Today.

Today was a better day.
Carter had more of an appetite and actually ate a few small things.
We were able to get a little family shopping done to prepare for our trip.
Mike was able to work on the fort/play set he's building for the boys.
We watched a few movies and snuggled with our sickie.
And the big news...
Owen pooped on the potty. (Had to throw that one in there too.)

Mike heads back to work and it's back to me and the boys tomorrow. I really feel spoiled having Mike and all of his help this past holiday weekend. He's such a wonderful father to our boys and goes above and beyond for them. I hope they'll always realize how great he is and how lucky they are.

I'm crossing my fingers that things will continue on the up swing tomorrow. I have a sitter coming in the morning for Carter, so Owen and I can sneak off to the gym for some much needed mommy sanity/ happy endorphins. Other than that, we plan to stay home and take care of Carter. Tomorrow may be a tough day, but I'm being optimistic.

Owen, our little climber. This was his idea of helping to clean up the play room.

Cooling Off.

Last week I really made an effort to take the boys out to do fun things, knowing that Carter would be out of commission for a few weeks post-surgery. We made it to Chickfila, the gym, a few play dates and back to the splash park. It has been hot here, and I mean hot, already. So the splash park seems to be the biggest hit with the boys. They can play in the water and then run over to the attached playground for hours. Both of them did really great on this day, playing by themselves and with friends. No major meltdowns, just pure fun.

Owen has the greatest baby buddah belly these days.

Carter stopping by for a quick smile and photo. I just bought them new wet/UV blocking shirts from Target and really like them. They match perfect with their Childrens Place swim trunks and the bright colors make them easy to spot in a crowd. Better yet, they were a pretty good deal too.

The end of the day, wrapping things up and getting ready to go.

I really enjoy spending time with my boys and being outside with them. Afternoons like this are what I live for as a mommy.

Daddy Campout.

Last Friday, Mike took Carter on the stake Father Son Campout. Here they are packed and ready to go. Carter was so excited to be going somewhere with just he and daddy. Mike's rule, just like his dad's growing up, is that you have to be potty trained to go. Sounds like a good rule to me. So Owen stayed home with me and the boys headed out that afternoon.

Mike said Carter had a great time and ran everywhere with the rest of the boys. They even found a snake, which I heard all about the following day from Carter. The night didn't go as expected and Mike came home early with Carter at about 1 am. Turns out Carter loves being outdoors to play but doesn't love sleeping outdoors in a tent. Maybe next year. But they still had a good time together.

The Boys. Tayson Ramage, Johnny Allen, Carter, Will Ramage and David Anderson.
Tayson and Carter.
At the fireside together.This is Carter playing in the garage as Mike packed the car. Owen and I ran a few errands that night and after dinner he got a haircut. The key was dum-dums and Elmo. After wards he washed off in the kitchen sink. I think I'm amazed that he still fit in there. He was a happy boy.

Recovery.

Carter playing with his cars in the waiting room before being admitted to the hospital on Wed.

Today is day 4 in Carters recovery from having his tonsils and adenoids removed. He has his good moments and his bad. Most of his days have been filled with bad moments with a cycle of feeling better for a few hours every six, based on pain meds. He has a permanent spot on our coach complete with several blankets, a few pillows, sippy cup, tigger, movies and usually either Mike or I to "snuggle" with. We've also set up camp for him in our bedroom because the nights have been long here as well. I'm hoping things will continue to get better and so will he. Tonsils are whole different ballgame compared to tubes and I don't think we knew what to expect at all.

Mike holding Carter after surgery. The nicest part of the room was the little personal tv.
The hardest part of all of this is seeing him in pain and having him look at you ask you to make him feel better. That hurts, as a mom, all I want to do is make it better and this is just something we have to wait out and all we can do is try to make him more comfortable. The biggest battle has been getting him to take his pain meds. Mike is much better at pinning him down and forcing him to swallow than I am, making me that much more grateful that he's been home all weekend. Last night as Mike grabbed the medicine and headed over to us on the couch, Carter began to shake his head and say "No, that's Owen's medicine." Can't blame him for trying, but sorry little man we can't share this.

Carter sleeping on the couch day 2.
He wants to be snuggled anytime he lays down, so we've been taking shifts with him. I walked downstairs yesterday to see Mike out cold and Carter watching his show. Melted my heart. Through all of this it's been nice that Carter talks more and can communicate with us about what hurts and what he needs. As we were getting settled and ready for surgery in hospital room he would tell every nurse and doctor that came in, "don't hurt me." Making me think he remembers the last two times. Yesterday he told Mike and I that the "doctor hurt me," which we then followed with a conversation telling him the doctor fixed him and he would feel better soon. Today he picked up his play phone and told me he was going to call his friend. I then heard him say, "Hi Tayson, I'm sick, I don't feel well. Doctor fix me. Bye." Mike bought some vanilla muscle milk/protein drinks and Carter actually drank one today, big progress, Carter refers to them as "candy milk." He's still not eating or drinking much, but we are trying valiantly to get him too. Hoping tomorrow he'll have more of an appetite.

In the mean time we've spent most of our time at the house. That's not normal for us and we're all going a little stir crazy. Owen is hanging in there and being mischievous at every chance he gets. But mostly he's just too stinking cute even when he is causing trouble. I do think he's enjoying playing with whatever toy he wants and not having Carter take things from him. But he really enjoys the moments when Carter is feeling well and will play and loved this morning when Mike took some time out to spend with just him wrestling in the living room. Owen is a tank and has been eating non stop. We are convinced once this whole "recovery" thing is over for Carter that Owen will weigh more than him.

Owen this morning in the car. He was one happy boy with some great bedhead in the back.