Easter

The kids loved Easter. Landen couldn't decide which was better...the candy or the toys.

Carter, on the other hand, loves his new toy!

My handsome boys.

Rob just happen to have a shirt and tie to match the boys. They looked great.

After church we went to my parents house for dinner and an egg hunt. Landen had so much fun finding the eggs! Then he loved digging through the loot.

It was a wonderful Easter.

Has Spring Finally Sprung?

We went to the park today as a family. It was so great to be outside playing in the nice, sunny, warm weather! Landen loves the park by the River Parkway so we played, ate some lunch, and walked by the river.

Landen has kind of been a wimp when it comes to slides, swings, etc. But, this year he has finally become adventurous.

Carter had a good time too. He loved the sand for some reason.

He wasn't too sure about the slide.

It was great to get out and spend some time as a family. Life has been great this week and the sunny weather was just a beautiful bonus.

Goings On

It has been some mighty stressful weeks in the Green home, but we have made it and Carter is doing the best he has done since surgery 3 weeks ago. For a few days there we thought he would never eat again, but with some prayer, fasting, faith, and diligence he is almost back to eating just like he was before surgery. He is his normal, playful, curious self again and I love it.

Landen has been keeping us on our toes through the process. I found this in his room and a pretty decent mess in the living room after getting ready a few days ago. I knew he was making a mess, I just didn't imagine the size. He was pretty proud of the santa hat he found as you can see.

I was so blessed to have Landen as my first child. He has gotten me through some of the tougher times in the last year. He is a pain in the butt like most 2 year olds, but he makes me laugh, gives me hugs when he knows I need them, and loves to snuggle at night before bed. I love him so much and I am glad that he is part of our family!

A Week Later

This is my happy baby today. It has been a long week and I am excited to see him smiling again. He is doing much better today and is eating more and more. He still has a hard time eating baby food because it still gets in his nose and he doesn't know how to get it out. But he is hydrated. At this point that is all I care about. We saw the surgeon yesterday and he said that everything inside his mouth looked good and was healing nicely. So that is another relief. Don't mind all the slober on his chin and chest. He is trying to learn how to swallow again.

This is us with the surgeon (Dr. Kjar) right before we took the long walk with Dr. Bateman (the anesthesiologist). He is a really great doctor and we are lucky that we found him.

This is in Pre-Op getting in his "PJ's".

Not too thrilled.

This is after surgery. It is heartbreaking seeing him lay like that. He was so out it is so not like him.

We sat just like this for most of the day last week. That string on his face was his tongue stitch. It held down his tongue just in case he started bleeding and they need to stick a tube down his throat. Luckily we didn't need anything even close to that. The recovery has been long and we aren't done yet, but each day gets a little better. We have been really blessed to have great family and friends.

A Little Update

I just wanted to let everyone know that the surgery went very well. The hospital stay was kind of rough. Appearently the anesthesia and narcotics they use during and right after surgery make "breath holders" worse. There was one pretty scary incident that left me shaken for a good while after. But he did better with the breath holding as the day went on. He did pretty good eating through the night and didn't need to much morphine. He was discharged at 7:00am on Friday morning and we left around 9:00am. Friday was a really long day for Carter. He didn't eat hardly anything, spiked a fever, and didn't want me to put him down for anything. Luckily daddy was an okay snuggling partner too. He ate very little on Saturday and by Sunday he was dehydrated enough that we had to go back to the hospital for fluids. But he perked right up after getting the fluids, ate some slushy, and even drank some formula. It was great! He has been doing much better since yesterday and has been eating pretty well. Landen has really been a trouper through it all. He is such a great kid. He unfortunately got sick himself yesterday and has had a fever since. But a little Motrin is the cure and he is his normal, busy, sweet, and happy self.

Thank you so much for your prayers, thoughts, love, and support. It certainly has been a challenge, but we know we are not alone. We have been so blessed and we are grateful for the comfort of the gospel in our lives. The Savior is a powerful and loving companion to have during difficult times. I will never forget some of the blessings we have been given in the last year. Thanks again for everything you all have done. I promise to post some pictures soon.

The Amazing Dunking, Fire Fighting Landen!

Playing "shoot" has been a favorite activity for Landen for quite sometime. But recently he has been dunking the ball. This is the set up. For some reason the wrapping paper was completely necessary for the dunking process. Carter is helping his brother.

Anything that can fit through the hoop is being dunked.

We have been "dunking" everyday for the last few days. I think it is all the Jazz talk going on in the house.

Landen the fire fighter! This is a costume that cousin Braden passed down to us. Landen discovered it in the closet yesterday and wanted to put it on right then. It is a little big, but he was totally loving it!

I also had a question. I need to take some reading material with me to the hospital. Does anyone have any good recommendations? I have just finished reading the second book in the "Fallen" series. (Very good by the way! I would highly recommed it.)

Here we go again!

Carter gets his second and hardest surgery (so far) on Thursday, March 3rd. I am really nervous and I try not to think about it (Is that bad?). I am told the recovery will be at least three days in the hospital with some PICU time. We can come home when they get him off IV fluids and off Morphine. Then I'm up for nights of no sleep and a sad baby. Hopefully Carter flys past all the "might be's" and everything goes better than according to the plan. In the mean time I will stay in unhealthy denial until Tuesday when I start packing for the hospital stay.

We have been so blessed to have wonderful supportive family and friends. Rob is doing wonderful in school even with all the stress he is under. I am so proud of how hard he works to support us. Let's just say I have been counting my blessings one by one. We have adorable kids who suddenly say things like "It freaks me out!" And love their mommy even after all the mistakes I have made. Kids are the best. The are such a challenge but I love them so so much.

Thanks for all the love and support!

Smiles, Big Eyes, and Tents!

Carter is getting so big and these pictures were so cute I just had to post them. He currently weighs in at 17 pounds and continues to gain. He isn't crawling yet but he can get around somewhat. Him and Landen have also kind of started to play together and it is kind of fun to watch them. Carter wants to do everything that Landen is doing. So the fact that he can't move on his own yet is really bugging him.

This picture is just so so so cute! I love those big eyes!!!

For Christmas a couple of years ago Landen got a "Cars" tent and LOVED it! Then the tent broke and he was devastated! It was really sad. So Rob and I talked it over, found a good deal, and bought a new train tent. This was quite a bit cheaper then the "Cars" tent and is better made. Not to mention Landen absolutely loves it. It has been up since Saturday morning when my Dad helped me put it up.

Carter loves it almost as much as Landen does.

Life is good

Rob and I celebrated our six year anniversary last week and it was great! We went to P.F. Chang's (love it!!!), saw a movie, and Rob surprised me with a Nook Color. I love the Nook so far. I can download free books, borrow books from the library, borrow books from other Nook friends, and buy books for cheap. Landen loves it too. We have three children's books on the Nook that will read to him. I can also check the blog, news, and anything else I want to check the web for. So needless to say, I love it. He was way too generous.
Also we have two very cute boys. Carter is doing just great. He is gaining weight just like he is supposed to and ready for his next surgery. His surgery will be the end of February or the first part of March. Landen is also getting so big! He says the cutest things and is very helpful with Carter. We just love our two little boys!

Trains, trains, and more trains!

Santa brought tons of trains stuff this year for Christmas. Landen now has enough track and trains to take up pretty much our whole living room. And he is in heaven.

Daddy has been really good to help him build a track almost every waking hour.

Carter got a few things too, but at this age who needs a toy when you have a box!

And a bag with a blanket in it? Nothing beats that right?

An Early Christmas!

Landen has been asking to play Rob's real guitar a lot lately. So, last minute I came up with a brillant plan!

Santa came a few days early with a guitar!

He opened it at Rob's friend Tanner's house. Rob was planning a little jam session with Tanner and I couldn't pass up this awesome opportunity.
Landen jamming with the big boys. He was tapping, swaying, singing, and bobbing. He was so cute and excited. It was so much fun.

Don't mind the hair or the fact that some of the lights on our tree aren't working. I just thought this was a really cute picture of my adorable Landen. Santa has even more surprises up his sleeve. I can't wait. Merry Christmas!

Baby Food, Trains, and Exersaucers!

Landen LOVES trains. Anything that has to do with a train, he wants to be part of. This year the mall has this cute little train that kids can ride on. It starts by Sears and runs the whole length of the mall and comes back. He has ridden it twice now and has LOVED it. He is going to be so excited on Christmas day. I can't wait!

This was at breakfast a few days ago. This kid won't eat anything but a Pop-Tart in the morning. No matter what I try, it has to be a Pop-Tart. I just thought the picture is cute. My favorite thing about Landen is that when he smiles, his whole face smiles. Look at those eyes! Something is going on.

Carter recently aquired this new toy. He has really been enjoying it. It has been nice to stick him in while in the shower too. He is getting so big!

With the addition of his new retainer (being held in by denture glue) we have started some baby food. This is the second attempt at cereal and he isn't having much to do with the food. He still won't eat rice cereal. When he eats other food some of it ends up coming out of his nose. He pretty much hates real food. Hopefully after his surgery in February he will begin to enjoy it a little better.

My cute Carter! I just love love love this boy and his smile.

I almost forgot about Fall!

This picture just says it all! Landen wasn't too excited about eating on Thanksgiving. Not only does he not like to sit in one place for longer than 2 minutes, but he loves his uncle Braden (Michelle's husband). He didn't understand why he had to sit and eat when he could be playing with his favorite person in the world. If you'll notice he doesn't even have food on his plate yet. Dinner ended with me hauling him into my parents room for a little relaxing time with grandpa. He was much better after that.

Landen loves playing outside. My parents have some great neighbors that let Landen play around in their yard. Landen helped rake some leaves with the neighborhood girls.

They also taught him the art of jumping into a huge pile of leaves. He really enjoyed himself.

My two boys. Aren't they cute!

Carter has been pretty happy lately. He really likes to watch Landen play and lately he has been trying to join in on the fun. Soon enough I will be chasing him around too!

Halloween!

This is just before trick or treating. This is our friend McKinlee's baby, Landen (also known as Bob the Builder), and our pea pod Carter. Landen had so much fun trick or treating. He would knock on the door, yell "I'm trick or treating!", grab his loot, and point to the next house. Carter was pretty good most of the time too. Next year is going to be even more fun!

Playing with playdough with aunt Kristen.

This was at the dinosaur park. They had this little play house on display for a drawing. Landen saw it and opened the door to find these girls in there. He didn't really hesitate going in. We just had to take a picture.

This is as far as he got into the bouncy house. He wasn't quite sure about it and didn't want to be in there alone.

Our family portrait. The dinosaur park was so much fun. There was trick or treating, lights, and the movie Casper. I would recommend going if you haven't tried it.