prayer request for daylon

I just wanted to post a prayer request tonight. I don't know if you've had a chance to follow Daylon and Bella's transplant journeys, but the Edlings (Daylon's parents) got some pretty tough news yesterday. Between dialysis and the drug he's having to take for his VOD (a complication of the BMT), he's suffered some brain hemorrhaging and probable brain damage.

Here is the link to the update in his Mommy's words.

Please, please be in prayer for Sweet Daylon. I just can't imagine what his parents are going through right now. What a hard road.

family photos

Our Family Photos from the beach. Thank you so much, Katherine. I am completely in love with these pictures. To be treasured forever and ever. Amen. Did I mention I love them?

this and that

Hey Everybody,

It's me, Jonah, checking in for a very short post. It's WAAAY past my bedtime. We've had an okay day today. I've thrown up twice, and Mommy is frustrated and says she just doesn't understand why I'm throwing up again all of a sudden. What's she complaining about? I'm the one who's puking. She says that, now that I'm on solid foods through my tube, the throwing up is WAY grosser than it used to be. I'd have to agree. Anybody got any gum?

Mommy got kinda mad at somebody on the phone today. She talked to a lady on the phone at 11am and at 2pm to try to get someone to come and switch out my feeding pump for a new one. Even though I'm trying to sleep through the night, that stupid pump is waking Mommy, Daddy, and me up like five times a night with its false alarms: "no food" when there's still plenty in the bag and "no flow" when there's no kink. Anyway she talked to this lady TWICE and told her we needed a new one before tonight, and it was after 7pm and she still hadn't heard anything. So she had to call the after-hours number and gave a different lady the 'what for'. Guess who has a brand new pump tonight?

Mommy was kind of a spaz today. The camera guy and interviewer were supposed to come interview Mommy and get some footage of us for a video for the new Brenner Children's Hospital site (hopefully going up in September), and she forgot ALL about it. They showed up at 4:30. Guess where we were? The grocery store. Not good. Daddy called us at 4:55 to ask where we were. He had just gotten home and they had been waiting there for 25 minutes not able to get in the house. Mommy felt SO bad. But she changed clothes (out of her Aquaphor shirt) and threw on some make-up, asked them not to focus the camera on her nasty carpet, and on we went! They were so nice, and I think they forgave Mommy so everything is okay. I was afraid they might be mad at her, so I made sure to give them my really sweet smiles and played like a good boy for my part. I wooed them. I'm cute like that.

Mommy says I have to go to bed now, but here are some photos from yesterday. They're all kind of blurry, but Mommy and Aunt Shaina were really trying not to use the flash. Gotta go... Mommy's giving me her angry eyes.

more than you want to know

Katherine always seems to help me out when I feel I’m in a bloggy slump. I know that my posts, as of late, have not been very riveting (or “ribbiting” as I said to my sister this week after she said she rescued a frog out of the pool at camp… what? That’s totally funny. Matt didn’t think so either.). Anyhoo, she had these questions and answers posted on her blog and told those reading to consider themselves “tagged.” As I am not one to (often) ignore a (not-so-official) tagging, it was my bloggy duty to follow her lead. (Warning: this is long and possibly not that interesting… I don’t know seeing as how I haven’t answered them yet… so feel free to skip this one.)



What experience has shaped you most and why?
I guess this one is an easy and obvious one for me…


Receiving my GPS. Without a doubt, this little apparatus has greatly changed my life for the better. Without it, I seriously don’t know where I’d be. Get it? As in “I’d be lost”? But in the physical rather than metaphorical sense. Get it? Oh yeah, and motherhood has changed me a lot too… mostly for the better though I do find there are days now when I cuss like a sailor.


If you had a whole day with no commitments, what would you do?
Unbeknownst to Matt, I’m currently planning a day for myself like this. Because that’s just how utterly selfless I am. I’ll have to do dressing change because that just can’t be helped but THEN, I’m going to go get a greasy breakfast and read a book while I eat and nobody is allowed to talk to me. THEN, I’m going to go to a used bookstore and take forever perusing the aisles, lovingly touching all the book spines, and picking out several books of my very own. THEN, I’m going to go to a few scrapbooking stores and spend way too much money. THEN, I’m going to meet some girlfriends for lunch, and we are going to spend the afternoon shopping and hanging out. And we will also spend way too much money. And then I will come home, help get Jonah fed and ready for bed, and then I will go to bed early and get approximately 9.4 hours of sleep. Ribbiting, I know.


What food or drink could you never give up?
Mexican Food. I know that’s a whole category rather than one single food, but seriously, I couldn’t give up tortilla chips or pico or enchiladas or burritos or refried beans or tacos or any of it. It’s all so magically delicious, it really wouldn’t be fair to isolate just one Mexicanny goodness. And those who know me also know that asking me to give up food, any food, is like asking me to please just stop breathing. Thusly, this is a difficult question.


If you could travel anywhere, where would it be and why?
This one is hard too. I’d love to go to Hawaii (my hopes for our ten year anniversary) the most. But I’d also like to go back to Mexico and Argentina and to the rest of the Spanish-speaking countries. I’ve only been to Mexico, Nicaragua, and Argentina. Spain would be awesome, and I’d also like to go to Ireland. But if I had to choose JUST one, okay, Hawaii. Fine.


Who do you have a crush on?
Jonah. Also known as Jonut, Baby J, the J-Man, Sweet Babe, Jumping Jonah, Ja-nonah, and J-dizzle (okay, I made that last one up.)

(And also, Marky Mark.)


If you were leader of your country, what would you do?
I have no idea because I would never ever want that job in a million years. I feel so sorry for the President and all of the past ones actually. People criticize them too much and pray for them too little. I’d definitely have to start by making regular hair-coloring appointments for when my hair started to go gray.


Give me one savory recipe that doesn’t include cheese.
I can’t. The Squash Muffin one is pretty good, but I don’t think you can even describe a recipe as “savory” UNLESS it has cheese. On second thought, I bet those muffins would be pretty good with some cream cheese. It definitely wouldn’t hurt!


What did you think you were going to be when you grew up?
It was actually always a teacher, I think. I was an idiot.


If you could spend just one day in someone else’s body, who would it be?
I would say somebody who had a really sexy body, but then I would probably choose the day of her hardest workout routine, and honestly, that just doesn’t sound like fun to me. So, I think I’d pick somebody who’s funny and most everyone loves. Tina Fey would be good. But I guess she kind of has a sexy body too. (Shut it, Matt) So I’d just choose to be Tina Fey on a relaxing, binging, off day, because she’s going to have to deal with the leftover calories from her day off, not me. (And also, she knows Marky Mark… “I bet you do all kinds of right.”)


Which woman writer, living or dead, do you admire most?
Julia Alvarez. Look her up. She’s Dominican and her stuff is so good.


What character trait inspires you the most?
The word “inspires” makes me want to throw up a little bit, but I like when people are really honest and funny and real. And randomly break into a Bon Qui Qui voice and cuss at random. (MS, I am talking to YOU.)


What is your favorite kind of music?
I mostly listen to Christian, but music-wise, it’s not my favorite. I like stuff from the late 60’s and early 70’s and also dig some older country (90’s) now and again… but mostly just for karaoke purposes.


What is one fact about you that most people who know you wouldn’t guess?
I am a very difficult person to live with and extremely moody. Or maybe people would guess that. Maybe I only THINK I’m good at hiding it. Another is that I have major teeth issues. MY teeth are in great shape, but I have serious MENTAL issues with people talking about, wiggling, or showing me loose teeth. I have recurring dreams that my teeth are falling out. My sister does too, so at least I know I'm in equally crazy company.


If money were no object, what's one thing you don't own now or can't afford to do that you'd like to have or do?
Is it way pathetic that my first thought was a mini-van? Yep, I’m just that exciting. But seriously, if we ever do get one, I will probably wet my pants from excitement.


I think I’m supposed to make up my own question for the end, but I just don’t have the brain power to do that. Feel free to consider yourself tagged though. If you are as desperate for blogging material as I am, this will make your day. It did mine.

____
Jonah's good, but we just put him to bed and he immediately threw up all over himself. Clean up was a pain. Thus the lack of brain power. So tired. 

growing jonah

Jonah is still refusing to eat, but the nutritionist came today and said he's growing great. He's gained a pound and a few ounces since last month and has grown 2.5 cm, I think she said.

He's in the 45th percentile for height, 50th percentile for weight (WHAT???!!!), and his weight to height ratio is in the 75th percentile.

So as frustrating and maddening as long g-tube feeds are, they are obviously working. I would rather deal with the frustration I'm feeling now than deal with the constant fear I felt before we had the g-tube... when I literally had to force milk down his throat (just for him to puke it right back up).

I know y'all have a lot of questions about what I have and haven't tried, and why I can't do this or that. I don't really have a good way to answer them since they're scattered throughout the comments. I'm up for suggestions, though, if you've been here before. Thanks for letting me know what's worked for you. Anything is worth a shot!

so frustrating

UPDATE: Just to answer the "why not 'on the go'" question: Jonah will throw up if we don't get the blended mixture (about 5-6 oz of food with 3 oz of formula) to a thick pudding consistency. It can't be pumped, but has to be pushed at a rate of 10 cc's every 2 minutes. Given the fact that it has to be blended, pushed at such a slow and continuous rate, and just the fact that it's a MEGA mess (think green and purple goo flying up and hitting the ceiling as you try to shake/push out air bubbles), it's just not conducive to "on the go" feedings. The only place I'll feed him is a kitchen where I have access to a microwave (for thawing blended cubes), electricity (for mixing in the Magic Bullet), and a sink (for clean-up). Thanks for the thought though. If only it were as easy as Pediasure in a back-pack pump. Unfortunately for us, that means PUKE CITY.
_______________
Jonah continues to NOT eat. We had our evaluation today by a speech pathologist, and basically, it boils down to this:

- Speech can't work with him on the tongue thrusting thing if HE WON'T EVEN OPEN HIS MOUTH.
- Speech can't do much if he's refusing all together and has a psychological issue, not a physical issue.
- He definitely has a psychological issue (in my opinion).
- Kids Eat will only see him in their environment, not his, so his eating is not representative of how it is daily for us.
- It will be three more months before Kids Eat will see us again. In the one and a half months (ish) since we've seen them, he's regressed A TON.
- The OT who we need to work with will not have openings until the Fall.
- Even then, I'm not sure what we'll be able to do for him.
- We will soon be getting an evaluation from a psychologist to determine what I already know.
- The psychologists only do evaluations, not therapies for feeding.

What does this mean for Mommy, Daddy, and Jonah?

- Continued one step forward, five steps back.
- Mommy's getting more frustrated, Jonah's getting more frustrated, Mommy's getting more frustrated and so on and so forth.
- We don't even have a chance to get out of the house until 2:30 (you know, the hottest part of the day) because we do feeding, bath, dressing change, nap, and another feeding before we have "unscheduled" time.
- We can't make any morning trips anywhere.
- We can't go anywhere for more than a two hour period.
- We can't meet anyone for lunch.
- We can't feed in public or be anywhere other than home (or a home where we feel comfortable hauling a huge bag of food and supplies) for feedings.
- If we go out when Matt gets home, we have to be home by 6:30 to feed him. That gives us about an hour to get out and do anything as a family.
- Feedings take an hour because we can only do water/food through the tube at a slow rate.
- Jonah's aversion to sitting in his high chair is growing.
- Mommy's aversion to trying to keep him content and entertained in his high chair for at least three hours a day is growing.

I can't begin to explain how incredibly frustrating these kinds of feeding issues are. You only get it if you've been there. Just take my word for it. I tell people all the time that I can handle the blister popping and bandage changes, but the feeding stuff is going to SEND ME OVER THE EDGE.

Knowing that your child cannot (or won't) do such a basic and supposedly inherent thing and knowing that you, as his mother and primary caregiver, can't help him down that road... knowing that this takes him one step farther from "normal"... knowing that he is missing out on all kinds of normal childhood experiences and activities because he can't eat/be fed outside of our house... AAAGGGHHH!

Please pray. I'm so out of ideas, I don't even know what to do. And it doesn't seem like anyone knows what to do to help us. It's so very isolating. While my friends blog about going with their kids to the zoo and story time at the library and the swimming pool or even for a milkshake, I sit home and push green crap (really want to use stronger word here) through a tube, tethered to a high chair.

PISSES ME RIGHT OFF.

jonah discovers sand

Thanks to Katherine for all the great beach photos. More to come this week!

title goes here

This will be quick because I don't have a whole lot to talk about, and my sister has my camera this weekend so I don't have any new photos to fill up blog space. BUT...


We've had an okay day. Jonah's been fussy and a little frustrating, but I guess that's in typical not-quite-toddler fashion. We got up and did dressing change, fed Jonah, and then headed up to Stone Mountain to visit with my Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw. My brother and his kids and my dad were all going to be up there today, and I have been wanting to take Jonah for a while, so it was a great time. We had a nice lunch and got to hang out a little, but we had to stay inside while the kids went on golf cart rides and to the playground, so we missed out on some good family time. Meanwhile, back at Maw-Maw's cabin, Jonah was fussy, clingy, and an all around a pain-in-the-patooty. So we cut it short and headed back home. He was overly tired because he had only slept 45 minutes on the car ride up there, and he's always pretty ornery in a new place.


Peyton and his kids (ages five and three) came into town on Thursday night, though, so I had gotten to spend some quality time with them before today. Peyton came yesterday morning, while my mom took the kids to the park and library, and helped with dressing change. Then I went over to my mom's for a late lunch on Friday and hung out with them and the kids. Last night, Matt and Peyton kept Jonah and played a couple games of chess (Matt is a very good chess player, and he says that Peyton is a smart player and good considering he hasn't played that much) while Mom and I took the kids to see a local performance of Peter Pan the Musical. It was fun, and although the kids were a little restless at the beginning, they really liked it (it was three hours long - they did GREAT!).

That's about it for our weekend so far. We hope to make it to church tomorrow, but don't have any big plans. It is still SO HOT here, and I'm praying for relief soon. I'm fairly certain it got to 100 degrees here today, and you'd think it would have been cooler up in the mountains. You would be incorrect. And the humidity is just so bad. You just feel damp and sticky as soon as you walk out the door. Gross. And impossible for Jonah.

Please say some extra prayers for Daylon and Bella tonight. Daylon's had some bleeding on the brain and a seizure from a trial medicine he's having to take to prevent a potentially fatal condition (VOD) from getting worse that has resulted from Transplant. So far, they've been able to avoid surgery (which would hold GREAT infection risk for him) and have stopped the medicine and increased his platelets in hopes to thicken his blood. Bella is on the same medicine for the same condition. Both of them are on continuous dialysis because their kidneys aren't functioning, which thins the blood further. VOD is potentially fatal. Kidney failure is potentially fatal. Stroking from this medicine is potentially fatal. Nothing about this transplant is easy. Please be in prayer for both of them. As always, many thanks for the prayers, love, and support for all the EB Sweeties.

nothing

I keep waiting for something exciting to post, but it never seems to happen, so here goes.. well... literally nothing.

It has been so hot here this week, Jonah has maybe made it out in the open air one or two times. I don't even think I've taken him in the car anywhere. Monday night I ran a few errands, Tuesday night I helped host a baby shower for a friend (not at my house), and today I went to the gym for about 45 minutes. So I haven't been getting out much either thus the lack of interesting blog fodder.

Jonah is doing well, although he refuses to eat at all by mouth. No yogurt. No nothing. Even our go-to's don't cut it anymore. In equally frustrating news, he's now learned to shake his head back and forth "no" when food is approaching his mouth. Good times. We have a speech pathologist coming Monday. I sure hope she can help because I am COMPLETELY out of ideas.

I mentioned I went to the gym today. And then I proceeded to eat pound cake and banana pudding. The end.

I really, really want to write a novel these last few days. Too bad I have no ideas and feel that all the creativity has been zapped from my body. I have no jokes, no funny ideas, no sarcasm. Nothing. I'm going soft. I'm friends with Bella's mom on Facebook, and she took some quiz on "how old you act." She got age 72. Yep, I know the feeling. Can you hear the monotone droning in my voice? Maybe those are just the voices in my head.

Jonah has discovered, this week, that crawling allows him the pleasure of getting into/doing things he shouldn't. This week he's almost gone head-first down the stairs, almost stuck his fingers in an electrical outlet, thrown his shoes in the trash can and pulled every blanket and burp cloth we have off of their shelf. I'm just thankful he hasn't discovered the toilets yet. Yes, friends, it's time to baby proof. His favorite pastime, apparently, is chewing on the metal trashcan downstairs. Did I mention that he has weak tooth enamel? Not good. He got popped for that one today.  Don't let him fool you. He knows what "no" means. He has a stubborn streak for sure. He must get that from his dad. 

I just did a two page scrapbook spread. I haven't done any scrapbooking since way before Jonah was born. Two back-to-back pregnancies will do that to a girl. So anyway, yesterday I had the chance to finish a scrapbook I'd been wanting to complete for a while. The one with our wedding and honeymoon that occurred six years ago. What?

We are watching the new Star Trek movie. I'm not really paying attention. All I know is that Sylar (bad guy from Heroes) playing Spock (good guy in the movie) is not right. Demetri from Flash Forward is in it too. I feel that all my worlds are colliding.

We are currently dog sitting my brother's dog. He and Deac are best buds. They are currently humping one another. The excitement around here never ends.

That is all.

the results are in

We got the results from Jonah's genetic testing today. They didn't really tell us much we didn't already know. He has two mutated genes, which makes sense since JEB is a recessive disorder. Both of his mutations mess up his production of Collagen XVII. He produces some, but not enough. We have definitely ruled out Dystrophic, which is good news. The expert at the lab said he's most likely non-Herlitz (which we already thought), and will have hair, nail, and teeth issues in addition to skin (which he already does). He only has three nails out of twenty, his teeth are too small and are weak, and his hair is thin and thinning more. One of his mutations has been seen in one other person. The other has never been seen before. JEB is POINT five in a million. Jonah's mutations make him, well, just one. That's why the results don't tell us much. He is a more severe non-Herlitz, meaning that he probably won't grow out of it and it will definitely affect more than just his hands and feet (obviously). So what does it all mean? I really don't know. I know that I'm happy it's not dystrophic and I'm happy to get more confirmation that he's non-Herlitz (although it's a spectrum disorder and they don't really classify it that way anymore - Herlitz (lethal), non-Herlitz (non-lethal)). The truth is, regardless of what he's classified, he could get a deadly infection at any time. In that regard, classification means nothing. On the other hand, his trachea, so far, has been unaffected, and he's gaining weight well. These are both very good signs. There is a deep down part of me that was hoping they would say, "We've found his mutations. They're the same as this person and this person and guess what? They're grown, living healthy lives and only have to spot wrap." I know it was unrealistic but I really wanted that. And maybe he will toughen as he grows. Maybe he won't have to be wrapped forever. We really just don't know. So today's been a day of the "what if's" for me. But I'm just trying to refocus and concentrate on today. Because today is all I know I have for sure. And he's here TODAY.

HELLO?

Daddy, Is that you??? Hold on, I'll get her.

MOMMY!

Daddy's on the phone.

And still (and forevermore?) in love with his ball popper.

Jonah's gtube button change went okay today. He cried and screamed (heaving sobs) the entire time. But he didn't throw up, and as far as I know, there was no skin damage. Matt held his arms, the surgeon held his legs, and I changed out the button. I think it will go a lot better here at home. We have to change it out again in about four months, and we'll do it at home from now on. Next time, we'll snag a third person for dressing change and take care of it while he's already unwrapped. I think with video diversion and being on his own table, he won't react as much. Thank you so much for your prayers. He got really upset but recovered quickly. That's it for me. It's been a long day, and I'm spent. Goodnight.

our weekend

We've had a nice weekend. My mom babysat Jonah on Friday night and we got to go on a date. And I have to say, this is the best date we've been on since Jonah was born. I mean, Matt might not think so since it didn't involve going to a movie (which is his favorite), but I had such a great time. We went to dinner and then to Adventure Landing. We played a game of putt-putt (I refuse to call it miniature golf), then went inside to play arcade games, and then another round of putt-putt. He whooped me severely in the first game, and only beat me by a few strokes the second game. We laughed and joked the entire time. I don't know what it was about the date or the time together, but I felt like that fun, happy-go-lucky, 18 year old girl he fell in love with. I've really missed her.

It was a VERY rainy Saturday, but we ran a few errands in the afternoon and then went over to my mom's for dinner. We made it to church this morning and went to Edward McKay this afternoon. Jonah cried the whole time, so after about ten minutes, I ended up back in the car letting him watch his videos. Speaking of videos, we got over $50 selling our used DVD's. True, they only gave us like $2 per DVD, but still. I'd rather have fifty extra bucks than a bunch of movies we're never going to watch again stashed under the bed.

I have a prayer request tonight. We have our appointment tomorrow at the hospital to get Jonah's g-tube changed out. I know it's a standard procedure (no anesthesia or anything), but I am really nervous about it. It's something we will do with the surgeon this first time and we'll actually do the rest here at home. BUT I think he is going to freak out and fight and will cause a struggle. Given the fragility of his skin, you can imagine why I'm anxious. I'm afraid we're all going to wish we were sedated by the time it's over. Prayers would be much appreciated.

On a different note, Matt and I are in the very early "just talking about it" stages of possibly maybe getting a mini-van. Both of our cars are fortunately paid off, so we will not be getting rid of the Escape. But Matt drives my 2000 Neon, and it has many a mile, so we know it probably won't last much longer. AND you should have seen us trying to get to the beach in the Escape. It was ridiculous. I had six bags at my feet, and Jonah had stuff piled up to the ceiling on either side of him. It was the softest stuff, but still, not my idea of a safe way to travel. Between bandaging supplies, normal baby stuff, and blended diet stuff (cooler, food, blenders, syringes etc), we really need a van when we have to travel. ALL of that to say that we are looking to buy a used van. Let me know if you have gone the used vehicle route and have any recommendations. We bought the Escape used from a dealership, but are open to other things this time around. Has anyone ever bought from CarMax? I'm hoping we can find a used (less than five years old for financing reasons) Toyota Sienna, but we'll see. Like I said, we're just in the talking about it stage. (Do you ever type "abou tit"? I do it all the time. I think it is the funniest of the typing mistakes.)

And because this post was long and boring, I will leave you with a sneak peek of Jonah on the beach. Could he be any more adorable?

An outtake. Also very cute.

A positive: the new blogger now has spell-check! Hooray. A negative: if you have a three column blog, you can't post horizontal photos extra-large (well, you can but it cuts them off). Bummer.

jonah being silly

twitter chronicles

I'm trying to watch Valentine's Day, so I don't have many words. But in case you missed these photos on Twitter, I just wanted to show you our beach trip through the eyes of our cell phones.

Jonah was so great on the way down to the beach. This was when we stopped to tube feed him. We gave him a short break from the car seat (very short because it was SO hot), but he was a happy, happy boy. I don't know why his head looks abnormally large in this picture. So cute though.



This was after day one in the pool. At home we do breakfast, dressing change, nap. At the beach we did breakfast, pool, dressing change, and then nap. Apparently we wore him out. He fell asleep sitting up.

He was so great the whole trip, despite being a little clingy at the beginning. This is what we saw most of the time.

Matt, Jonah, and I went to three grocery stores in search of these: Cheerwine filled Krispy Kreme doughnuts. They're only being sold in NC and SC for a limited time. Nothing says North Carolina like Cheerwine and KK doughnuts, but I have to say, they weren't great. Love them separately. Together, not so much.

And here is the alligator that could have attacked Matt on Friday night, but kindly chose not to.

And this was at Granny and Grandaddy's house on Sunday before we headed home. We were trying to keep him up and feed him lunch first, so he'd sleep in the car. As you can see, it did not quite work out that way.

We've had a good day today. Nothing much to report. Hopefully something more exciting this weekend. So glad it's almost Friday.

letter to jonah

Katherine wrote yet another sweet letter to Jonah this morning. You can see it here, along with a few of our family photos from the beach. Katherine, we miss you guys too! Can't wait for Christmas!

this and that

We've had a decent couple days. Glad to be back home and getting back into our routine. It was so great to vacation and get to see everybody, but Jonah's feedings are a pain in the butt in a kitchen that's not mine. And I get to do dressing change on my tall counter instead of a low table. My back thanks me.

I worked out for the first time in two and a half weeks today. It felt good, but I really had to talk myself into going. And also, note to self, do NOT listen to Brian Regan when trying to do the ab machine. Laughing and crunching do not mix.

I would have posted last night, but when I went up to hook up Jonah's water, maybe thirty minutes after we had put him to bed, he was asleep but COVERED in and lying in vomit. It was all over his bandages and caked in his hair. We had to replace all of his outer Tubifast, cut off some of his Transfer on his wrists and neck, and lean him back over the sink to wash his hair. We had to change all his bedding, and use a hair dryer (on his hair and chest piece) for the first time ever. All of this after having woken him up and gotten him out of bed. You can imagine how happy he was about all of that. I felt so sorry for him. He was so sad. On a bright note, I got to rock him to (almost) sleep, which is something I haven't done in a very long time. I loved those snuggled up against me (but still kind of stinky) snuggles. There's nothing like being able to comfort your baby like nobody else in the world can. It was kind of worth all that vomit clean-up. :)

On Friday night, at the beach, Kim (Matt's sister), let me take some photos of her kids. It was a lot of fun, and I used my Totally Rad Actions I won in Jonah's EB Auction to get some neat effects. I'm a cheat, and I'm okay with it. I was really happy with how they turned out. I'm still waiting on some of the family photos Matt's Aunt Katherine took of us. She got some really great ones. We had to get our church directory photo taken last night. We get a complimentary 8x10, and the lady from the photography company was trying to get me to purchase additional prints. No thanks, Lady. I'll take outdoor beach photos over awkward on-a-stool-twisted-funny-tilted-chin-in-front-of-a-sheet photos any day. No offense.

Here are a few of my favorites of Kim's kids.