22 Weeks

We are past the halfway point with Baby Boy! He continues to take it easy on Mama, which is still REALLY nice! Ellie is so active right now, requiring LOTS of attention...I really don't know how I'd keep up if I was feeling awful. I'm just thankful I'm not. I have my daily heartburn and now have the body pillow taking up half of our bed to keep my hips comfy. I am also finally over what was I think the longest cold I've ever had! Beyond that though, I feel really good.

I feel like I've been shopping a lot lately! My winter maternity wardrobe isn't doing me much good these warmer days so I've gotten a few things for myself. Plus, we're starting to get the house ready for Baby Boy's arrival. Last weekend we ordered Ellie a 'big girl' bed and dresser to match. That'll be here in a few weeks and so begins the transition out of the crib! I've also been shopping the sales, finding cute things for Baby Boy and Ellie too. Last weekend I went through all of Ellie's out-grown clothes (WAY too many), organized, and stored away by size. I was able to pull a few things out for Baby Boy, but not much - her wardrobe is pretty much 'girl'. It was kind of sad packing all her little clothes away, but maybe we'll need them again someday, so for now they're in storage. I already know how I want to do Baby Boy's room - my friend Chris is going to paint again for me - I can't wait to see it done! My goal is to get some of the house stuff done early (while we have this rainy weather), so I can enjoy the summer when it's here =)

Baby Boy is moving a lot more now. Sometimes he really gets going and my whole belly moves - a little gymnast like his sister was too! His most active time seems to be later in the evening, but he settles right down when I go to bed. He's about one foot tall (the size of a big squash), almost 1 pound in weight, and growing bigger every day.

Here's my 22 week belly. I have definitely popped out!

An Update on Carson

It's been a while since I've written an update on Carson, but there's been a lot of good news lately so I thought I would share. Carson's been home for about a month and a half now. Prior to that, he spent a little over 2 months in the hospital, and then a little over 1 month in out-patient therapy (living in a hotel near the hospital with his family). Luckily, Carson was able to find an excellent physical therapist near home which allowed him (and his whole family) to go home finally.

He had a check-up with his neurologist a few weeks ago, and the Dr's exact words were that Carson 'must have good connections to God' which I think is really cool for a Dr. to say. This is the same neurologist that gave Carson a very grave prognosis early on in his battle with meningitis, a prognosis that would be/was a parent's worst nightmare to say the least. That really seemed to be the turning point in Carson's recovery though - it was as if he heard that Dr. and said 'no way buddy!'. The next day he amazed everyone and opened his eyes, and it's been nothing but up since then. Cognitively, Carson is the same bright, witty, and cheerful boy he was before any of this happened for which everyone that loves him is very thankful.

Physically, he continues to make wonderful progress. His physical therapy has gradually decreased from twice a day/every day, to now just once a day/three times per week. The stroke Carson suffered caused some nerve and muscle damage which altered his ability to walk. His physical therapy has been focused on regaining strength, balance, and mobility. He works so hard, and gets stronger every day. He's been walking on his own now for well over a month ('ditched' the walker early as he put it), but he tires easily and just has to move with a bit more caution than than the average 7 year old at this point. His body also continues to heal in other areas. It's amazing how what we view as the simple things our bodies do are really so complex and vital, and until they're not working right, it would never even occur to think about it. The hope is that everything will heal with time, and that's been the consistent message from the Doctors...with brain injuries, it takes time. Carson's outlook on everything is so positive though, nothing is holding him back at this point. In the last couple weeks, he returned to school part-time and is doing wonderfully. His teachers and friends are very happy to have him back!

And also very exciting, Carson became a big brother for the second time just last week! Luke Arlen Lagina was born on April 15th, perfect in every way. He's been a joyful addition to the Lagina family, a mild-tempered, sleepy little one so far, destressing his Mom in many ways. After such a stressful pregnancy for Sara, I think everyone is very grateful Luke is here so happy and healthy. Carson had a hand in naming his brother too. Before Carson got sick, he kept telling his Mom that they should name the baby Luke - after Luke Skywalker! When he got sick, the decision was made...I think it'll be fate that Luke likes Star Wars as much as his big brother does! =)

Here are a couple shots of Carson and his brothers Brent (4) and Luke (now one week and one day). We're hopefully going to see the whole Lagina family in the next couple weeks =)

Some More Recent 'Fun'

First, the really fun stuff...a couple weeks ago, Auntie Shannon came up to spend a day with Ellie on her Spring Break. Well of course she brought Rusty, and OF COURSE, Ellie LOVED him. They had a great day together, and while I agree, that babies and puppies are super cute - especially together - this does not mean we are getting a dog =) They had a beautiful day to play outside too; Ellie's favorite lately!

We don't have much for outside toys, so how does Ellie cope? Why, the rocks in the landscaping of course! She loves to pick them up, draw on the sidewalk, hand them to whoever will take one, and then throw them back. Endless fun...



Rusty wants to play in the rocks too!



Throw 'em back



Playing in the yard



I think Ellie is probably taking his toy away here. Ellie apparently really liked Rusty's toys while Rusty tended to prefer Ellie's.



Ellie has the book 'Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes' which has helped her learn some new body parts. She's mastered "Where's your head, toes, tongue, mouth, eyes, and ears". But, it just took one day, and Auntie Shannon taught her "Where's your butt?", which I believe she is showing here.



And last, walking Rusty around the driveway...



And I did have to put fun in quotes in the title of this post, as we had some not so fun this past week as well. Tuesday after getting back from our wonderful Easter weekend in Minnesota, Ellie started not feeling so well. Turned out to be her first (and last I do hope!) case of pink eye accompanied by an ear infection. The week before Easter, some of the kids in her neighboring room at daycare had pink eye, so of course, the week Ellie got it, so did 3 of her other little friends in her room. After 2 days at home with Mom & Dad, antibiotics, eye drops, 2 trips to the chiropractor, and a lot of TLC, she was feeling pretty much back to normal by Friday. I do know one thing though, if Ellie could say her LEAST, MOST UNFUN thing ever in the world, it would probably be eye drops. I don't think she's hated anything more. It was as bad for Colin and I, because it literally took both of us to get them in her eyes...not fun AT ALL. Thankfully, they work quick, and are only needed for a few days. She's still on her antibiotic, but takes that like a little bird - just waiting for it! This weekend she was feeling good again; coughing some and having some nasty poops, but other than that I think we're on our way back to a healthy household!

Easter in Minnesota

We spent Easter in Minnesota with Wellyn, Sue, Brendan, Aiden, and Grandma and Grandpa Pomeroy this year. Brendan had his 6th birthday on Friday too, so it was a weekend full of birthday and Easter fun! I'll just get right to the pictures because I have a lot =)

First the birthday boy...we got Brendan a soccer jersey and socks from FC (Football Club) Barcelona on our trip to Spain. They're doing pretty good this year, so at least he can sport a winning team! Brendan's also quite the lego-maniac lately (we played A LOT of legos over the weekend). He's having a lego party with his friends this coming weekend, and Colin, Wellyn, and Herb built him this cool track to race lego cars on!







On Saturday morning we colored Easter eggs. Ellie was more interested in putting everything in her mouth than doing any coloring, but the boys made some really nice ones!







Ellie liked banging on the egg spinner...



After eggs and lunch, Aiden and Ellie enjoyed some super-yummy (almost too cute to eat cupcakes!) that Sue made.





Ellie had a ton of fun playing with all the new toys at Uncle Wellyn & Auntie Sue's! The basement slide and swing were very popular, and the horse too! Brendan and Aiden were very nice to let Ellie have the horse, so now we have it at home. She's been riding it every day since we've been home - it rocks and bounces - too fun!











We also had a lot of fun playing outside. It was such a nice weekend! Ellie is becoming quite the outdoor player with all the nice weather we've been having. We need to get some more outdoor toys at home.











After a long day of play, Ellie and Aiden had more fun in the tub. This was actually the first time Ellie had ever taken a bath with someone else (minus sauna), but she didn't seem to mind AT ALL! Neither of them wanted to get out! These two actually played really well together all weekend long - Aiden was having lots of fun being the 'bigger' one for a change =)



Easter morning was also a lot of fun. The Easter Bunny had hid eggs and candy all over the house along with baskets for each of the kids. They were all pretty much going nuts starting at 6:00 am on Sunday! Brendan and Aiden were both very nice cousins to help Ellie find candy and her basket. Ellie found some chocolates right away and would not put them down. It was always a dilemma when she found more - after a while it was melted chocolate in her hands.