RSV, RX, NFL, and R&R

Those four acronyms pretty much sum up the last few days at the Blackstock house. Collin has been under the weather since last weekend, and because he is such a loving brother, he shared his little cold with his sister. Come to find out, his 'cold' is RSV for her. Still, we're keeping things in perspective- she's able to rest and recuperate at home which is a huge blessing! And typical of our sweet Sarah Kate, she's still laughing and smiling between coughing spells! She also decided to cut her first tooth. Wish I could post a picture, but I can't...BECAUSE IT'S IN THE SIDE OF HER MOUTH:

Yes...I actually had to LOOK UP which tooth just came in- the canine, I believe (M on the diagram). I guess I won't know for sure until I see where all the other ones come in. Is that freakish? Anyway, when I found the thing she got so excited. She looked at me as if to say, "Now you know where to put the Orajel!" Ooops. I guess I just figured the front two would be the first- then again, she has been full of surprises ever since she's been here!

So we add Orajel to the long list of medications that are being dosed out at our house between the two kids. SK has her list of daily meds for both of her refluxes, milk allergies, etc. and toss in some nebulizer treatments, and Collin's laundry list of "candy medicines" and we're a regular pharmacy- a feeling so many of you can sympathize with, I'm sure.

The odd thing about all the illness is that it has given David and me the time and the opportunity to be in the house, just hanging out with one another all weekend. It has been so nice. Friday night we made Collin his first cup of hot chocolate and watch a Christmas movie with him. It was so much fun! We've gotten more sleep than usual, had all of our meals as a family, watched a lot of football, and played more with Collin than we've been able to in a long time. And Sarah Kate has gotten her fair share of TLC as well! It has actually been "just what the doctor ordered." (that's almost too cheesy to even put in there- but oh well)

So, don't remind me that Christmas is only a little more than two weeks away. Right now, we're enjoying house arrest and remaining blissfully unaware of how much there is to be done!

Also, I'm really playing catch-up with pictures here. Yes, there is one of SK in her Halloween costume (how sad!)...the others are more recent. If you want the best though, go see my friend Sarah's photography blog. There's a link from her website at http://www.sjphotos.net/ She took some pictures of them recently and I was so thrilled with them! She is truly amazing at what she does. I've always known she was talented and creative, and then she started photography and has taken her talents to the next level!

Here are the pics as promised...

Our sweet little butterfly!

Pictures from our trip to the American Girl store by the Galleria...these girls were SO geared up!

Taylor showing Sarah Kate the ropes!

And little Lexi with her favorite doll...
Pictures of Collin just being Collin

And the kids in some Christmas pjs that their aunt Angie gave them! Merry Christmas!

Cousins

Okay, I might be stealing some of my mom's christmas card thunder here, but I had to post these pictures of all of her grandkids. I love them- both the pictures and the kids! I love having pics of all of them together because it reminds me of how truly blessed Collin and Sarah Kate are to having such loving families to support them. And all of these kids are so precious to me personally. I remember each of their births, and love all of the little oddities that make each one special.

Haleigh and Bret were born when I was still in high school, so they have always been so special and so spoiled by all of us. Haleigh is driving now, and Bret is getting so big that I don't even recognize his voice anymore. They are also two of the most polite, loving teenagers I have ever been around. Hats off to my brother and his wife on raising respectful kids!

And Taylor and Chandler were the first "pair" of the family. These two have been so fun to watch grow up together. Chandler with her boundless enthusiasm, and Taylor with her genuine sweetness. I love them both so much, and appreciate their willingness to let their dorky aunt sit in on their High School Musical parties and go to the American Girl store with them. (Love HSM by the way- and have a t-shirt to prove it!)

Colton and Patton were the next pair and what I love so much about these two right now is how great they are with Collin. They make him feel like he's a real "big kid" and always let him tag along. Colton is constantly giving Collin his toys!

Lexi, as she says, doesn't have a partner like most of her other cousins, which suits her perfectly. She definitely makes a statement on her own! She is the funniest little girl EVER, and keeps us on our toes all the time!

Parker, sweet Parker! He was a royal pain while Brittany was pregnant, but has been proving everyone wrong since. He's another geuninely sweet little boy- he's one of the only three-year-olds I know that will give hugs and kisses on demand.

Then there's Hank- whata sweet boy he is too! He and Collin are going to have so much fun growing up together, and from what I can tell so far, they may get into some trouble along the way too.

Just wanted to jot down a couple of things about these kids- they are such a huge blessing to our family, especially Collin and Sarah Kate. They have brought so much joy to my life, and gave me the opportunity to test out some of my parenting theories before I actually had kids of my own! I love you all SO very much!

Why I'm not a doctor, and Collin's prayers

After you have your first child, you kind of begin to think that you're getting things figured out- or at least I did. Sarah Kate had what I thought was a stomach bug last week- no big deal, right? Then, the fever lingered over the weekend, so we ended up taking her in on Saturday to an urgent care place by our house. I was sure she had an ear infection or something else like that, and that the stomach bug was pretty much gone. This is the first point at which I should have reminded myself that I'm not a doctor. The doctor we saw declared that her ears were clear, I began to pack up the diaper bag, and then he announced (after several minutes of taking her pulse and playing with her skin) that he was sending us to the ER because she was dehydrated. Proof: I am NOT a doctor. More than that, I felt like an awful parent! She didn't cry a single tear the entire time we were at the ER. Very, very sad. So they fixed her up, sent us home, and we thought all was well. Some of the tests later showed that she had an infection. Again, no big deal. Proof again: I am NOT a doctor. We went in to our pediatrician's office the next day for what I thought was a simple you-were-in-the-ER-so-I-have-to-see-you visit, but as it turns out, little SK needs some more tests run next week. I really think everything will be fine, but it has been an interesting ride. I usually think that I run to the doctor too quickly for little things, so this has been completely out of character. Anyway, we'll know more next week. Keep us in your prayers.

As for Collin, he has really been enjoying bedtime prayers and songs. Lately, his prayers are absolutely adorable. I promised myself I would start writing some of them down so that I could remember them.

- "thank you for Mommy taking me to class" (the gym)

- "thank you for that guy, and that guy, and that guy" (the sports figures in the pictures on his wall)

- "help me to stop hitting" (admirable, and also a prayer of mine)

- "my tricycle"

- "thank you for Santa bringing me a saw" (counting his chickens before they hatch I suppose)

Here are some recent pictures...

First Game!

Here are a few belated pictures of Collin and Sarah Kate's first baseball game! We went to Houston to see David's parents for the weekend and had an awesome time. The game was great! Lots of hitting, 2 homers, and a farewell salute to Craig Biggio. I also thoroughly enjoyed the air conditioned stadium! Check out our little fans...

And another picture from the weekend of little Sarah Kate. She is so precious!

I'm It!

Meredith tagged me and it's taken me a long time to get to it...but here are my eight random facts about myself:



1. If you think counting your steps is weird, Meredith, here's a GREAT one for you: I type EVERYTHING as it passes through my head. Sometimes, when David and I are holding hands, he feels me typing as someone is talking...freakish, I know. I think it's a habit I developed in law school. I typed all of my notes, and just got used to basically transcribing everything I heard. I noticed on my commute, that I would "air type" on my steering wheel as I listened to the radio. I'd love to know what this type of compulsiveness says about me.



2. On that note, I'm an attorney...That's funny.



3. I have absolutely, positively, NO sense of direction...none WHATSOEVER. This is, unfortunately, not at all limited to trouble finding my way from point A to point B. I get turned around coming out of a bathroom at a movie theater or mall. I get totally confused coming out of a carwash. AND, I have absolutely no sense of where north is...ever. Those who do amaze me, and frankly, I sometimes think that they're making it up because they know I wouldn't know the difference.



4. Oddly, pregnancy has caused my hair to go straight. I think that the 4 people who read this blog all knew me when I used to wear my hair curly all the time. Even though I don't do that anymore, it wouldn't even be an option if I wanted it to. Now I have a wavy, partially curly, funky, stringy, natural mess. (And we wonder where Collin gets it?)



5. I am addicted to editing. Another habit from law school. This is not to say that my posts will ever be error free, but I enjoy proofing anything published including Christmas cards, church bulletins, and yes, blogs. Here are a few of the titles to articles that I will never write because I don't have the time...

- "Quotation Marks: How Ross and Chandler Have Distorted Our Understanding"

- "A Whole Nuther Problem Altogether"

- "The Difference Between PLURAL and POSSESSIVE...Again: What to do with those darn apostrophes"



6. I can't stand repetitive noises...just ask David. This is also ironic because my ears have been ringing since December of 2004.



7. My ears have been ringing since December of 2004...that one is too good to waste on a sidenote.



8. I was nominated for Miss Personality in high school. I didn't get it. So I burned the place down. That'll show 'em. (I was obviously struggling for #8)

Okay, here are the people that I am tagging: Shanta, Sarah, Alyssa, Sam, and Sherry (Email yours to me Sherry, so that I can share YOU with the blogging world!)

Family Update: Everyone is doing great! Collin is a great big brother, and SK is finally settling down after getting her on some reflux medication. All is well!

"I No Say Cheese"

It's a fun experience to take a two-year-old and a three-week-old for a photo session. At least our friend Stacey is a good, patient, God-fearing woman who says that she doesn't mind difficult subjects. I, however, did mind. A lot of prep, and an hour and a half after our sitting started, Collin, who hadn't smiled the ENTIRE time we were there, looked at me as we were leaving with a sly grin and proudly announced, "I no say cheese." We "no go to McDonald's" either. The pictures are hysterical, and much cuter than I thought they would be. Perfectly capturing what it means to be TWO!

Here's proof...

Yet the infant...

This is as close as Collin got to a smile-

Things You Don't Keep for Baby #2

So, I'm compiling a list of things that even the most frugal of parents shouldn't try to reuse for their second baby. I've learned some of these the hard way.

1. Bathtub- as you can see from the pictures below, we've done this one. Yes, the bathtub is from Collin, and no, I probably wouldn't do it again. It had been in the attic (wrapped, but still) and when we took it down we gave it a good anti-bacterial cleansing. Yet I couldn't get the thought that Collin had, in fact, left an offering in that very bathtub out of my mind. All the wrapping, retreiving, scrubbing, and sanitizing probably wasn't worth the $20 to get a new one.

2. Nicknames- I really don't think this is just because my kids are different genders. Even the unisex endearments that I had for Collin just don't seem to work with her. She's definitely her own little person (or princess, sweetie, SK, skittle, etc.).

3. Diaper Genie- for all of the reasons that you don't keep a bathtub...and then some.

4. Bottles/Pacifiers- chances are, your second one isn't going to like the same kind just because you went to the trouble of saving them, santizing them yaddah, yaddah.

Onto the pictures. As you can see from all of her pics below, SK is very mellow! She doesn't really ever cry unless she's hungry, or her tummy hurts, which is unfortunatley more than I would like. But even at those times, she is so even-tempered (totally gets that from me...haha) and generally easy going. What a relief!
The picture of Collin is from his first sno-cone! We got him a grape one- questionable decision- but he loved it!