Update

One week down four to go! The first few days after Jack came home from the hospital were quite a challenge. Jack was in immense pain. It was truly heart breaking. He was prescribed heavy duty pain killers which caused dehydration and constipation. However, if we did not give them to him every 4 hours, as prescribed, Jack would become inconsolable. We likened him to a grumpy old man- yelling from his sick bed. Plus, this week Marty has worked insane hours as he wrapped up a project. One night he did not get in until 5 am! If that sounds hard, the double whammy was when grandma (Sarah's mom) fell down the stairs. After 2 days in bed, she had to visit the emergency room, where she was told she had chipped a bone in her foot. We were hoping she could stay and help out, but decided it was best for her to return home early and recover there.



Yesterday and today though, have shown marked improvement. Yesterday, Jack asked me to get him out of bed and hold him on my lap on the floor. After being held for about 10 minutes, he decided he'd like to try and play on the floor. He was so glad to be out of bed that he did not get back into it until 9pm. Then this morning, we went for a drive in the car. We stopped at Starbucks for a little treat and then took a drive around Lake Washington. This afternoon, Jack has figured out how to sit up alone. Before today, he needed pillows or assistance to sit up. Jack spent over and hour sitting up and working in his sticker book cousin Kathy sent him. He also received a stack of movies from his friend Lola. The movies, books, and other care packages that he has received have so cheered him that today he hasn’t complained of pain (he is not with out other complaints though). The best part is, today we've only given him Tylenol, and we think he is ready to go off the pain killers, which as mentioned, have lots of side effects, and make him feel weird too.
Things are definitely looking up. Nana arrives Sunday to help out. And on Wednesday we're going to try and visit Jack's school. Lastly, this weekend we are going to try and figure out a way to wash Jackson's hair!



As for little brother, Bryce is being a real mellow fellow. He enjoys hanging out in Jackson's room, playing on the floor next to Jack, and also sitting next to big brother on the bed. Bryce is happy anytime he can see Jack, and already adores him. Plus, they're both learning to crawl together. Something I could have never imagined!

Broken Leg

It all began pretty much like any other evening in the Dillard house. Bryce had just had a blowout, so he was stripped down to his diaper. I was in the boy’s room trying to find Bryce a clean outfit. I could hear Jack running in the hall. I even shouted out to him to stop running. Then I heard him crying. I was prepared to give him a quick kiss and then a short lecture on running in the house. Jack has a really high pain tolerance, and typically he bounces right up even after pretty bad injuries. But when I came out of the room, and looked at Jack in the hall, I knew something was not right. I knew by Jack's cry, and the little ball that he was curled into, that this was not a typical injury. I asked Jack what had happened. Between shouts of pain, he told me that the golf ball he was running with was in his leg and he needed me to get it out. Jack was grabbing his leg and saying, "Get it out, get it out." I ran to the freezer and grabbed our Boo Boo Buddy, (a small Nemo ice pack) carried him to the couch, took off his pants, and gave him the frozen fish. I knew by looking that Jack's leg was broken. I called Marty and we decided that I could not transport Jack to the hospital. He was in severe pain, and we felt an upper leg injury was serious enough to call 911. The firefighters came quickly, and by then Jack was sweating and shaking in pain. He refused to let the firefighters touch his leg. He had to, "Keep the Boo Boo Buddy on my leg." Jack was under the impression that Nemo might fix the pain.
Eventually, the paramedics arrived. They ended up giving Jack and IV and a shot of morphine (which freaked me out) for the pain. The paramedics stabilized Jack, splinted his leg, and transported Jack to Seattle Children's Hospital.



At Children's they took X rays, and sure enough he had a broken femur. That evening they set his leg in a temporary splint. He was admitted overnight. We were taken to a floor with lots of really sick children. The overnight stay really helped us to put things into perspective; we realized that all in all we were very lucky and that Jack is an otherwise healthy boy.
In the morning, Jack was put to sleep using general anesthesia. I was worried a great deal and even cried a little, until I stepped into the parent waiting room. In the waiting area I saw so many small sick babies and children. I realized what we were going through was so minor, that Jack was just getting a cast and would be fine quickly, unlike many of the other children in the waiting area. The orthopedic specialist Dr. Song set Jack's leg in a "spica" cast. The spica cast goes around his waist, and down his entire left leg. In the late evening, after Jack had recovered from the anesthetic, we were discharged.



We are now on day 3. Jack is still in a good deal of pain. The good news is that children heal quickly. He will be in the cast for 5 weeks. The doctors expect no long term damage will be done. The bad news is he can't walk at all for 5 weeks. Even if he wanted to walk, the cast puts his left leg at a 90 degree angle, which will prevent any attempts at walking. The doctor said after a few weeks, if he is up for it, he can try to crawl. I can't imagine how he will survive the lack of mobility. Jack is such a go go go kind of boy. So far he was watched the movie “Cars” 6 times (seriously).



Jack's main request after the cast was put on was a sushi dinner. So once we got him home, and fairly comfortable, his first meal was Japanese food.

6 Months Old

Bryce is 6 months old. Okay so he's been 6 months for a while now, but life has been busy! He is such a happy guy now. Ever since he has been given regular solid meals, he has turned into a dream baby. He sleeps through the night, smiles all the time, coos . . . he loves life and food!! Our big boy only fits in 9-12 month cloths and weighs a whopping 23 lbs!



Bryce is already discovering big brother Jack has all the good toys. Yesterday, Bryce pushed all the "baby" toys out of his way and actually crawled to Jack's toy cars. He had a tight grip on the choking hazard known as "Lightning McQueen" when I walked into the room. I didn't know Bryce could crawl and was surprised when I saw him with all of the toy cars.

"OHHHH, I like Jack's toys!"

Whistler, British Columbia

We had a great weekend up in Canada! Jack wasn't thrilled when we dropped him off for ski school, we're not even sure he liked skiing, but he LOVED playing in the snow and puddles.











Bryce thought his crazy hat was cool, he tolerated all the clothes necessary to go out in the cold, he enjoyed the "Heavenly Bed," and he wanted NOTHING to do with the hotel crib.









On Saturday night the snow started to fall as we returned from dinner. It was beautiful out, and had a great time catching snow flakes in our mouth.





Sunday morning we cruised around the village and were sure to get coffee at Second Cup- a place recommended by our high school friend Roxanne.

The Definition of "Sound Asleep"

For the past two nights Bryce has fallen asleep in bed with Jack. After their tubby, we read the boys books and put them to bed. Bryce keeps falling asleep during story time.

Night One

Night Two

April & Fox

My friend April came to Seattle for a three day tour. She brought along her adorable, three month old baby, Fox. We packed a lot into 2 days of sight seeing. We went to U Village and had a great Sushi lunch. We went to Pike's Place Market and West Seattle's Alki Beach. Fox is such a GREAT baby and we loved having them visit!!

The boys enjoyed some baby play time.

Growing Up & Getting Observant

For the first time ever Jack expressed interest in clothing. We were in Fred Meyer (like a Target for you all in CA) and Jack came up to me with a pair of pants and asked me if he could get them. The price was right, $5.70 so now he is the proud owner of "camo pants." According to Jack the other boys at school have them too. I have mixed feelings because he is getting interested in what other kids are doing, but I also want him to resist conforming. Marty has camo jammies though, so maybe that is the big draw? Jack talks a lot about what Daddy does.

Here is an example: Jack was eating yogurt today he was holding the yogurt with one hand and using the spoon with the other. He said, "I am eating my yogurt like Daddy, he always holds the yogurt." Then he said, "I can also walk around and brush my teeth, like Daddy." Marty does do these things. He can't seem to stay in the bathroom with his tooth brush and he eats lots of yogurt and never places the carton on the table, he holds it, like Jack pointed out.

Movie Time

Per the request of Grandma we are posting new videos. She did not care for the video we had on Bryce's 5 month post. The first is of Bryce doing "tummy time," the second is Jack and Bryce playing together.

5 Months Old

Bryce is 5 months old. The poor guys has been really sick for the last week. He is getting a bit better. As a result he's been pretty sleepy and not up for much play. Bryce hates tummy time- especially when he is sick, but even when he was healthy. When we put him on his tummy he buries his face in the ground and screams. Bryce can roll over, but refuses! He just cries until either I pick him up, or sometimes Jack feels so sorry for Bryce he rolls him on to his back. I tried explaining that Bryce needs to be on his tummy, but Jack says, "But, he doesn't like it mommy." Bryce does enjoy sitting up though and will play with his things in a upright- seated position.

Bryce sick, taking a little nap in our bed.

Playing with Jack


Bryce loves Jack. He watches everything Jack does. In the tub Bryce get so excited because he can see Jack he kicks like crazy. Jack is also so sweet and often reads to Bryce. One morning Bryce was in the swing and Jack had pulled up his little chair, a stack of books, and was reading (Jack can't actually read yet, but has memorized just about every book we own) to Bryce. In the video below Jack is entertaining Bryce.

Big Boy

So there is no question Bryce is chubby. We found out at his 4 month check up he is 18 and a half pounds. The doctor said we had to move him in to the next size car seat, which was fine with us, he was too heavy to carry in the other seat anyway. I guess all the food, makes for a happy baby. He is so sweet. The best part is we can lay him in a crib fully away and he falls to sleep on his own. I had heard this could happen, but with Jack I thought "self soothing" was an evil myth spread by vengeful, unhappy moms. Bryce has proven to us self soothing exists and he does it for all naps and at night. He still wakes up to eat at night- what a surprise, got to keep that figure just so!

Bryce's Obsession

Each of our boys has had a unique habit developed at a few months that seems to stick with them. For Jackson, it was stroking and pulling his hair. It started whenever he would be taking a bottle as a baby. Today he still does it if he is tired, bored, or nervous.





Bryce so far seems to be developing a habit of covering up his face. Anything we give him in the crib or chair gets pulled onto and over his face. If you want to play peek-a-boo, he smiles and laughs when you cover his face up, not when you reveal yourself to him. See this video for an example of how he loves to cover himself up. At first he seems like he is getting smothered but when you uncover him he just wants to pull it back over his face.

Bryce is 4 Months Old

Our little baby is 4 months old now, and he is not so little any more. He is a huge guy! He is also a happy guy. He is really starting to play, and when he is excited he kicks and squeals with joy. In the last week Bryce has began to just started to enjoy his exersaucer, and still loves his mobile, swing, and play yard. He also loves to snuggle and wishes we would just give up and let him sleep in our bed. His other love is milk. He has an amazing appetite for milk, but no interest in solid foods. We tried a bit of rice cereal (2 times now) and he wanted no part. We thought it might help him sleep through the night, if he at some solids, but apparently he doesn't want to. He seems to enjoy his night-time feedings and the possibility that we will let him sleep with us. Some times we do give in, but most of the time he sleeps in his Pack n' Play next to our bed. Bryce and Jack are still on good terms, once Bryce wants Jacks toys it might be a different story, but for now Jack says, "I love my Brycie" and Bryce enjoys watching Jack play. At night they take a bath together. Jack in the tub and Bryce in the plastic tub which is inside the tub so I can bathe them at the same time. They are so cute at tubby time, they make eachother laugh. It is so fun watching them interact!







Snuggling with Daddy


Finally, this month Bryce got his first hair cut. We used our clippers. I think it turned out pretty good. Bryce didn't seem to mind a bit.

BEFORE








AFTER- all worn out!