and they call the thing a rodeo

It's dust and mud and boots and blood..Good ole Garth. We took the kids to the rodeo at the MSU stadium. Pretty sure we were the only ones there with little tikes. We even heard comments on the way out from the people behind us, "why would you bring kids to the rodeo?" to them I respond, "why the heck not?" It's noisy, dirty, and rowdy which is exactly what a little boy is...a noise with dirt on it!! Axel cried loud a couple times and guess what? no one even noticed because the rodeo was louder than him! It is a beautiful thing really. It isn't like it is church. Gee Whiz! On one occasion Axel got a wild hair and in the blink of an eye grabbed his glasses and flung them into the arena. We were not surprised, boy that kid is unpredictable. We still are convincing him that his glasses are not a toy, it's not an option to wear them, and they are not expendable. So, here is the proof that we actually went on an outing together. Yes, hold on to your hats we actually left the house.

An Ode to Tennille

After much sweat, tears, worry and loss of sleep Tennille, my sister, sent Axel his birthday present early. It took about three weeks to get here, because of some wierd mail issue, which accounts for her loss of sleep thinking it was lost, but it finally arrived. She made him two car roll ups and a crayon roll up..with a sewing machine that has a mind of its own...I would know mine is identical and sometimes a simple project requiring a straight stitch can take hours. For those of you like me who did not know what a car roll up is, it is like a crayon roll up that you stick crayons in to take in the diaper bag so they are not all over the place. Only in a car roll up there are slots for cars and there is a road on one side. So, since I am still bringing cars to church, Axel is obsessed with his cars, that will come in very very handy. Unlike the couple sitting behind us last sunday...They have seven kids from age jr. high on down to age 2 and they all were so quiet with their arms folded saying "amen" after each testimony... No toys no snacks just well-behaved children. Meanwhile, we are frantically trying to keep control of Axel and minimize his fit outbreaks with Eli clinging tightly to him telling him to calm down, and the occasional pretzel taking flight across benches...yep that is us. But I'm sure there is someone out there who can relate to a wild two year old with a stubborn mind of his own. So, back to my ode to T-bomb. She also gave us a copy of her book "Twitch's surprise" which has the cutest illustrations...hopefully the world will be able to enjoy it soon...hint hint Tennille GET IT PUBLISHED...along with all of her other brilliantly written soon to be masterpieces. Anyways, the best part of putting together a gift that you know someone will love is seeing them open it. Well, since the miles and states separate us, I thought I would video it and snap some pictures. Just so you know at the end of the video he did say "thank you" it was just in a whisper so you probably didn't hear it..and he LOVES his car roll ups. It makes it much cozier to sleep with his cars cause he has been taking them to bed in a bucket. So, thank you thank you thank you for thinking of Axel! We love and miss you all. Here it is Axel's early Birthday Party!!

And so Grady doesn't feel left out here are some pictures of him...

Fell asleep eating again. I had to post it though cause his hair is growing in so well. You can hardly see his scar anymore. He finally doesn't have a doify looking hair cut! Yeah!

And introducing Grady in the Bumbo chair...thank you mariah for letting us use it. He is such a happy happy baby. He is getting to be a big boy. He weighs 15 lbs and 15 oz. now, no wonder I get a kink in my shoulder when I put him in the sling. We missed all of our time with him as a baby in the hospital...he is growing up too fast but don't they always. Speak of the devil...he just pooped, probably out of his outfit so duty calls....

The everyday

So, I was waiting to blog again cause you not really that much has been happening that is big in news...which no news is good news for us! But then I thought what is to stop me from blogging about the ordinary funny haps at the hubbard's house? So, here goes...mind you the following picture has a bum shot but I couldn't help it... I came in to get Axel from his nap only to my horror to find that he went to town on the walls with crayons. Aaaah After I scrubbed for 20 minutes with soft scrub, alcohol, and every other wierd thing I could think of I went to my sources..my mom and sisters and found the Mr. Clean magic eraser would do the trick. And it does indeed. So, this is my dear hubby cleaning the walls and Axel escaped from the tub and wanted to help scrub walls. Axel grabbed the magic eraser and I grabbed the camera... I tried to get a shot to show how much Grady's hair has grown in but it is pretty light colored but I got a cute smile after bathtime. Such a happy bloke

Another video of Grady laughing at Axel. He loves it every time Axel will talk to him or play with him. Axel is such a good big brother. I can't wait til they can finally play together.

Moments in Montana

Sorry it has taken so long to update the blog. We have been disconnected with the world as far as internet goes. So, in a sense that is really good news because it means we are finally all together in Montana. We never thought the day would come. But we have been here almost a whole month and unfortunately have already received our Bozeman Deaconess Hospital official mug for our collection. Darn that RSV. Grady was a trooper as usual. I thought it was just a bad cough but with chest x rays it proved a bit more. He was his normal smiley self though. I can only imagine what he was thinking...man compared to meningitis this RSV is cake...maybe something like that. So, needless to say we have been quaranteened to the apartment. Some girl at church bore her testimony and said, " I know that even though we are sick and come to church you still love us." Eli immediately red flagged her and her whole family! Funny but seriously sick people should stay home. Anyways, we are plugging right along hopefully staying out of hospitals for a long long time. Here are some updated pictures that I know you are all dying to see I'm sure.

Grady is quite the charmer with his huge smile. It takes up most of his face when you really get him to smile. He always greets me with a smile in the morning and sometimes in the middle of the night which makes it all the more pleasant getting up with him so frequently. His four month mark also marked his first meal. He loves rice cereal. It is very strange having a kid that actually eats the stuff. It is quite nice. Now, if I can just keep up with his big appetite! But for those of you interested Axel has eaten about every meal since we got to Montana, including one and a half tuna sandwiches yesterday and averaging 4 pieces of toast for breakfast most mornings!! Yes, I know what you are thinking..."Axel?...eats?" the same kid who threw daily mealtime tantrums at the mere words of "Let's eat" :)

He fell asleep almost immediately after his belly got full. What a cute face!The happy mother of a baby with an appetite. And now for all you curious folk wondering how Axel looks in his glasses...drum roll...



Like a nerd! He doesn't wear them at all. I barely can keep them on for a second at a time. And often we wonder at the prescription if it is right. I mean come on with the thick lenses like that

he should almost be blind. They say he is extremely farsighted but he recognizes things up close and it is when he is far from the T.V and trying to focus that he crosses his eye so who knows. You would think if it made him see clearer that he would want to wear them. A mystery for only him to solve when he can tell us what the problem is. :) We are working on that.

My boys all watching the some TV. Yes, Axel has his mother's physique! Who knows where all his clothes are..he is in a diaper though so worry not young eyes...he is decent.

This is a video of Grady laughing. He laughs for Daddy. He loves his dad. Eli can always get him to bust out laughing...and here I toil all day long and he only smiles for me. grrr. :) Hopefully you can hear him laugh over loudy pants axel in the background...saying something over and over and over. ha ha

This is grady in the jumper. He loves it. We had other videos with him jumping like mad but I had to include this one because of the awesome bunny slippers.

Hanging in Here

So, I realize I haven't updated in a while but it is only because there isn't much to update. I am still hanging out at my ma's while Eli will most likely be finished with his masters degree by the time I join him in Montana. Poor Axel, keeps looking at the wallpaper on my phone (which happens to be a picture of Eli) and says, "Daddy" and will give it a kiss. He will talk to Eli on speaker phone too...so hopefully the poor kid doesn't actually think his dad is the phone. Soon, we will be able to correct his misunderstanding. :) It has been one crazy start to the new year!! I am currently still playing nurse and giving Grady his antibiotics via picc line, but much more so as I have to keep reminding the home health nurse what tests she needs to be taking and when and where to send them. I should be the one getting paid. I keep reminding her "don't you need a mask to do that, shouldn't that be sterile..etc" I'm sure I am her worst nightmare, but hey you kind of get a sense of how things are supposed to work when you have been in the hospital a month. We have one more CT scan at his followup appointment on Wednesday at Primary Childrens and if all looks good that means no more antibiotic, no more picc line, and to montana we go even if he is still on oral sodium. The doc has finally agreed to lower his sodium just by one mL but that is a start...cause that means less salt water and less tummy aches and less blood draws..the poor tike. His frankenstein scar looks awesome. You can't even tell unless you are looking for it. As far as passerby's go he just has a horrible haircut. You can't even tell in his 3 month picture. In other news, Axel will soon be sporting eyeglasses. Yes, the thick framed, thick lensed indestructible ones. He started crossing his right eye inward as he would focus on things. Of course, he began doing it when we first got home from the hospital. Just our luck that everything happens all at once. The only pediatric opthomologist in Pocatello didn't even have an appointment til Feb 23 but luckily someone cancelled and we could find out sooner than later that the poor kid will need glasses for the rest of his life. I guess one cause is extreme farsightedness. That and Eli is blurry in one eye..called amblyopia which is genetic. So, Axel got the best genes from both of us it looks like. So, halloween at our house all year long...Frankenstein and now the nerd...(but since Eli and I are both nerds, he'll still feel right at home) But he could have been the pirate with a patch ,which is what I thought, They still might have to patch him but only time will tell. That's our story as of late. Here are some pictures, because what is a blog without pictures.... Axel donning his snow gear...
One of his three month picture options..he wasn't thrilled..

Finally, we got him thrilled and it turned out blurry grrr...

Hangin' out with grandma...My mom wasn't happy I posted a picture with her but come on she is a hottie. :) I have to show off where I get my ravishing good looks.

Grady's favorite thing is swinging with the fish mobile. It's pretty much the best thing ever to hear him coo and almost laugh. He just loves watching those fish go round and round.

To Grace We Go

The best news we have heard in such a long time it seems.....we got to leave the hospital! It came with definite joy but also a bit of anxiety since he needs a lot of meds including sodium every four hours, antibiotics through a PICC line, anti seizure medicine and on and on. So, I am pretty much his home nurse for the time being, which is why it is a bit scary cause I don't want to mess up. But we do have regular appointments set up in Pocatello with the doc that saw him on Christmas. He was such a good doctor, and he definitely saved his life that night. He barely left his crib the entire night. He would just sit there and stare at the monitors and would even just go over to hold Grady's hand or let him suck his finger. What an exceptional doctor. So, basically he is in great hands...and always has been. We have seen so many tender mercies. Hopefully all goes well so we can join my lonely hub in Montana soon. A MILLION thank you's for all of you who has been praying and fasting for little Grady to pull through. Thank you for your support and love. We couldn't have made it through the last month and what lies ahead without you all.

PS . if you have tried to call our cell phone, our plan expired on the 12th so we have to get a new phone soon....sorry to leave you hanging Amy! :)

First Outing

Today Grady had his first outing! He got to attend church...which is just down the hall and is a half an hour long. He did very well and seemed so glad to get out of the room with the same scenery. Church at Primary Childrens is wonderful. They have a musical number and a speaker. Today he talked about truly trusting in the Lord. I have had a lot feelings about trusting in the Lord lately, as well as pretty much everyone in attendance so there was such a special spirit there. It is easy to ponder on eternal things there and the spirit is so strong. They actually have a branch president over primary children's hospital just in case anyone needs anything at all. He has a counselor and the hospital is even dedicated....All very cool things. Not much else in Grady news. His sodium levels go up and down and nothing seems to be getting them clear up to the 140's like they want. But we get a whole slew of new docs tomorrow since it is shift change pretty much every two weeks. The entire team is passing the torch to a whole new set. Crazy. So we will see what the new plan of action will be. Tonight I had a mini roommate reunion. Kim and Sara, my roommates from college, brought a homecooked roast dinner and chocolate cake. Sara even brought a table cloth. It was so sweet and good to keep our minds occupied with things other than all hospital talk. More random pics for your viewing pleasure.

I thought I would document our first outing to church. He is all ready and excited. Doesn't he look it?

Grady is out like a light, mouth open and the works. Also, take notice of the pj's, "Center of Mommy's universe" I point it out because the tech picked it out and the nurse made sure to let her know over and over how ridiculously cheesy it is and he shouldn't be subjected to wear it. It was quite funny. (and yes a bit cheesy too)

Sucking on the ole fist. It is great to see him doing the little things that are often taken for granted.