January (and shamefully February.. always behind)

January 5th--

THIS poor little guy got the flu. It was the saddest thing. Then two days later I got the flu. Dr. Straughn thinks  that Isabel was the first to have it and got it while in Utah. She was past the point of Tamiflu but did have to be on breathing treatments. Isaac and I however got on the medication and were so thankful for it. Somehow, Eric snuck under the radar and remained healthy!

January 6th

New Scooters- late Christmas presents.

He's learning to be a 2 wheel man!

Isabel. Where to begin. This girl is cracking me up. She LOVES jewelry. 

And gloves. Well any article of clothing on the floor that she can put on her hands or drape over her shoulders!

January 8th

Drum Roll.... our first food storage supply!! 6 months for our family. I am so excited.

January 10th--

Watch out world. The HULK is on the loose!!

The Hulk turned into a much less frightening bag lady!

She seriously, loves to drape or carry anything over or around her!

It is just CRAZY how babies come out knowing their gender. Boys come out knowing blaster and car sounds. And girls come out knowing how to snuggle and rock a baby and put jewels on!

January 11th

The best lookin' kitchen help I've ever had.

January 12th

The 3rd child gets WAY more WAY sooner.

Crab Boil for the football game.

January 13th

3 years ago, the bomb dropped. I'm too emotional and too tired to go into this day. There is absolutely nothing good about it. Not one single thing. I love you sweet heart. More than you will ever know.

January 14th

Princess Play.

***

Atticus and Isaac are so much alike but so different. Both "BOYS" to the fullest. Both obsessed with sports. Both picky-pants-know-it-all. Both Funny. Both feisty sweet hearts that have a ridiculous magnetic quality about them. The difference... 

Atticus was 100% CARS cars and Hot Wheels. He raced them, built car garage after car garage, organized them, and checked their speed by how fast the wheels spinned. His favorites were the cars with numbers (true 'racers') and flames. Blue and orange were favorites too, obviously.

Isaac however, is 100% weapons and battling. He's all about bows and arrows. Blasters. Nerf Guns. Swords. Battling Dragons... and war paint!! He loves to have war paint on. Even in the bathtub.

SIBLING LOVE at COSTCO!

It was one of those moments where my mommy heart felt pure joy. Watching my kids laugh and play with one another. Being a mom is the hardest thing I have ever done. But the most rewarding by a long shot.

January 15th

My dad sent me and my sisters these cute pictures!

Jenny

Stacie

Cindy

January 16th

Chinese Take Out. Chop Stick trickery.

Colin mastered it.

January 17th

Thanks to Locke Lord (The Law firm Eric works for), we got front row seats to the Dallas Stars hockey game. It was THE most fun I have ever had at a sports event.

Good game. Good friends. Good time.

This picture cracks me up. The boy you can see on the far right, would NOT stop banging on the glass the entire time. It was driving us all crazy. So when Leslie started doing it, we all busted up laughing!

Hockey is fun. Very fun!

January 19th

Just a little raw green bean snack before dinner. Apparently, all you have to do to get your kids to eat healthy food is starve them. I was SUCH a  mean mom and wouldn't give them goldfish before dinner.

January 20th

I found out that I needed knee surgery and within 10 minutes my friends had organized child care and meals. I am truly grateful for the amazing women in my life. 

* * * * * 

Out of the blue I got these two pictures sent to me from friends-

Oh Atticus, you little wild red headed boy!!

We both look so young. My sweet little best friend. Oh how I miss him.

January 21st

Happy 9th Anniversary

I love you Eric. You are more than I could have ever hoped for. I am my best self with you. 

There is no bigger fan of yours then me. xoxoxo

We got a surprise visit from my cousin Paul and is wife Lindsey and there cutie-patootie Benjamin. They were making their way to Florida and were kind enough to stop by and spend the night with us. We had so much fun catching up, laughing, talking, and watching our kiddos play. We love you guys. Please come back. ANY time!!! I promise... okay kinda promise... I won't make you do any handy man work Paul ;) He has some CRAZY MAD carpenter skills. 

January 23rd

Orange and Blue for Atticus!

January 24th

Leah, my "Texas Sister" is expecting your 6th baby. Her 5th girl. The second I found out she was expecting, I claimed dibs on the baby shower. Leah and I met while our husbands were in law school and instantly bonded. Life brings ups and downs, and we are both so thankful we have each other as we miss our angels babies Atticus and Caleb together.

The decorations... I wanted everything to be perfect and thanks to the help of Emily and Adrienne, I think we got it just right!

Alexis Grace Fish-- March 4th. We are all anxiously waiting to hold you sweet girl.

Just a tip... scrapbook tape does NOT work on the bottles. Hot Glue Gun!!

Rosemary Ranch Kabobs, Tortellini Asparagus pasta, Hot Artichoke dip, 

veggy cups, fruit with dip and fresh rolls!

Leah wanted to bring the girls... best decision EVER. Listening to them 'Ohh' and 'Ahh" with each gift was the best thing EVER. We all laughed, telling Leah that she is going to have to fight to get time with Alexis!! There are 4 VERY anxious sissy's ready to put up their dukes.

Me.. Leah.. Adrienne (one of Caleb's favorite NICU nurses).. Emily

We LOVE you Fish family. You are in our thoughts and prayers as you approach the arrival of sweet little Alexis Grace. So many emotions will be felt. Most will be amazing and wonderful and some heartbreaking, but I can promise you this, Alexis Grace will bring a peace and happiness to your family that you thought not possible. Not a replacement but an addition. A perfect addition. There's no doubt in my mind that Caleb is up there right now telling her how lucky she is to be a part of your family. xoxoxo

January 26th

Long story short... well kinda short... I woke up Wednesday January 14th to a very VERY swollen knee. For no reason. I went to the doctor Friday and they did an xray which came out normal. Dr. Aldrich said, "There's an abnormally large amount of swelling for a normal xray so lets get an MRI." The MRI was done later that afternoon and an appointment set up for Tuesday January 20th to go over the results. My knee hurt all Saturday but by Sunday, although still a bit swollen, was pain free so I fully expecting Dr. Aldrich to tell me nothing was wrong and bumbed about the money wasted. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. The results: Torn meniscus. Loose and rough cartilage. And knee location issues. Surgery was needed. Outpatient- but I was still nervous. It would be my first.

Surgery was scheduled for Monday January 26th and thanks to my amazing friends, childcare was taken care of. 

This was the morning of surgery. That "ball" is all fluid. This picture is WAY better than what it looked like that first Wednesday. Just ask Leslie, she diagnosed me with "elephantitis knee!"

Anything even remotely close to what Atticus went through is very emotional for me. The MRI... I laid in that big machine, my heart racing, with silent tears strolling down my face. My 4 year old should not have to have gone through that. At that moment, I was glad he had to be sedated each time. It is so loud.

Sedation was what I was afraid of. When the OR nurse came in to talk to me I was all smiles until she mentioned the sedation and the use of Propofal. That word... brought me to instant tears. We called it the "white stuff" and it's what Atticus received Monday thru Friday for  6 weeks. Eric or I would walk him to the radiation room, set him on the table/bed, hold on to him as they injected the Propofal via port, and in his loopy, goofy, little chubby voice would say, "Ahh! Ahh! I'm getting hard as teeth!" or "I'm getting hard as bones!" And then he was out. The medical team would lay him down and rush us out of the room to get things started. 

They were all so sweet and understanding and assured me that everything would be OK. They helped me to the bathroom. Helped me get back in bed, and that's the last thing I remember.

The Surgery went fine. My meniscus was not torn but damaged so they removed the damaged part. Took out the loose cartilage smoothed out the rough. Then, a "Full Ligament Release." Something they were not expecting to do. My knee cap was tilted out for who know how long, and had been rubbing against my femur, hence the cartilage break down. So they cut the ligaments on the outside of my knee. Moved my knee cap into the correct position and re-attached the ligaments. 

Once in the recovery room I was shivery so they wrapped me in warm blankets from head to toe. It took me a bit longer than they expected to wake up (Atticus took a long time too), Eric got a few videos of me ragging on the guy recovering next door and documented a few of my "kind words" but I finally regained my kindness and got to go home.

Leah had my kids that day and when she dropped them off, Isaac very tenderly tip-toed into my room, softly patted my knee, then excitedly said, "Oh! Mom! I have a surprise for you!" He came back into my room with his sword and Eric's original iPod. They were to "protect" me. Then when he saw my crutches, gasped, and said, "Mooooom! You have CRUTCHES?!?!?!?"

I spent the next 2 weeks like this...

And this... (Thank you BBC for entertaining me. Yes I am a total BBC nerd)

And this... (thank you Eric for documenting me in all aspects of this surgery)

Yucky huh?

I was in a full immobilizer but could walk with my crutches to us the ladies room or grab food then it was back to bed to elevate and ice.

Picture of my kids my friends sent that first week of recovery--

Boxing at Katie's

Snacks at Katie's

Ikea with Jene (Isaac was at preschool)

January 30th

Snuggle time with Peter

Clearly my kids have no concept of personal space.

Headlamp explorers 

I'm sure Peter was very much ready for Eric to pick Isaac and Isabel up. They would not leave him alone!!

February 1st

Snuggle time with mommy before they head out for the day. Isaac loves to wear Eric's old glasses from Law School days.

February 2nd

We figured we better give my friends a break, so Grandma Lori came to the rescue!

My mom won't love that fact that I'm posting this picture but this just goes to show you how great she is with the kids. Wiggle bike. Baths in the kitchen sink. Trampoline jumping. Story reading. Sword fighting... And clearly the kids love every second of it.

February 3rd

I was so glad to have my kids at home with me. Yes breaks are nice. Yes reading a book start to finish is awesome. Napping whenever you feel like it- awesome. But after a few days I got lonely and missed my kiddo's.

I was using frozen peas to ice my knee when Isabel decided she needed to snack on them. Gross child.

She also decided that putting her dinner on her face and in her hair right after her bath was a good idea.

February 4th

I hate the word and hate what it does.

Fall 2011. He built daddy's office tower and wanted his picture taken.

4 months later...

4 weeks later...

3 months later...

Diagnoses to passing... 4 1/2 months.

Words seem so insignificant. So I will say nothing.

***

I'm so grateful I had these two and Grandma Lori to keep me distracted.

Isabel loves my jewelry and kept wanting more!

Target- my first outing (aside from the doc)! It was.... entertaining to say the least. Isaac was my co-pilot and considering our hysterical laughing, Id say that running into only two displays was pretty darn good. 

Oh, Sissy-Girl. Those necklaces weigh more than you do!

Our little outing wore us out. This little man is one of the best snuggle buddies.

Nighttime shenanigans... Isabel using a Target sticker as a pirate patch...

Isaac, the boxer-brief ninja pirate. Why is it that all day long kids can be whiny fussy stink-pots, but the second we say bedtime, they all of a sudden are cute as can be and hilarious?

February 5th

Shopping with Grandma Lori.

She's getting so big.

February 6th

Crazy but kinda scary moon.

February 7th

Perot Museum of Nature and Science 

It is such a cool place. You choose your sport, kick the ball, shoot a hoot, throw a touchdown then watch a video of yourself in slow motion then watch it again side by side with a professional of that sport.

Racing against: Worlds fastest M or F runner, a cheetah, a fish... Isaac's favorite.

I think we may be in trouble with this little girl...

How fast can you can the rod?

Children's play area.... SO much fun.

Poor little thing had to be on her tippy-toes.

Yes, Isaac is wearing a muscle shirt. He's cool like that.

Playing in the sand.

Digging for Dinosaur bones.

Arts and Crafts with Gran

Coloring Gran's nails

I love his concentration face... He puckers out those full lips of his!

They can thank their daddy for those thick lashes! Eric has such thick and long eye lashes. They bugged him so much as a teen. They would hit the lenses of his sunglasses so  he would cut them!!

February 8th

Kitchen help! Are we the only people who put their kids in the kitchen sink?!?

February 9th

 Isaac got to jump for free- Happy Birthday month, Love Urban Air!!

These "big boys" were so nice to Isaac. They let him play dodge ball and shoot hoops with them.

February 10th

HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY ISAAC!

Lego Table from dad and mom (thank you Leslie & pinterest for they idea)

"Whaaaat? The BLUE ninja turtle sword?!"

Clearly a big hit!

Isabel got him a Lego firetruck set.

Zane from Ninjago and a Spiderman Lego set.

Showing us his 4 year old muscles.

Birthday hugs from Gran. She got him Lego people, his favorite of course were the bad guys.

Then his excitement went off the charts....

Grandpa and Grandma Hansen got him roller skates.

BIG HIT!

He was showing us how high 4 year olds can jump!

HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY Mr. Isaac. Life would be so dull and boring without you!

He had been waiting so long to show these 4 fingers and declared to everyone he saw that he indeed is four years old now! I would say, "Hi 4yr old boy!" And he would beam!!

Roller-Skating time!!

Gran helped while I made his birthday breakfast.

Pumping those arms and picking up speed!

German Pancakes for the birthday boy.

He has been counting down the days till his birthday party at Pump It Up!

And the wait was worth it. A fun time had by all!!

He was too fast for me to catch on camera but you can see a bit of that smiling face.

Jackson

Jackson and Isaac

Colin

Nana (Jeanette) and Reagan

Isabel and Isaac

Isabel and Daddy

No no Isabel, Don't eat the bubbles!!

Eliza

Dez

One happy sweaty birthday boy!!

Grandma Lori- Isabel- Me

Kaity Z- Leslie- Gran

Leslie- Jeanette- Katie A.- Natalie- Jenae- Jocelyn.

I am VERY VERY lucky to has such incredible woman in my life.

Isaac and Jude getting a massage!

Ollie. Sophi. Eliza. Jackson. Colin. Peter. Isaac. Jude. Reagan.

Elliot

Pizza time and Capri Sun time!!

Isabel favored the Cheeto Puffs!

"Happy birthday dear Isaac. Happy birthday to you!!"

Sneaking some frosting!

Present time-

His friends were far to generous.

Party favors- Isaac's favs: Juice Box, kit-kat, and fruit snacks!

Sugar doesn't count on birthdays.

We all took a long nap after the birthday party which meant we partied into the deep dark hours of night.  We roller-skated under the moonlight and had a fabulous time.

Getting brave!

CHEESE!

My homeless looking daughter. She loves her accessories. 

February 11th

2 week check up... NO MORE BRACE! I was terrified when he helped me bend my knee for the first time. It was very tight but didn't hurt. Physical Therapy for 3 weeks then, fingers crossed I should be good to go. 

Afternoon swinging.

February 12th

Taking a valentine to Atticus' special spot. We wiped our tears then headed to Isaac's preschool valentines day party. Like it or not, you have to keep on going.

Isabel LOVES Daisy Dog. It is the cutest thing to hear her say it.

The moms did a great job setting up. Everything was so cute.

Isabel trying to sneak her little way in.

Isaac wanted to play instead of eat and Isabel was more than happy to take his place.

His painful looking smile.

LOVE seeing these two cute boys on Mrs. Cherry's cupboards!

We didn't want the party to end... Party ending meant Gran had to go to the airport :(

Like or not, Grandma Lori had to go back to Utah. We were so sad to see her go. She took such good care of us. We laughed. Talked. Played. Organized. Decorated. Read stories. Watched Downtin Abby. Snuggled. And enjoyed every second of it. 10 days just want' enough. We love you Gran.

February 14th

Happy Valentines Day

Isaac's: "I need S'MORE FRIENDS like you!"

Isabel's... on top of strawberry applesauce (I don't know why the pic turned out so yellow).

Valentines from me to my favorite people.

Dang these holiday's buddy. I miss you everyday but on the holiday's, it hits the hardest. The awareness that we are one pretty cool dude short slaps me in the face.

Aside from the tears shed regarding Atticus, It was a perfect Valentines Day. We ate a yummy breakfast with the Grady's then we may or may not have questioned our husbands strength and ability. Which may or may not have led them to leave us for Home Depot to buy shovels. And they may or may not have spent the next 5 hours proving us terrible wives wrong :).

The task in question: whether they could dig a whole, on their own, for the trampoline Santa brought the kids. Now this is not Utah dirt here folks, this is thick heavy nasty uselss clay. 

Clearly their manhood shut us ladies down.

Our Valentines Day ended with a 6 couple dinner at Capital Grill. Us ladies got all dolled up and dined on some yummy lobster mac 'n cheese and steak! We laughed ourselves to tears for a good two hours straight. It was SUCH a fun fun night.

February 15th

After church digging. He had so much fun hammering nails in to the dirt.

February 16th

Shoes: one of Isabel's obsessions.

When did she get so big?

She wanted me to help her wear these "shoes."

February 17th

Dragon and Castle week at school. Right up his alley.

Our Kevin had a business trip in Russia (he and Eric both served 2 year church missions in Russia, well, Eric actually served in the Ukraine, but they both speak Russian) and he brought this darling apron back for Isabel!

***