Henry Doorly Zoo

We drove to Omaha on Friday June 26th and spent the day swimming at the hotel and shopping at Cabela's and Bass Pro. We ate supper at Brett's favorite resaurant~Famous Dave's.
On Saturday morning we arrived at the Henry Doorly Zoo and were the first people through the gate when they opened at 8:30am.

A view of the newest addition to the zoo~The Skyfari!

Collin was not too excited about getting his picture taken in front of the sleeping sea lions.

Carson and Mommy rode the Skyfari. Carson thought it was a blast and told me, "I'm not nervous at all!" We both were a bit surprised when we saw our family practitioner, Dr. Becker, and his family on the ride. We also were staying in the same hotel~Embassy Suites in La Vista.

Carson enjoyed climbing on the spider web after the train ride across the zoo.

Our last stop of the day was the aqaurium. It is such a neat place to walk through, however, everyone was tired and crabby at that point.

Carson fell asleep within minutes of getting on the interstate, but Collin managed to stay awake (he had a nap in the carrier at the zoo)!

Everyone enjoyed the time we got to spend together on our little "getaway" to Omaha. Both boys slept fairly well in the hotel and really enjoyed swimming.

Sorry this post took me so long! I've been having troubles downloading the pictures onto my blog! There were many more pictures taken at the zoo, but I gave up on trying to get them on here. Sorry!

Photo Challenge #1 SAVE

My friend Heather created a photo challenge. This weeks challenge is to post a picture(s) of ways my family saves money.

My first SAVE is Carson's gardening project. We have a small yard with no room for a garden, so this year we decided to plant tomatoes and peppers in pots on our deck. Carson has been doing a great job watering them, pulling weeds, and watching them grow! He loves to eat tomatoes and we often cook with jalapeno peppers so this will save a few dollars off our grocery bill this summer.

My second SAVE is my personal "gym" in our basement. I have opted not to spend extra dollars on a gym membership (& a babysitter!) so I have been working out at home in the evenings after the kids go to bed.

Tubes

Collin and I arrived at Heartland Surgery Center at 6:15am on June 9th. He underwent surgery for Myringotomy Tube Insertion at approximately 7:00am and I was holding him in my arms 20 minutes later. He did great and experienced no problems. Since the procedure, he has been babbling and squeeling more than he ever has before. I think he can finally hear clearly! It has taken him a few days to get use to the ear plugs he has to wear when in water, but other than that, things are looking up!

Collin's 1st Birthday

Collin's first birthday cake was made by Daylight Donuts. It was a white cake with cream cheese filling and buttercream frosting. Everyone thought it was delicious.
Carson enjoyed helping Collin open his gifts.

If only I could touch that candle!

This cake is so good Collin thought it was much quicker to use his mouth rather than his hands!

I think he looks alot like Carson did in this picture.

Time to clean up!

Collin's first birthday party was held exactly a year after he was born June 6, 2008. I can't believe how fast this past year has gone! My little baby has grown up way too fast. Collin now weighs 17 pounds 14 ounces. He recently started saying "up-u" for up and "uh-oh". He signs milk, all-done, more, and night-night. However, they all look very similiar at this point. It's a good thing I can usually tell what he wants! Collin has been crawling for several months and also cruising furniture but he has not had the desire to walk independently yet. He enjoys going to daycare at Krystal's house and I've heard he really enjoys playing with Brynleigh who is just a few months younger than him. They follow each other everywhere! He is a very easy going boy as long as he is feeling good. He has been sick so much over the past 7 months with croup twice, bronchitis, RSV, and 4 ear infections since February. He is scheduled to have tubes placed in his ears on Tuesday June 9th at Heartland Surgery Center.

Why? When? Can We?

Carson has been full of questions lately. He has recently expressed his desire to become a big brother once again. Much to the shock of his parents! He asks when we are eating, "Can we please have another baby! I just want another baby. Can we have as many babies and Jon & Kate Plus 8?" He lifts my shirt at night while he's laying in bed next to me and puts his ear next to my tummy and says, "Ya got a baby in there mom?" In addition to his endless questions of "when, why, can we?", he has also taken upon himself the responsibility of caring for his brother. In a quite compassionate way I might add. He offers to feed Collin. He will "save" him if he's crawling towards the stairs. And on a recent outing he announced, "You guys go right ahead and shop. Don't mind me I'll just be right over here pushing Collin in the stroller." What happen to my little boy? I can hardly believe he is almost 4 years old and at times talks like he is going on 10!

Carson's New Bike

Brett surprised Carson and brought home a new bike for him 3 weeks ago. Carson loves riding his Tonka Truck bike even though it makes me a nervous wreck!

Sick Again

On Saturday we spent the day shopping in Grand Island. It didn't take long for Brett and me to realize that our days of shopping without kids was so much less stressful. Carson wanted to be carried through the mall, Collin didn't want to ride in the stroller (so Carson did), diapers needed to be changed, Carson had to pee, Collin wouldn't nap, ect. After hours of dealing with the boys, 5 o'clock rolled around and we attended the graduation party of Zachary Starostka. Carson enjoyed running around the back yard with the other kids and it was nice for Brett and me to visit with friends. We also made a (supposed to be quick) visit to Grandma & Grandpa Kopke's afterwards. They had just gotten home from North Platte (otherwise they may have been babysitting while we shopped that afternoon!).

Collin had a rough night sleeping that night and I assumed it was from the long day and his schedule was thrown out of wack. He ended up sleeping with us most of the night which never results in much sleep! What a great way to start Mother's Day! By that afternoon he started to run a fever and I quickly realized that his pulling at his ears may not be from teething afterall. He ran a temperature of 103 degrees most of the night so I took him to the doctor Monday morning. When Dr. Becker looked into his right ear he cried hysterically so I knew right away he had an infection. He put him on Omnicef and we continued to give Tylenol and Motrin for the pain and fever. Grandma Betty came up on Tuesday to watch the boys so that I could go to work. Collin had an okay day but by 6pm that night his fever was back up to 103.6*. I talked to the on call doctor and she said I could give him a higher dose of Tylenol and Motrin than I had been giving him and if he continued to run the fever the next day to bring him in. He did fine that night and I took him to daycare on Wednesday but I got a call from Jill at 2:30 saying his fever was back up. I took him back into the clinic and Dr. Becker agreed that 4 days of that high of a temperature was a bit concerning. He ended up giving him a shot of Rocephin and some drops to numb the pain in his ear. He was pretty fussy at daycare on Thursday so I picked him up early and by that afternoon he'd broke out in tiny red spots. I was told not to worry about them unless they were raised and hive-like. Today he still isn't quite himself. He's taken long naps and when he's awake he is quite crabby. I hope my baby feels better soon!