and I are starting to pack everything in our apartment. Who knew a family of four could have so much stuff. Anyways, James Micheal really wanted a dog house, so his daddy built him one out of boxes. He sure had a fun time, putting all of his toys in there. He even ate his lunch in there. Makayla has also had a great time moving, but not boxes, on her rocking horse. Well, it is actually James Micheal's Winnie the Pooh rocker, but she loves it. She goes so far forward and back, I am afraid she will fall off, but she always self corrects, which is a great way for her to get some back and hip strength. We move next Saturday into our house, and there is still so much to do, but the kids are having a great time and making us laugh. Enjoy the pictures.

NINE POUNDS!!

So, I went to the Doctor yesterday, for my monthly baby appointment. And as he was measuring my stomach, he told me I was measuring about 2 weeks ahead. So, they are going to do another ultrasound, just to make sure they got the dates right. I told him I always measured ahead with James Micheal, so we will see. And then my doctor told me he doesn't forsee the baby weighing any less than nine pounds!!! I just looked at him, and said, "What, are you kidding me." So now, I must give birth to a giant baby. It kind of makes sense though. It explains why I can barely breath, can barely put my socks on, and why I feel like he is going to explode out of my belly button at any second. Oh the joys of being pregnant. Thank Heaven for EPIDURALS!!!

Our New House

Well, it is almost official, so I thought I probably couldn't jinx it. James and I are buying a house. We should be closing on December 9th, and hope to be moved in before Christmas. James and I are really excited to be able to have our own space, and I am excited for my children to have a backyard finally! The house has five bedrooms, two baths, and a great kitchen, and backyard. The outside really needs a little work, well, a lot of work, it is just a really ugly color, but the inside is newly remodeled and decorated well.

Sleeping Daddy=Hippo Neck

So, today for dinner we went to Jack-in-the-Box. James Micheal got a hungry hippo toy in his kids meal and was really excited to open it when he got home. Well, James crashed on the couch to take a nap, since his surgery he has been really tired. Well, I guess James Micheal thought it was the perfect time to see if his hippo could balance on daddy's neck, and well, it fit. I had to take some pics, James Micheal was super proud of himself. James Micheal sitting next to his creation,(he wanted me to take the pictures, he asked)
A disease called hippo neck.This form of disease manifested itself in a yellow colored raised bump, right below the chin.

Makayla in her Stander

Well, for those of you who don't know, Makayla has been making a lot of progress physically. She is almost standing up on her own with shoes on and is rolling around everywhere. The physical therapist fitted her for a stander about four weeks ago. It has made all the difference and is the main reason for all her progress. She will be fitted for splints in a couple of weeks, because they think she has weak ankles. The splints will help her stand alone. We are all hoping she is standing on her own by Christmas and walking by her birthday. Besides that, her speech pathologist thinks she is ready to do another swallow study at the end of December. She feels like Makayla might be ready for a thinner consistency of fluids. She hasn't aspirated since the hospital and has stopped tilting her neck back to drink which is a good sign she is learning to swallow correctly. We are so happy she is making such great progress. Here are some pictures of her in her stander. This contraption helps stabilize her legs so she can use her back and hips to pull her body up.

Trick-or-Treating

We all had a lot of fun taking James Micheal and Makayla trick-or-treating. James Micheal loved getting candy and would say he needed to get a piece of candy for Makayla and he would take two. He would then go put a piece into Makayla's bucket hooked to the stroller. Everytime a door would close, he would say, "I need to go to another one, and get more candy." It was so cute, and Makayla had fun in her stroller dressed up as a ladybug. James Micheal was a dragon. Here are some pictures of James Micheal and Makayla's stash of candy after two straight hours of trick-or-treating and them in their costumes.