Braden Is TWO Months Old

Today my little Braden turned Two months old! We celebrated by going to the doctor and getting shots ... and they weren't the good kind!

We have a funny story about the doctor visit today too. After the appointment I was going to drop Braden off at home and head to the grocery store. I didn't want to drag the diaper bag to the store and we weren't going to be at the doctor that long, so I just took my purse. Do you see where this is going? We are sitting in the waiting room and I hear SPLAT! Oh boy. Well, I know the office has diapers, so no biggie, I'll change him when we go back. We are now in the room and the nurse tells me to undress him down to his diaper. I slide his jeans off and there is poop running down his leg. Again, Oh boy. The poop is everywhere! Down his leg, in his sock, up his back, all over his shirt, and jeans. A major blowout has occurred and this baby was going to end up going home naked! Luckily one of the nurses was so kind to give him a onesie to wear home. She had a basket of clothes in her car to take to "Once Upon A Child." Thank You, Thank You, Thank You! At least he didn't have to go home naked, it was cool outside! And the whole time Braden just smiled and laughed (this was prior to the shots.) I guess that will teach me not to bring a diaper bag!

Here are Braden's TWO month stats:

Height 23 3/4 inches (75%)

Weight 11 pounds 9 ounces (45%)

He's doing great!

The other day ... smiling and laughing at Mommy.

Today ... not so smiley after his shots.

One of his boo boos.

Testing out his new catepillar activity gym.

Decorating For HaLLoWeeN

The last week or so we've been decorating for Halloween around our house! It's been fun, I enjoy the Halloween decor and so does Mason. I'm sure Braden will appreciate it too in due time. I snapped a few pics of our decorations.

Also along the "Halloween" lines ... Costumes. Mason has informed me he wants to be a dinosaur. Oh, and not just any dinosaur (like a cute one). No no, it MUST be THIS dinosaur ... see picture below:

I've shown him other Dinosaur costumes and it doesn't matter. He wants to be THIS dinosaur; the Yellow T.Rex. He is very into Dinosaurs right now. I will say it was cute to watch him look through the entire Halloween magazine and pick out what HE wanted to be. I wanted him to be a Fireman and Braden a Dalmation puppy. Cute huh! Yeah, apparently that's not going to happen! But it's about the kids. So I guess this year, my boys aren't going to coordinate costumes, Booooo!

I decided to get crafty and I made this

wreath out of grosgrain ribbon.

My Last Week Home ...

This is going to be a tough week. I have to go back to work one week from today :( Oh how I've loved being at home with my kids! Maybe it will be okay once I get back in the groove of things, but right now I'm not looking forward to it. I love my job and my coworkers, but I hate not being at home watching my children grow. The one positive is that Keith will be home with the boys. If I can't be there at least daddy will be and they don't have to go to a sitter. Now daddy may beg to differ! I know he enjoys being with them. However, Keith works nights and he will not be getting as much sleep as he's accustomed to. And ... moms are just different than dads. Mom's are more patient and can still function on lack of sleep! So I will try to take this week one day at a time and enjoy each day to the fullest.

Braden's Baptism

Chad stood up with us.

PaPa holding his boy.

Nana made it to see Braden be Baptized.

Susan (Keith's sister), Roberta (Keith's mom),

and Keith.

My other sister-in-law, Liane.

Mmm ... goodies from Jane!

Olivia & Mason playing in his room.

Church wore Braden out!

Opening gifts.

Braden wearing his Baptism onesie

that Aunt Tee Tee & Uncle Tony got him.

Today was Braden's Baptism! It was kind of emotional for me. My little guy was in the hospital just days ago fighting a nasty illness and we were struggling to keep his fever down. God was certainly watching over Braden. He is starting to act more like himself with his cooing, and we even got some smiles out of him today!

First Trip To The ER

As alot of you know, we had to take our 7 week old baby, Braden to Children's ER on Wednesday. When he woke up that morning he felt warm. He refused to eat and was very fussy. He slept most of the morning and would whimper while he slept. The first temperature I took was 101.4, later morning it was 101.7. He was still refusing to eat and when awake would just cry. I called the pediatrician and we got in that afternoon. Once at the pediatrician I explained what how he was acting throughout the morning. The nurse took his temperature and it was 102.6! His body was red all over and so hot. The doctor came in and examined him. She informed me since he is so young and wasn't showing any additional signs of sickness, ie: runny nose, cough, etc., he needed to go to Chidren's Hospital ER! I think I was in shock at that moment. I started shaking and was fighting back tears. This is serious. I left in a hurry and called Keith and my Mom. By this time I was crying. What is wrong with my baby? Why is he running such a high fever!?

Keith was on his way out the door to go to work as I pulled in. We quickly devised a plan. Keith was going to go into work until further notice. Since I'm on maternity leave, he's the only one working right now! My mom was watching Colton and was now going to keep Mason. So my dad went with me to the ER. I didn't want to go by myself, I was a wreck.

In the ER they did a full work up. Braden had his blood drawn, urine specimin, a chest xray, and a spinal. After all the tests were performed he was admitted. Okay ... I wasn't expecting to go from the pediatrician to the ER, and I certainly wasn't expecting Braden to be admitted! I thought he'd be treated and it just may end up being a late night. WRONG!

The doctors initially thought it is either some sort of virus or a bacterial infection. Menengitis was ruled out early which was a relief. Antibiotics were started as a precaution in case it was bacterial. As the labs started coming back they were negative. Though this was good news, it was frustrating because we still didn't have a definitive answer. Meanwhile my baby is spiking a fever of 103.8! At that point he received a dose of Tylenol and was sponged down with cool rags. It was very scary. He is so little, this is dangerous. All we could do was sit and wait on test results while watching our poor child suffer.

By this morning all tests were negative and Braden's fever had declined throughout the night. The doctor determined it was a virus. He said since Braden was beginning to eat well again and his temperature was declining (still around 100-101) we could go home. He and I would be more comfortable at home and I am just to give him Tylenol round the clock to keep his fever down and keep him comfortable. That was good news.

A virus in a little one is still scary because it could turn into something more. Also his immune system isn't completely developed at this age so he is suceptible to other illnesses out there. For now he is doing better. His temperature is currently 101. He is sleeping better since we came home though. I just hope my sweet pea gets better soon!

I must say Thank You to the Doctors and Staff of Children's Hospital for doing such a thorough job. They went above and beyond and were all very kindhearted.

Family Pictures!

Last Saturday we had family photos taken at Franklin Park. Clair, my cousin Aaron's girlfriend took our pictures. She studied photography at CCAD and is now a photographer for GAP. I must say it's nice to have a photographer in the family! You can check out some of her work at http://www.clairfarris.com/. Thanks again Clair for spending part of your afternoon with us!

All Smiles

Braden has been smiling alot lately and his smile is infectious! He has also been cooing and making lots of "baby noises." I love to just watch him! I am also HAPPY to report he is sleeping through the night at 7 weeks old, just like his older brother did. From birth he only woke up once in the middle of the night so it really hasn't been bad at all. The other great thing is, he started sleeping through on his own. We haven't had to "train" him by letting him cry it out. He is such a wonderful little guy ... so easy. Let's hope that continues as he gets older! He is so laid back and just goes with the flow, and little by little is teaching me to do the same.

OSU vs. USC

Ahhh! OSU vs. USC, perhaps the biggest game of the season with Michigan coming in a close second. The mood is somber in Columbus Ohio today, following the comeback of USC last night to overcome our Buckeyes. Our Buckeyes played well in front of a National audience and hats off to our defense! We just ran out of time last night. Today I think the fans can hold their heads high, as it was a great game last night.

We "tailgated" again at our house and had a great time! I think I'm becoming a picture fanatic, I'm always taking pictures! I think my family is getting tired of it!? Here were the festivities:

Mom getting drinks for the kids.

Again with the blurry pictures, it's
driving me nuts! It tends to happen more
when others are shooting with my camera
and don't know its quirks.

Braden was an excellent fan last night.
He hung out, ate, then went right to bed.
Even with all the noise he slept right through it! And I am very happy
to say he slept through the night last night. Two nights in a row, woohoo!

Chad hanging out before he went up to campus.

Uncle Tony and Mason playing.

Colt in his Penn State jammies!

Classic Aaron with a thumbs up.

He and Clair stopped by on their way to another

party. Good to see you guys again this week!

And the card game...

Keith & I taking pictures!

Love you babe! Another successful tailgate

under our belt.