Peek a boo

Andrew's 1st Birthday Party

It is very different having a winter birthday to celebrate. Outdoors was not an option like in July. But....we made it work. We moved around furniture and toys and made all levels of our house accessible. The house was full of people and it felt really good having many of our closest friends and family there, all for Andrew.

Our little man didn't seem to recognize that all of this was going on for him. But we know he really enjoyed himself.

p.s. An extra BIG thank you to Marianne for making Andrews cake! It looked AMAZING!

A crowned King....

When I take a shower I normally gate the kids in Adeline's and she "watches over Andrew". Adeline's knows that it is a big NO, NO to put anything over Andrews head but this was worth taking a picture. I asked her what Andrew had over his head and she told me it was his pantie crown because he is a king and she is the Queen. Too funny! He didn't seem to mind and yes the panties are clean.

Coming around

He still has constant diarrhea and a rash but he is starting to eat again and getting back to his old self. Four more days of the antibiotic.....dreaming of that smooth butt.

Look how cute he is!!!!

That's right

In our house everyone plays dress up. Even the boys!

My INCREDIBLE Kids

Andrew is starting to do better. He had allergic reactions to two antibiotics and we have finally found one that works but with the constant diarrhea from all the medicines he has a yeast infection that is horribly painful. Changing his diaper is not a fun experience and we change it probably two times and hour. We got a tub of "Magic Butt Cream" and yeast cream to alternate. It seems to be working. I can't wait until I can see and feel a soft baby bottom. Andrew had a CT scan scheduled but we decided to cancel it because of radiation concern so he will be having an MRI on March 4th just to make sure everything is ok. The Dr. is confident he is okay and the seizure was febrile but just wants to cover all of her bases.

Adeline has been very loving and caring towards her brother. She has also been a very good little helper (getting me diapers and wipes etc.). I am thankful for both of my babies.

An eventful reunion

James and I were really looking forward to seeing our friends Jason and Nisae and their family. The last time that we saw them was in April of 2006. Nisae and I have been friends ever since we were born. We were the type of friends that made our own BFF pants. Nisae and I were also roommates in college for a year. It was there at GLCC that she met Jason and after dating were married and attended New Tribes to become missionaries. I remember way back when Nisae wanted to be a missionary and then to actually see her meet the man of her dreams that shared the same passion...that was incredible to watch.

The Williamsons are back in the states for a year after serving 3 1/2 years in Papua New Guinea. There they live within a tribe, learn their language, tell them about Jesus and translate the written bible for them. It is an amazing story.

After church their family came over to the Bean house to have lunch and spend the day catching up. It was so nice to see them and hear their stories. Unfortunately during lunch while we were all sitting down and James Mom was playing with Andrew he started to have a seizure. He was hot before we sat down and had been playing with his ears so I took him out of his shirt but never would I have thought he would have had a seizure. James Mom yelled for me and I immediately took Andrew and then Dad Bean (the Dr.) came and asked if I wanted him to take Andrew. Of course I said yes. He then took Andrew to the couch, laid him sideways on his lap, and held him throughout the seizure. He held his hand on his chest to make sure he was still breathing and talked us through different options of what we should do next. It brought back such awful memories of Adeline's seizure that I was just in a bit of shock. It is really hard to stand and watch your little baby seizing, foaming at the mouth and turning purple and feel completely helpless. And the thought runs through your mind again....is this going to be the last time I see my baby?

Thankfully Andrew came out of the seizure. We gave him some Motrin and then went to the ER. I wasn't happy with the ER Doc who spent all but five minutes with us and just said it was probably an ear infection (even though he couldn't see in his ears because he had ear wax right in front of the ear drum) and gave us a prescription. No blood work, no chest x-ray...nothing. Once Andrew's fever came down I was able to feed him and he started to come around to his old self. My dad came to the hospital and Jason and Nisae also came. Not exactly how we planned on catching up.

When we got back to the Bean house Andrew slept for the rest of the day.....in his diaper. We then spent a couple more hours with the Williamson's and then they left and we went back home.

I am looking forward to seeing them again soon. Hopefully this next time will not involve any sick kids.

....side note: I took Andrew in the following Tuesday and he was diagnosed (by chest x-ray) with Pneumonia and an ear infection.

Celebrating January Birthdays

This is the second year that we have celebrated my Dad and James' Moms birthday together. They are three days apart so with us making the trip down it is nice if we can coordinate something together. We met at the Depot in Charlotte and had good food and a great time with family. Adeline especially liked the train that went around the room.

I was happy that my grandparents could make it....notice Grandpa sporting his birthday invite from Adeline's first birthday party. Poor Aunt Candy was sick so she couldn't make it, but Uncle John still came to represent their family.