My "Stars" in "Stripes"

Careful....you can almost hear the giggles

coming from these pictures!

Taken, of course, before the fever started.

This is Charlie's "Scary Face".

Oooooooo!!! Scary!!!!!

More like freakin' adorable!

It found us....

We have been actually quite lucky that we have had a healthy house through the winter months.

Except, it is only natural that the kids, or kid, in this case gets sick (and not just sick, really sick) just as Nate and I return from a vacation. So that we have to take time off after we've just taken time off. Ugh.

Henry started feeling crummy on Sunday, fever, tired, etc. Much of the same on Monday. Though Henry is funny in that he may have a fever, or be sick, but you would really never know. He isn't a complainer.

So, he went to school on Tuesday.

Tuesday afternoon, school called me because he had a pretty high fever that was rising quickly. He was also hard to rouse after his nap.

By the time I got him, I was actually quite worried. Yea, I know, that's not hard to do....but something felt funny in my gut.

He was whimpering, couldn't walk, or wouldn't walk, was BURNING hot and was breathing very, very fast.

It was pneumonia.

There isn't much to do other than treat the bacteria in his lungs with antibiotics. We have 2 doses down of 20.

The pattern seems to be, the mornings are good. He worsens in the afternoon and by evening, I'm a bundle of nerves. So far today, he has been ok. It comes in waves. He is just laying around, but being very sweet. I could tell he started feeling icky when he asked Charlie to stop playing with his loud vacuum toy and handed him a power ranger (because it doesn't make noise). I can tell that Charlie is actually trying to be quiet, which is pretty cute.

Henry wants it very quiet in the house.

Henry will need to be home for a few days and we will try everything we can to get him back to his wild, chicken nugget, ranch-dipping self. In the meantime, I will do everything to keep myself off of the medical sites on the internet. That is my gift to Nate. = )

Happy Birthday Charlie!

The Shimmy!

Oh Charlie...I can't believe you are two.

You....

* Are the happiest little guy 99.9% of the time.

* Have the BEST hair on earth.

* Have a very impressive vocabulary.

* Love fruit, which makes Mommy so happy.

* Loves all food for that matter.

* Are almost potty trained!

* Has a "run" that makes me laugh every time I see it.

* Know more sign language than me.

* Love your brother more than anything.

* Wake up happy every morning.

* Sleep like a champ! (Though you owe us since you didn't sleep for the first 9 months!)

* Love to chase and torment your dog.

* Enjoy books and singing the alphabet.

* Can say that you are "two"!

* Can still snap your fingers better than anyone in our family.

* Can make "scary hands".

* Light up your Daddy's life when you run to him screaming "Daddy!".

* Shock us on a daily basis with your comments (e.g., "this is awesome!")

* Love Elmo.

* Make older people smile with your smiling eyes and crazy hair.

* Love your routines

* Can peddle a bike

* Light up a room.

* Love to sit on my lap and tuck your hands against me when you are tired.

* Love to wear watches and put on chapstick.

* Want to be just like your big brother.

You are a very special little guy that shows us daily that you are going to take us on a very memorable ride and we are loving every minute of it!

We are so thankful to be your parents and love you more than I could ever write.

Happy Birthday Charlie!

So Long South Florida!

We are finally, after a very, very long series

of flights, home.

Back in the grey, cold, rainy comforts of Oregon.

Though I long for the sounds of the ocean, the mild,

warm temperatures, the sunshine and the pina coladas,

I couldn't be happier to be home with my crazy, wild boys

who have grown in size, vocabulary and tricks!

It's good to be home and I look forward to our next trip....

with the boys, of course!

Super Bowl Sunday

The Stadium.

And No. That is not a slide, it is an escalator.

I certainly never thought that was a slide. Nope, not me.

The Golden Tickets:

The NFL Tailgate Party

featuring Steve Winwood and Daughtry, though we

missed Daughtry. But I did hear him from the parking lot and

he sounded better than I thought Winwood did. Sorry, Nate.

The Party People:

Super-imposed Nate bobble head:

The Club Level.

Oh My Gosh....it was uh-mazing.

The Bathrooms. Oh, the bathrooms.

I shared a private bathroom moment with

Kendra Baskett's mom.

The Stadium. Breathtaking.

Kendra Baskett and her mom, who I shared the bathroom

moment with. I like Kendra, but she didn't wave to me.

For my Mom. The Coug.

When the Saints came marching in:

The very, very excited out-of-towners livin' the dream and

missing their boys:

99% of the scoring happened right in front of us:

The Who. Now, I hear they sounded horrible on TV, but let

me just say, in my overwhelmed head on this day,

they were the best band I had ever heard.

Maybe it was because I drank....maybe it was because I was

caught in the moment. Whatever, it was GREAT!

The Win:

The Ticker Tape.

When we got back to the hotel this night, Nate pulled out

two pieces of ticker tape that he caught so that I could

include them in our Super Bowl scrap book.

Cute, I know.

Its an experience that you really just can't put

into words. I am so thankful that a) I got to have this experience

and b) that I got to experience it with Nathan.

It was simply amazing.

H2O

Sunset in Lauderdale

Aw, the brothers:

The View from HERE.

Oh Laudy Daudy, we like to Paudy.

Ft. Lauderdale.

The view from here.

Let's talk about this photo above.

It is really a Ft. Laudy, all captured in one simple photo.

I'm not sure what my favorite thing is here.

The Lincoln?

The shirtless, shoeless, elder gentleman?

The older ladies holding hands?

the bench-full of old gawkers?

Having a lovely time.

Missing my little boys terribly, but buying lots of

souvenirs that they will surely enjoy.