Back Surgery

Okay, so I went to see Dr. Brkaric at the Indiana Spine Center today. I found out that I'm in a little worse shape then what I was originally told. I have to have a complete artificial disc put in place of the disc that is pretty much gone. Its almost bone on bone, so that explains the pain. They don't know why this happens, it just does? The procedure itself is called an Anterior Lumbar Fusion. You can visit the Indiana Spine Center website to get more info if you are interested. I will be in the hospital for 2-3 days, and then home to recover, and the pretty much immediately start physical therapy. It's gonna be a long road, but we will somehow get through it all. I had a few other options, and I was very confused about what I was going to do. I had and appointment with Dr. Haville, my chiro. He has just be awesome through this whole process. He really explained that this pretty much is the best option at this point or I could really do some serious damage to my back. Josh and I feel confident about our decision, so as of now the surgery is scheduled for December 15th. I am waiting this long because I have my kids to think about. I have to line up family and friends to take care of them when I can't be here to do so. Plus with Christmas so close, I don't want the kids to suffer. All in all, I'm feeling a little better as the days go by. I am still very sore and tired by the end of the day, but I am just popping the pills to get by. I wanted to wait because the procedure is going to take a lot longer to recover then originally expected. I could be off work anywhere from 6 weeks, to 3 months. The good thing is that I'm young, so I should recover quickly. I HOPE :) For now, that is all :) Love you all, and thank you for all of your support and understanding. Most of you have been keeping good tabs on me and that means the world to myself and Josh. Good friends are hard to find, so I'm glad I have all of you. Feel free to call me if you want to talk or have more questions.

If you are serious about helping out, we are taking volunteers. We need all hands on deck :) Any help is apprecated, as most of you know. I just want to make sure that my kids are taken care of and that my husband isn't feeding them chix fingers, pizza pockets, and fish sticks for days on end. You moms understand!! LOL I do feel very blessed that so many of you have come forward already and offered to helpout. WE are SOOOO greatful!!! Love to all of you, and your families.

This and That

Well sorry for the long over due updates. As most of you know our beautiful baby girl turned ONE on September 27th. Where did the year go?? She had her one year check up last week, she's a whopping 16.5 lbs, and she's 27.5 inches long. She is still a little peanut, but she's our little peanut. Her pediatrician was concerned about her murmur, so we had to see the pediatric cardiologist yesterday. I was very relieved to find out that she has what they like to call and "innocent murmur" and nothing more. He said that we should not have to see him again, unless the pediatrician has cause for concern when she is 4 or 5 years old. I'm going for never again!! :)

When Kendal was born the nurse thought she detected a heart murmur, but the pediatrician that examined her said he didn't hear anything. However she was screaming her head off the whole time he was examining her, so how could he hear anything. The next day, our pediatrician came in to examine her as well. She said she detected a murmur, so she wanted her to have an EKG. I asked if I should be concerned, and she said she just wanted to make sure she was okay. Well the EKG and ultrasound indicated that she had 2 valves that were open. We had to go to the doctor every two weeks just to make sure she was gaining weight etc. They kept a very close eye on her for about 6 weeks or so. Well....to make a long story short. I was very pleased to find out yesterday that those valves had completely closed on their own. WHAT A RELIEF!!! Our little girl is going to live a long healthy life!!! I hope. :) She is doing so great with her therapy, I couldn't be happier. She just gets stronger each week, and her therapist is really impressed with how well she is doing. She is into everything, it's so funny. It's so weird seeing her mobile. LOL :)

Mr. Aidan has had some big accomplishments lately too. He's finally decided that it's okay to go poopy in the potty. He started this about 2 weeks ago, and he's had a few accidents here and there, but he's doing better. Up until this week that is...he's gotten his stubborn streak back, and has been pooping in his pants again. I don't know what is up with this kid. We praised him, and rewarded him with a fun trip to Monkey Joe's. We made such a big deal about him being a big boy. So sick of cleaning out poopy underwear. YUCK!!!!!

I've taken on the task of watching a friend/co-workers little boy. He's almost 17 months old so he's right in between Aidan and Kendal. He's such a cutie!! He's been coming for about month, and it's going pretty well. I think it's been good for both kids honestly. Aidan has had a few issues sharing, but overall it's been great.

My back is still giving me fits. The pain meds and the patches aren't working at all anymore. I'm only taking them as needed, but lately the pain is coming on full force. I'M SO SICK OF IT!! I've been going to physical therapy for over a month, but it's not working. I don't know what to do anymore. Plus I don't even know if the insurance is going to cover it, I'm still fighting with them. I have therapy tomorrow, and I think that I'm going to talk to her about the chiropractor. I just can't take the pain anymore, it's really limiting me. Plus I'm chasing after 3 now, not 2. :) I just want my body back. I'll keep you all posted.

Update 10/16/09

Well I finally went to the chiropractor. I'm pretty messed up :) I got adjusted today, and now I'm just extremely sore!! I go back on Monday morning to get adjusted again. I've got a rough road ahead, but I will at least have relief at the end of the road. I HOPE!! I don't know what I'm going to do if this doesn't work, I'm out of options at this point.

P.S. Here are a few new photo's from Kendal's 1st Birthday :) 

Stay tuned for pictures from Halloween....It's our favorite time of year!!!

She's on the move!!!

Well if you can't tell from the title, little Miss Kendal is crawling!!! Yay!! Josh and I are so excited, it's only taken over 11 months to get her to this point. She doesn't move fast...but hey we'll take it! She is also pulling herself up, she'd rather do that then crawl. I think once she gets this coordination thing down its only a matter of time before she starts walking. Her therapist (Vicki) is so pleased with her progress. She's improving every week, it's really neat to watch and be a part of something so wonderful. I'm lucky that I'm able to be here to witness it all, it's very rewarding. My baby girl is growing up so fast. :( I can't believe she is going to be a year old this month. I don't know...it amazes me the bond that I have with her. Now don't get me wrong, I love my little man to pieces, but it's different when you have a girl. At least I think so. Aidan is my little man, he can always melt my heart. He can be such a loving little boy. I hope he stays that way. :) (Wishful thinking, I know!)

He is a short video of Miss Kendal crawling!! :)

My back has been acting up again, so I called the doctor. I had to get two shots in my back today and I HAVE to go to physical therapy. I don't know if the shots are going to work or not, it takes 12 hours to really take affect. She said even if I'm in pain when I'm supposed to go to therapy, to go ahead and go. She said they would be able to pin point where the problem is, and they have so many techniques these days. I guess I'll give it a shot. If not..I guess I'll try the chiropractor, but at least my insurance pays for the therapy, so that's the main reason I'm taking that route first.

That's about all that's new with the Heyde family. Stay tuned for Kendal's first birthday party blog...the BIG party is next Sunday at Bri and Andrew's. CAN'T WAIT!! It should be an amazing time with family and friends. Grandma if you're reading this, I sure hope you can make it!!! We miss you!

I also want to give a shout out to Kahler Maust who is turning 1 year old tomorrow!!! Happy Birthday buddy. :) I hope you have a great day!

Here are a few recent photo's of the kids.

Miss Kendal playing with daddy's spare keyboard..she's gonna be into everything!

I totally forgot to blog about my visit with Ara!! Geesh, some friend I am. Ara is my best friend from high school. She came to visit last week while she was on break from school. Ara is in Chiropractic school in St. Louis, so I don't get to see her much anymore. It was an awesome time, plus she got to witness Kendal crawling during her therapy. She was impressed!! Love you girl!!!

Where do I even begin.......

Wow!! It's been almost two months since I've blogged. A LOT has happened in the last month or so that is hopefully going to have a positive impact on the Heyde household. :) First off, Miss Kendal is almost 11 months old....where did the time go? I've said for months now, that in a way, I think I've been spoiled with her. She is still so tiny and is still such a BABY in my eyes. She is improving everyday though, and those BABY moments are just extra special. She is still about 3 months behind where she needs to be, but that is all about to change. I hope!!! First Steps is actually coming out tomorrow to start her therapy. I can not think of a better birthday present, so I'm hoping it goes well. Yes tomorrow is my 28th birthday, and considering that I'm pretty much bed ridden for the next week or so, well I guess I'll just have to make the best of it. My mom is coming over to help out with Miss Kendal, and my little man is going to daycare.

Originally I was supposed to go to lunch with my mom, and then to a movie...well that isn't going to happen since I can barely walk. Oh well, it's just another day anyhow, right? Anyhow, back to the kiddo's. Aidan is becoming such a big boy, he is finally getting the potty training down. I would say that we are pretty much "potty trained" not so much "poopy trained" LOL :) We are working on him though, and it's at least an improvement. I'd say he's rarely having any accidents, so that is a major plus!!! He can still be a little monster at times, but he can be sooo funny too. He just cracks me up sometimes!! He is going through this repeat phase, where he repeats everything you say, or at least the last sentence. It's annoying, but very cute at times too. Daddy said a bad word tonight, and Aidan told him he was a "Bad Daddy" LOL to cute!! He is such a loving little boy, he's always giving hugs and kisses. I feel so bad that we are sort of in a financial strain right now, and can't afford to do the fun things that we would love to do with him. Its funny as a parents, you always want more for you children, and I'm pretty much guessing that the feeling never goes away even as they get older.

Miss Kendal is getting smarter everyday, she wants to crawl so bad. :( She is pulling herself up and holding on to things. Josh got a SUPER cute picture of her holding on to the bathtub. OMG it's so adorable, she is naked and it shows her little baby butt. I'll have to upload it when I get a chance. It's been a long process getting her ready for First Steps, but I'm feeling very confident that we have decided to go with the program, and that we didn't wait any longer to do so. I will keep everyone updated as much as possible. She is such a special little girl, she has been through so much. I know that there are other kids out there that have had it much worse, and we will continue to pray for them, it's always different when it's your own child though. I know that its made my relationship with my husband 10 times stronger. We don't have a lot of family to lean on for support, so we've learned to lean on each other. We know that our families care for us, but a lot of them are very busy, or they live out of state. It's hard sometimes, but we manage.

Kendal holding herself up like a big girl!!

As for my injury...well some of you may know I've been having back issues for months now. I had them all throughout my pregnancy with Kendal, and they have just progressively gotten worse. So I finally broke down and called a chiro, well they couldn't get me it for a week. I called on a Monday, and by Friday I couldn't take the pain anymore, plus I could barely walk. NO JOKE! Well my doctor took x-rays to determine if it was a stress fracture, or a broken tail bone. In the mean time she perscribed a mild pain pill, and a muscle relaxer. I waited all weekend until Monday to find out that nothing was broken. I was glad to hear that, but still frustrated because I felt like she wouldn't listen to me. She just wanted me to keep taking the anti-inflammatory and come back and see her in two weeks. UM hello....that doesn't work in this house with two kids. THANK GOODNESS for my gma, without her over the last 10 days, I'd be a mess. She has been coming over and helping with the kids, cooking meals etc. She is an amazing woman.

Well I took matters into my own hands and went and got a second opinion, and I'm so glad I did. I have a new primary doc, and I love her!! She listens to me, and wanted to know what she could do for me. She determined that I have a lumbar sprain, witch is basically just a back sprain. She could feel 3 different muscle spasms on my left side. It hurt!! She has me on a high dose of steroids for the inflammation, muscle relaxers, pain meds and a Lidoderm patch. I go back in a week to see if how things are going, and if physical therapy is going to be needed. In the mean time I went ahead and rescheduled my chiro appointment just in case she gives me the okay to go. She said that more then likely my hips are out of wack anyhow, so we'll see what she says. In the mean time, I'm off work until at least next Tuesday.

Josh has been wonderful, he's been super dad lately. I was totally out of it most of the weekend due to the muscle relaxers, so I'm grateful that he was here to help me. I was very sad to see him go to work on Monday. We have had some great people helping us out over the last week, an old family friend who I haven't even seen since I had Kendal, called me up and offered to take Aidan for the day. Amy you rock!!!! Amy is an old babysitter of mine, she actually stayed at my house with me when my mom had my brother. I love her, and she will always have a special place in my heart!!! She not only kept Aidan once, she then offered to take him last Saturday too!!! He had a blast, he got to swim and play all day. I was ever so grateful, plus Josh definitely deserved the break. Wow this is turning into my life story!! For now, that's what up with the Heyde's. I will keep everyone updated on all the progress. For now just keep us in your prayers, we don't need anything else bad to happen. Love to all!!

Summertime Craziness!

Summertime means one busy mommy!!! We are still potty training, but things are looking up. Well, sort of. We had an interesting night last week. Aidan decided to poop all over the floor, and then run his tractor though it. He then brought his tractor to Josh and said "daddy my tractor's all dirty" He had it everywhere!!! I had to steam clean carpets at 10:00 at night, just what I wanted to do after working all night. UGH!! It took me two days, and about 4 different cleaners to get the smell and the stains out. AWFUL!!! On the upside, he is at least starting to tell us when he has to go potty, but he refuses to poop in the potty. Oh what to do???

Aidan started swimming lessons this week as well. He is doing great, he is quite the fearless one. I have been taking him to the daycare in the mornings, and he is then riding the City Bus with the daycare kids. I opted to take him myself, but he is really acting out lately, and I was afraid he would be glued to me if I tried to leave him. This is working out well for us though, it is day two and Brandi (our daycare provider) said that they all knew what to do and what to expect. She is AWESOME! Go Brandi!!! I am helping out at the daycare next Friday, July 3rd. I will be staying with the babies, while Brandi takes the big kids to swimming lessons. It should be interesting, I think I'll be watching 5 babies! I hope I can handle it. :P

Miss Kendal is turning into quite the drama queen lately. She is having major separation anxiety from her mommy. I went on a walk tonight for like a half an hour. She cried the whole time, as soon as I got home she stopped. O what to do with this baby girl? Kelly, my mother-in-law is taking both kids off our hands this weekend. This will be the first time I have ever left Kendal over night. I hope that we (she and I) can handle it. I will miss them both so much, but Josh and I really need a break. We need to spend some quality time together, no computers, no kids. Just us!! I can not tell you the last time we have been without BOTH kids. It will be a bittersweet weekend.

If you haven't heard by now, I may be going back to work full time. I had an interview earlier this year with IKON. I did not get the job at the time because I could not work past 5 o'clock. Well, the supervisor contacted my friend and asked if I was still looking for a job, so she emailed me right away. I called them back to set something up, but I haven't heard anything. I did run into the lady that interviewed me over the weekend, and she assured me that she would be calling me very soon. Still waiting though, so I guess we'll see. I want to see what they have to offer before I make my final decision. It is going to cost an arm and a leg to send both kids to daycare!! I will keep you posted on things if and as they progress. That's all for now!! I promise I'll have some pics soon. I bought a cheap kiddy pool, we somehow miss placed out big frog pool. No idea where it is, ugh! Anyhow, I will get some pics up soon. I promise. :)

Determination!!

Wow! I guess that it's been a really long time since I've blogged. Not much really to report, just the usual. I've been in kind of a rut lately, so I haven't felt like talking to anyone. :P I don't know why, just kind of in a mood. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I'm still trying to lose this baby weight, and it's not coming off as quickly as I would like. That's all about to change though....My good friend Amanda and I are tackling it head on. We are getting together on Sunday and coming up with a program to do together. She has downloaded the Slim in Six videos, and she has all the Weight Watchers material, so we are ready. We are going to do this together, so we can encourage each other along the way. I hope it works!!!! I'm so ready to have my pre-preggers body back. Ugh, I hate feeling this way!!!

On the upside, we are taking a new approach to potty training. We are letting him go naked from the waist down for most of the day. It kind of grosses me out, I'm not a naked person. I have blankets and things all over the place, because I don't want him sitting on things without clothes on. I'm just weird like that. We thought about this approach a while back, but we honestly thought he would just pee all over everything. To our surprise he is actually running to his potty on his own to go. It was funny because, I couldn't figure out how he was getting water in his potty. Then I realized it wasn't water, he was actually going in his potty!!!!! Yay, Aidan!! We have had some set backs this week, but we will get him back on track. I'm letting him take a break for a day or so, he started resisting again and I don't want him to feel pressure. For some reason, he does better in the evenings most days. I'm hoping we can get this done by the end of the month. I'm so sick of potty training!!!!

Miss Kendal is doing okay, she is still very tiny. Her personality is really coming out lately, it's so cute!! She definitely knows her mommy and daddy. She smiles so big for her daddy everyday when he comes home. I can tell it really just brightens up Josh's day. He thought for so long that she hated him, now they are really starting to create that special father/daughter bond. So sweet! She still doesn't have any teeth, and she still isn't crawling. She is sitting up on her own for long periods of time, so at least her back muscles are getting stronger. We have stopped putting her in her Jumperoo because the doctor said her calf muscles are a lot stronger then they should be. She wants to stand on her tippy-toes and never flat-footed. We have to stretch her calf muscles to try and loosen them up. We have even limited her time in the exersaucer for the same reasons. She is pretty much on the floor all day now. She can scoot herself all over that blanket though!! She wants to crawl so bad, but she just can't figure it out yet. I just keep telling myself that she will get there when she is ready. Her eating habits are getting better, she is eating almost full jars of baby food and taking almost 6oz of formula at a time. It's such a relief! She is still on the Soy formula, and the only downfall is that she is still having constipation issues. We are giving her prunes on a daily basis, and it seems to be helping. We think the formula has to much iron in it for her small body. I mean people, she is smaller then most 3-4 month old babies. She is that tiny!!! We tried changing her formula on our own, but that was a disaster, it was giving her abdominal cramps again and everything. We decided to just stick with the Similac and try to help her out by giving her the prunes or pear juice when she needs it. So far its working.

Well that's about all I've got for now. As things change I'll keep you posted! Wish me luck on the weight loss!! I'm staying positive and hopeful to lose a good portion of it in the next 6 weeks or so.

Aidan is 3 today!!!!

Aidan is three years old as of today, May 19th. Wow!! It's a little hard to believe. :) We had a party for him with Josh's family, and a few friends over the weekend up in Bremen. GREAT TIME! It was fun to see all the family and friends that we hadn't seen in ages. Aidan had a blast playing with all his new toys and his cousin Collin. It was a cold day outside, so we had to be in doors, but still it was a very enjoyable day.

Aidan's cake....John Deere Tractor theme...he loved it!!

Opening some of his gifts :)

Daddy was stoked about his Notre Dame T-shirt from Aunt Rita and Uncle Vaughn!!

Aidan was excited about the CARS puzzle :)

These are the video images we took at the party...pretty funny. I can tell that we need to work on our sharing.....he's a tad bit possessive in some of these video's. Still, they are pretty darn cute!!!

We got a kick out of this....he just kept looking in that bag for a toy, but he only found clothes.

This was getting up to the big gift.....

It's a Jr. Black and Decker Tool Set from Uncle Rick, Aunt Pam, Brooke, Jeff, Brandy, Shawn, Brianne and Andrew. He loved it!! He plays with it for hours :) Plus we can't even leave the house without his white John Deere Truck. He is too funny!

Finally, he got to blow out the candle on his cake....he had a great day!

That's all for now....stay tuned for more. :) We have his little party tonight with the family, then with the daycare kids on Thursday. Plus, his Chuck E Cheese party on Saturday, he's going to think that he gets a party everyday by the end of the week. :)

P.S. Aidan keeps saying "boom, boom shake your body" Where did he get that?

Mother's Day

Well lets just say, I feel very blessed to have two beautiful children, and an amazing husband. Mother's day was wonderful! Josh fixed my favorite breakfast, french toast, and bacon. It was yummy, ooo and we had french vanilla coffee too. Yummy! :) Josh and Aidan did the dishes too, it was really cute!

The boys doing the dishes :)

Aidan made me a flower pot at daycare on Friday, it's so cute! They said he did all the drawing's all by himself. I was impressed :)

Then I got to go back to bed for a little bit, I wasn't feeling all that great from my big night on the boat. My body won't let me sleep past 7 anymore so that's not fun. It was just a relaxing day!! Just for me!!! :)

We ate an early dinner which consisted of steak, garlic mashed potatoes, shrimp, and corn. Yummy!!! Now I am relaxing with my little girl, and just enjoying the rest of this wonderful day. Mr. Aidan went to bed early tonight! He was wore out from all the fresh air. :)

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful Mommies out in the world!!!

Brandy & Shawn's Reception

Just thought I would fill everyone in on my wonderful weekend. Last night was Brandy and Shawn's wedding reception, it took place on the Madam Caroll. What a fun time!! Josh and I planned ahead to leave the kids with a sitter. We knew from experience that taking them to the reception would be to difficult. Especially since it was out on the lake, and the boat only docked every couple of hours. Plus we really needed the night to be together..we never get the opportunity anymore. Of course the first thing out of Josh's mouth when we arrived at the boat was "Aidan would have loved this" Geez... I felt awful! He would have had a good time, but I needed a night out! Plus I actually had a good time, it was great food, good music the works!! Plus they had margaritas!!! I was stoked! I ended up drinking ALOT, which I never drink anymore, so it was pretty entertaining. Here are a few photo's of Josh and I. (He was sober) We were attempting to take pictures of ourselves. Pretty funny!

You get the idea :)

So congrats to Brandy and Shawn! We had a great time! (I probably should have taken some pictures of the boat....O well)

Saying good-bye is hard to do.....

So as most of you know, my brother Troy was home for a quick visit before he headed off to Korea for a year. It's so hard on me sometimes...I miss him so much!! :( We have gotten a lot closer as we have gotten older. I want him to be a part of my kids life in a way that our uncle is not a part of ours. I hardly know my uncle on my moms side, and I WANT my kids to know my brother. He adores spending time with them when he is home. He is really good with Kendal, he's not afraid of her or anything. Aidan was a little timid this time around Troy, but it's because he doesn't know him. I think if Troy actually spent some time with him, they would be great buddies. I hope one day they will be :)

Uncle Troy holding Kendal for the first time since she was 2 weeks old :)

I wish I could have spent more time with Troy when he was home this time, but I was working a ton. Plus he had a lot of people to see, and I totally understand that. I'm lucky that I got a couple good days with him. We took our grandmother out for her birthday, and then we had a nice farewell dinner out at my moms the night before he left. It was a blast!!! Plus a big BONUS, my best-friend Ara was in town, and she hadn't seen Troy in a long time. It was such an Amazing time!! I can't wait to do it again!

My best friend Ara, Troy, Aidan, and Kendal the night before he left.

I love both these pictures!!!

Troy arrived in Korea on Tuesday, and is settling in. I think I'm going to talk him into getting a web cam, that way Aidan and Kendal can talk to their uncle from afar.

Miss you like crazy little brother.....Be safe!!!

Kendal~7 months

Well it's official, my baby girl turned 7 months old on April 27th. Wow time sure is flying!! She is doing amazing these days, her eating habits are better, and she is sleeping for longer periods throughout the night. It's awesome!! She still wakes up at least once for a feeding, but that's about it. She is still very tiny...only about 13.5lbs.

Her personality is really coming out, she wants to laugh out loud so bad!! It's really cute! She is trying to scoot around on the floor, and also trying to sit up. She will get there...I'm just glad she is such a happy baby these days. We have even transitioned her onto Soy formula. We just tried it one weekend to see how she would take it. Her other formula is just so EXPENSIVE!! Josh and I talked it over, and decided to try her on the soy for a weekend, and if she did well, we would just keep her on it. She has done AMAZING!! She isn't fussy or constipated from the soy, and she is eating her baby food a lot better too! She does have to go to the doctor for a weight check this month, but that's it!! I was lucky enough to get both kids into the doctor on the same day. Aidan has to have his 3yr check up this month too. He is turning 3 in just 11 days!! I can't believe it!

I had the kids pictures taken at Sears a couple weeks ago..FINALLY! They were supposed to have their pictures taken last month, but Kendal was in the hospital.

Aidan's 3 year pictures too!!

Now it's going to be a busy couple of weeks with all the party planning, but he is worth it!! He is super excited about his John Deere Tractor party up in Bremen!! We are having his other party at Chuck E Cheese, and that one is CARS themed. Stay tuned for pictures on the birthday parties. :)

Kendal is talking :)

So Kendal has been babbling a lot lately, and tonight she said da da. Josh of course thinks this counts as her first word. I THINK NOT!! I told him that until she looks at him and says da da, she doesn't know what she is saying. Her first word had better be ma ma :) I'm her favorite anyway!

Updates & Easter '09

Things have been a little calmer around here lately. Kendal got a clean bill of health at the doctor last week, so that was a relief!! :) She is trying so hard to laugh out loud, it's really cute. She wants to sit up by herself too, but she just can't quite get the hang of it. I read about my friends babies and it makes me sad that she isn't quite as advanced as some of them. Then I think about it, and this poor little girl has had a rough start. I then realize that she will do things on her own time, and simply can't be rushed. She still isn't eating baby food all that well, and I'm just at a loss for that situation. I've tried making it from scratch even, and she just gags. She will eat the fruit, and carrots occasionally. That's it though!! I'm trying not to just give her cereal because that gives her constipation issues. Oh what to do???

Aidan is still a handful as usual. You can definitely tell he is going to be 3!! We are still trying to get him potty trained, and we aren't having much luck. He has been telling us that he has to go "potty" however its usually after he has already gone in his pull-up. I know I can't rush it, but it's hard because I feel like he is just being lazy. He is still very attached to his cup, the kid will drink all day long if you let him. I am feeling like that is part of the issue. We are slowly getting him to go to bed without his cup , or just letting him take water to bed. He doesn't like water to well, so that stops him from sucking it down so quickly.

He is mocking Josh and I both now a days. :) It's funny, but mommy and daddy need to watch our potty mouths. :) I'm a good one for saying damn it, and then he repeats me. Oops!! Gotta watch that. :) Kids, they repeat everything!!!

Easter was nice and relaxing this year, however the preparations were not!!! I decided to make the kids blankets this year. I have been wanting to make Kendal one, and since I hadn't even made Aidan one yet, I decided that this was my chance. With Aidan's birthday so close, I really didn't want to get him a bunch of junk for Easter. This was perfect in my mind, and I knew he would love it!!! I was right.... I made him a John Deer Tractor blanket. Josh and I were up very late on Saturday night finishing them up. It had been a long time since I had made one, so I had to get back in the groove. :) I was glad that I was able to get Josh to help tie it together. Kendal's was just a cute flower pattern. She didn't care one way or the other :) Just another soft thing to lay on. :) As for Easter...we just had my parents, and my grandma over for dinner. They got to play with the kids, and we just had a nice dinner and spent time together. My G-ma Barb made a bunny cake for Aidan. It was really cute!! Of course all Aidan could talk about all day was jelly beans. "I want more jelly beans mommy." He was sneaking them out of the kitchen!!! I had these eggs on the table in a bowl that I was hoping to hide around the house for him to hunt, and he kept stealing them. He is a sneaky little booger!!! We didn't have an egg hunt, the grandparents and Josh both thought he was to little. I disagreed, but I wasn't going to argue, I was too tired!! We did decorate Easter eggs this year, and he really enjoyed that. We will definatly be doing that again. :) All in all it was a nice day, everyone left around 3, and I got to take a much needed nap. Whoo Hoo!! I haven't been sleeping all that great lately. I don't know why....stress probably. :) That's Life!!

Aidan coloring eggs....boy he had a blast!

Pink Hands :)

Aidan and Kendal's Easter baskets and gifts.

The Easter bunny was quite good to them this year!

Kendal checking out her new pink bunny :) She is so cute!!

Big grin for mommy!!! I love her big blue eyes. :)

The kiddo's on Easter morning, Aidan loved his new fishing game!!!

Aidan and his new John Deer blanket that mommy and daddy made him. :)

Shhh....I mean the Easter Bunny :)

Happy Easter from The Heyde's!!!!!!!

Kendal's stay at the hospital :-(

It all started about a week ago, her big brother got sick with a fever and a cough. So naturally his little sister got sick too. :) Fun times in the Heyde house!! So we started with the breathing treatments, and vicks. Pretty much everything we could think of, I didn't take her to the doctor because they didn't give Aidan anything because they said it was viral. Well the weekend hit, and I had to work both Sat. and Sun. that week. Josh called me at work looking for the gas drops and Tylenol because she had been screaming her head off for two hours. He was about to lose it, so I talked to my manager and they let me come home early. On my way home I called the doctor, and luckily our pediatrician was on call that day. She told me that I should give her some Motrin, and try to tough it out through the night until the next day, so that they could take a look at her in the office. She really didn't want us to have to take her to Urgent Care or the ER, but said if she got worse, that would be our only option. So we made it through the evening, and she seemed a little more like herself by Monday. She was eating a little better and everything. I went ahead and called the doctor to try to get her in, but found out that our pediatrician was on vacation that week. ( Why didn't she tell me that when I spoke to her the day before) My only option at that point was to see Dr. Padgett, and I was not fond of him. They did say however that Dr. Thomas would be on call on Tuesday, so I decided to take her to see him. So Tuesday morning I took her to the doctor, and they looked her over. He tested her oxygen levels, and they were okay. He checked her ears....nothing. He told me there was really nothing we could do, she sounded like she had RSV, but he didn't think she did.( He didn't bother to run a test to be sure) He said it was a viral thing that just had to run it's course. Well...by now she was hardly eating, so that was a concern for me. He was like..."well just try to feed her every couple of hours or so to get as much in her as possible" He obviously doesn't know Kendal because she only eats a few oz at a time to begin with, every oz counts with this little girl because she is so tiny. WHAT DO I KNOW, I'M ONLY HER MOTHER!!!

Well I took her home, and needless to say, she got much worse. She was up half the night crying, she wasn't eating at all, and her cough was horrible. We called the doctor back on Wednesday morning, and I spoke with the nurse. I told her our concerns, and she said Dr. Padgett was there today, and he could take another look at her. I was totally dreading seeing him, but at that point I was desperate for some answers, and wanted a second opinion. He took one look at her and said, "wow, her breathing is really labored. Sounds like she has RSV." I think we need to do a chest x-ray and admit her to the hospital at least over night. Josh and I were so scared, but relieved at the same time. SOMEONE FINALLY LISTENED TO US!! So off to the hospital we went.....

She had the chest x-ray first thing, and that was awful to watch. Josh and I both teared up on that one. I can't even describe what they did to her. They had her in this cage thing with her arms above her head all confined. OMG!! It was just awful. Then she had to have an IV, and that was nothing compared to the chest x-ray. Josh just dipped her paci in sugar water the whole time, and she fussed a little, but that was it. You could defiantly tell that she was on the dehydrated side, because she started to perk up a few hours later. The respiratory nurses came in to give her her treatments. When Dr. Padgett came in that evening to check on her, he said her chest x-ray looked okay. She didn't have ammonia, that was a relief! He said her lungs just looked a little inflamed, probably a virus. He said her RSV test was negative, but that didn't mean she didn't have the virus. He wanted her to stay the night so he could test her oxygen levels while she slept. Well of course when she finally fell asleep that night the nurse came into put her oxygen sensor on. (she kept kicking it off while she was awake) It measures the oxygen in the blood. Normal range is in the upper 90's. She was in the mid to lower 80's!! Yikes!! So they had to wake her up to put the oxygen tubes in her nose. Boy she didn't like that at all!!! She was not a happy girl. :( It seemed to help because after that, she was eating well and her spirits were up. I had my baby girl back :) So after about 48 hours in the hospital she got to come home, and she is doing much better. The only downfall is that she now won't take the powdered version of her all ready expensive formula. She wants the ready made stuff that she had in the hospital. ( Ya think she is spoiled any) :) So we have switched her to the ready made version of her formula, and she is taking 3oz at every feeding. She still has a cough, and we have to give her treatments every 6 hours. Other then that she seems back to herself. THANK GOODNESS!!

Josh and I don't know how we would have made it through this week without the support of our family. Thank you so much for helping out with Aidan, bringing us food etc. We are truly grateful for everything. It's nice to know who you can count on. We love you all very much, and could not have made it through the week without your help and support. Here are some pictures of Kendal in hospital. So sad......

My poor baby, she looks like she has a broken wing. :(

In better spirits.....

Loving her daddy :)

Being so good getting her IV out :(

All ready to go home.......

Home at last......

Big brother is happy his baby sister is home!!!

Thanks again for all the thoughts and prayers this week, we couldn't have made it through the week without them.

Love, Josh and Tricia

P.S. Sorry this is such a long post. :)

More Craziness....

Where do I even begin....it's been a couple of weeks since I've posted. The kids and I were sick for a couple of weeks, and I finally broke down and went to the doctor. She ended up giving me two weeks worth of antibiotics. FUN!!! I still don't feel 100%, but I'm dealing. Aidan and Kendal both have had colds, and I thought they were both getting better. BOY was I WRONG!!! Over the weekend, Kendal decided she wanted to scream for 2 hours or so before she went to bed. This went on for two days in a row, so after the second night I decided to call the doctor. Josh and I decided we couldn't take another night of her screaming. Off to the doctor we went....all to find out that they could find nothing physically wrong with her, which in a way was great news. We were happy because at least that meant that the new formula was really doing wonders for her. She was thinking that since maybe she was only fussy at night, she might have acid reflux. So that's what we are dealing with now, and she HATES the medication. It smells like pure peppermint extract, so it must burn going down her throat. Poor baby girl :( She has had a rough start, let's just pray that she is going to grow out of all this nonsense. Daddy and I are going to lose our minds!! She ended up having her shots and getting her measurements since her six month appointment was supposed to be on Thursday. She is getting a little bigger, she weighs 12lbs and is 23.5 inches long. She is still so stinkn' tiny! She is doing so many cute things these days, babbling, and making raspberries. She smiles all the time now....She is really enjoying her toys and rattles. She actually hits herself in the head sometimes on purpose. It's funny. :) She gives daddy open mouth kisses....so cute. I have a cute picture of that. Plus I finally got to see her roll over. Granted it was from her back to her belly, but hey I'll take it! So funny, because Josh and I both saw it and we were so excited that we scared her. Man O Man she sticks that lip out a mile when you scare her. :( I can't help but laugh at her, it's so funny sometimes. She even sticks it out when her big brother gets in trouble and is howling. These two....I tell ya.

Kisses for the Daddy!!!!

So stinkn' cute :)

The big girl about to roll over....


There she goes....

We celebrated St. Patricks Day by putting on our Green!! I took the kids to story time for the first time, boy that was fun. NOT!! Aidan decided he wanted to be glued to me, and Kendal decided to throw a fit. I was able to calm her, but I could not get Aidan to let go of me. (He is not normally like that) I finally sat down on the floor to try to get him to sit down. He then put his head on my lap, so I was like okay...what is going on with him. I felt his head and he felt really warm. Well sure enough...we left and got something to eat. He didn't want to eat, so we came home and I had already given him some Tylenol, so he was cooling off. However when he woke up from his nap he had a temp of 101. Now I've got to keep an eye on him, and we may be making another trip to the doctor this week. Well that has been our life in a nut shell, if I think of anything else that has happend, I'll be sure to post it.

Happy St. Patricks Day from Aidan and Kendal :)

Poor Aidan...not feeling to hot :(

Kendal watching her brother, she looks so serious. LOL :)

Yeah, they didn't feel like putting on a smile for mom, but they still look cute! :)