Happy Halloween!

Caleb with his "puh-kin" that he got at school

"Grandma, I got my Halloween shirt!!"

our happy, smiling boy

not so happy, here :-)

daddy and Caleb carving the pumpkin

the finished product (a little blurry)

for comparison's sake...the top two pictures are of Caleb when he was one-month-old, the bottom two are Levi today. They look a lot alike.

Caleb is super excited about going trick-or-treating tonight. He's been telling me all day, "Mommy, I go neighbor's house, say trick-or-treat, and get the canny!" :-)

Levi Did Not Escape the Sickness

Poor Levi can't hardly breathe. The last two nights I've been up with him suctioning out his nose just so he can sleep a little. He can't lay flat and doesn't want to be anywhere but in someone's arms. And it's getting worse. I think he's also contracted the eye infection his brother had.

It's scary when your newborn baby can't breathe.

Justin is also not feeling well, so he hasn't escaped the germs in the house, either.

On the upside, Caleb and I are much better; now we're just dealing with the congestion. Thankfully my mom is here to help out. Now let's just hope she doesn't get sick.

We're Miserable

Caleb has a bad cold that turned into double eye infections and has had a fever of 101+ for four days now.

I have an upper respiratory infection and my throat hurts so bad I can hardly talk, eat, and/or drink anything. (And I'm not convinced I don't have strep...they didn't test for that when I went on Saturday morning.)

Levi is spitting up or throwing up multiple times a day and not just after a feeding. He's running a low-grade temperature, and I think he may have some sinus drainage that is making him gag and throw up.

Thankfully, we had company this weekend who were a huge help with the kids and keeping us all sane.

They're gone now, and Justin has to work tomorrow.

I just want to lay in bed all day and rest. But I'm the mommy, and I have two kids to take care of.

Say a little prayer for us, please.

Quickly while they're both occupied...

Things are going better around here. Levi is sleeping better at night, which is a huge help. He still doesn't sleep longer than 3 hours (when he actually sleeps that long), but I keep him close to me so I don't stay awake for long when he does awake. He still is eating every 2-2 1/2 hours and usually throws everything up if I try and feed him too much. We're settling into a "routine" of sorts, though, and things are going well.

Caleb is definitely showing some jealousy, especially when it's just me and the two boys at home. Levi has started sleeping in the cradle some during the day (instead of only sleeping while being held), which lets me have some uninterrupted time with Caleb to make him feel special. We've been reading lots of books together, and yesterday I even ventured out and took the boys for a walk. It was good for all of us to get some fresh air!

My sister commented today that we don't know what I'd do if I hadn't discovered baby slings. It's sometimes the only way to get Levi settled and to sleep. He doesn't just fall asleep on his own easily; it takes quite a bit of work unless he's just eaten.

Thanks for all your advice and prayers. I think my hormones are starting to settle down as well because there have been far less tears the last few days (even yesterday when I was by myself for 14 hours with the two kids because Justin had to work late).

I "talk" to all of you a lot in my head, telling you of all the things that have been going on, how my Bible study is blessing me (when I have time and brain power to sit down and do it), and how much I miss catching up on your lives. Hopefully soon I'll have time to write some more. Time is precious!!

Can I get Starbucks piped into my veins?

I'm so tired.

Levi apparently has his days and nights mixed up. And he thinks he needs to eat every 1-2 hours around the clock. He's had some reflux issues, which prevents me from completely filling him up on milk to make him last longer. Unless I want that milk all over me.

And he wants to be held. All.The.Time. I definitely wanted a cuddly baby, and I got what I asked for! ;-) Thank goodness for baby slings!! Levi LOVES the sling.

Any ideas for straightening out his days and nights? Ideas that don't involve letting him cry for hours on end because I can't do that to a 2-week-old. And my nerves can't handle it.

Now you know why I haven't been posting. I'm either feeding a baby or trying to get Caleb to stop touching his brothers eyes, stop standing on the coffee table, or I'm trying to chase him down and wrestle him to the ground to change his diaper.

Justin's mom left today, so now I'm officially alone with both kids by myself. Thankfully Caleb still takes a good, long afternoon nap.

Gotta run. Maybe I can sneak in a nap on the couch before Levi thinks he's starving to death once again.