The Pneumonia Chronicles

Well, it's been a little quiet over here on the blog.  Not for lack of blog-worthy material, but rather life.  I haven't been feeling great for almost a month, and no, I'm not pregnant :) I finally got to the doctor last week and discovered that I actually have pneumonia.  Bummer.  I thought maybe it was bronchitis or just a sinus infection that wouldn't quit, but now that I know it was more than that, it certainly explains why I've been so tired and why I've struggled to keep my head above water. 

After a round of antibiotics, I'm feeling better. My chest congestion is clearing up and my cough is not so deep.  But I definitely have not recovered my energy yet.  I'm pretty much operating in survival mode, picking and choosing what happens every day, based on what's on the calendar and how I feel.  Although there is never really a great time for pneumonia to hit, this particular month is especially not ideal.  Between soccer, student ministries kicking off, Bible study beginning again and lots of other things going on in our world, it has been a challenge for me to keep up. 

So, after looking at the schedule last week, I knew it would be wise for me to get a little help for a few days.  Trav had a busy weekend and was going to be gone alot, so I packed up the kids and drove to my parents house in Iowa for a long weekend.  It was great to be there but unfortunately, Carter decided to keep me awake for hours on end in the middle of the night.  I don't know if it's purely coincidence or not, but this is the second time I've been there without Trav and Carter has struggled through the night.  I'm thinking he is teething again, which is challeging in itself, but certainly more challenging when you're sick and spouse-less.  Anyway, all that to say, I was a HAPPY woman to have my night nanny back last night :) That's what I call Trav these days.  One of the things I truly appreciate about him, is that he chooses to serve me by getting up with the kids in the middle of the night.  I know, he's a saint.  For some reason, aside from pure exhaustian every day, after Carter was born I just hit the pillow so hard at night and I do not hear the kids when they wake up.  We have laughed about how many times I've gotten up in the morning and said, "Oh the kids did so great last night!" only to have him say, "Well, actually I was up 3 times with Carter and once with Ava."  I know!!!  That's so bad, isn't it??  He's such a good guy...

Here are some cute pics from our weekend in my hometown :)

Snuggles with Aunt Jennie. 

I think it's safe to say, none of us are ready for Carter to be a big boy yet :)

I believe this was after one of many falls.

Carter is getting so close to walking, but in the mean time he's taking lots of falls while working on his balance.  It's never easy to see your baby cry big crocodile tears, but especially when they fall from these blue eyes.

Ava kept herself busy bossing everyone around, Grammy was not exempt. 

But her trade-off was a kiss.

This was especially exciting for our little Hawkeye to experience his first football game in Iowa.  I should clarify, we watched from the comfort of our home, not in Iowa City.

My Dad treated all of us to some new Iowa gear, which we were happy to sport.

Although this appears staged, my Mom caught us at the perfect moment, when our Hawkeyes got an interception and won the game!

It was a CRAZY game that we almost gave up on, but after a 21 pt comeback, we managed to win.

Whoo hoo!!

I'm sure you are wondering why my Dad has headphones on??  Old school headphones to boot?  For a long time now, my die hard Hawkeye fan Father has refused to listen to the announcers on the TV during an Iowa game, when he can instead listen to the "voice of the Hawks" on AM radio.  There is a station in Des Moines (WHO) who broadcast the game with announcers I've probably heard my entire life and they are ALWAYS his first choice :) He gets totally bugged by announcers who don't have their stats right or facts about Iowa football straight.  It's so "my Dad" I don't even notice those headphones anymore!  Carter however, was fascinated by the whole thing. 

Go Hawks!

Ava spent the whole weekend saying that :)

She's made her Grampy very proud!

It was also incredibly cold and rainy while we were there, but at least we got out a few times.

Ava was sleeping, so Carter and Grampy got a good walk in.

We had fun, it was so great to get away and not make a meal for 4 days!

We drove home yesterday and got home right around naptime. 

Which explains this :)

I put Carter down for a nap and Ava wanted to stay up, so I said yes. 

I put on a movie for her and laid down myself.

But when I got up, I realized this little peanut couldn't quite hang on either! 

I think my favorite thing about this is that she covered herself up with her blankie. 

What a big girl she's becoming :)

We were all very happy to be home with Daddy last night.

These two were wild in the bathtub and got Travis and I very wet!

Does that face say, "Let's have a good time!" or what??

The good mood was short lived however.

An hour later, Travis was putting him in the car to get him to sleep after lots of crying and agitation...

From Carter AND his Mommy.

Yep, it's good to have the night nanny back!