California!

We just got back from a wonderful trip to California. Rob's parents had their 40th wedding anniversary on Wednesday and to celebrate they flew the family to Cali and rented a beach house. It was a lot of fun with a lot of great memories made.

This is the view of the ocean from the deck at the beach house. It was awesome to sit out there in the mornings and watch the surfers.

The house came with all kinds of toys for the beach and the kids loved playing with.

We went down to the beach the first night there just to check it out. Landen loved the sand, hated the water. The moving water scared him.

Disneyland was kind of busy and the crowds were everywhere. Rob's parents bought Landen this bubble gun and he had tons of fun with it.

This just about sums up every line that we were in. Carter just cried and the person holding him ended up wanting to pull their hair out.

The second night we watched World of Color which amazing but the wait was a little long. Here is Carter being entertained by a cousin and a blinking bracelet.

Landen was having a great time. Notice the bubble gun.

Here are all the kids playing a game to pass the time.

Landen was so tired that he completely passed out after the show. Grandpa was great to carry him to the car.

The second day we saw some characters which was really fun for the kids. Landen was so excited to see Goofy and gave him a great big hug.

Carter spent a lot of time in this thing!

We went to Mickey's house to visit. Landen was really really excited to meet Mickey Mouse. He also had to show him his bubble gun.

We were smart the second day and rented a stroller for Landen. Not only did we not have to carry him everywhere but he took a little nap.

The second night we watch Fantasmic. While waiting Landen played around with Aunt Arianne and ate a giant sucker. He was in heaven.

Waiting.....

On the way out of the park we saw Captain Hook. Landen loves Captain Hook and wanted to meet him.

The next several days were spent at the beach and on the docks at shops. We went to the wonderful restaurant with giant sandwiches. But they were DELICIOUS!

Chilling on the couch, watching a cartoon with cousins and grandma, eating a fudge popsicle. Can't get much better then that.

Landen enjoyed the flight home with a movie on the nook and headphones. Since then we have just been recooperating. It was a great trip but it is great to be home.

What a year!

It really is amazing what can happen in one year. My little Carter has been through so much.

Here is a little precurser to the cake. Carter LOVES food. He will eat just about anything I put in front of him. Yesterday morning he successfully got to Landen's poptart. He was very excited.

Here is the cake. Just nice and simple.

Carter had PLENTY of help opening his gift from everyone. He loved it.

Then dad had plenty of help putting stuff together. If there are tools, my kids will be there.

Carter had no problem digging right into his cake.

I can't remember why he has the scowl on his face. But it is pretty funny.

As you can see the cake was obliterated. There were just crumbs left and even then he wanted more.

Landen enjoyed the fruits of Carter's birthday. We will be using this alot, I have a feeling.

I love Carter and I am so glad he is part of our family. He is such a great kid and he adds so much happiness to our lives. He and Landen are going to be great friends and I can't wait!

Landen is 3!!!

I can't believe that Landen turned 3 yesterday! All day long I was thinking of everything that has happened in the last three years. It is incredible how fast a kid can go from baby to this. I think that Landen had a great day yesterday and below are some of the events. They are in backwards order because I was kind of in a hurry.

Landen loves sports. All sports. Lately he has been into baseball. He got a bat and ball for Easter and Grandma and Grandpa Toponce got him this wonderful tee and a mit for his birthday. He loves it. We have already been outside hitting balls this morning.

Landen was so excited for his cake. Like I said, he loves sports. He requested a football cake.

My parents also gave him this teepee. This is him, brother, and Aunt Kristen coloring in the teepee.

Rob and I got him a bike. Rob's parents got him a helmet and a great bell to go on his bike. He is getting better and better already at riding. He was so so excited!

The cake pre-party.

Landen loves the treehouse so we spent the morning there as a family. He could spend hours there!

This is one of his favorite things there. It's an archway made out of big blocks. He loves to build it up and then nock it down.

Carter had some fun too. I'm excited for when he starts walking and can really play (sort of:)

So that is our day in a nut shell. He got some wonderful gifts from everyone that loves him. We love our family and the great support they give us. We are truly blessed!

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!