How we spent our President's Day!!

Saturday night Cooper woke up with a fever, not too big of a deal. I gave him some Tylenol and he went back to sleep. The next morning he woke up with a cough and it was one of those dry barky sounding coughs but it wasn't all the time. He has a major gag reflex so every time I gave him medicine he would cough and gag it up. I was never really able to get his fever down, so after staying up with him all night on Sunday I decided that I would take him into the urgent care seeing how it was a Holiday.

It didn't open until 7am so as soon as it opened we headed in. I was filling out the paperwork and Cooper started coughing. One of the doctors heard him and asked me if it was him coughing. He then had me take off his coat and lift his shirt so he could see his chest. He told the nurse to get us back ASAP. We immediately got taken back and then the whirlwind began.

They got him on a breathing treatment and then they drew blood, put in an IV, gave him a steroid shot in his leg, added some antibiotics to his IV, took 6 X-rays of his throat and chest, and tested him for RSV. The chest X-rays came out fine, the throat x-rays showed that his throat was swollen. His breathing was getting better they had him on what they called blow by oxygen which basically meant it was near his mouth and nose but not actually on it.

The doctor said that Cooper needed to be observed for 4 hours because sometimes the breathing treatment works but when it wears off that the kid can relapse and it will be even worse. So they wanted us to go to this lovely place to be observed.

Aurora Children's Hospital.

But the hospital was 30 minutes away so the doctor arranged this for our mode of transportation.

So Cooper and I were in the back of the Ambulance headed to the Hospital by 8:30am. I know what you are thinking, this must have been so serious. That is what I was thinking, I was freaking out what is really going on is this normal precautions here in Colorado or what. I was pretty sure Cooper had Croup and I was merely taking him in to get the Steroid shot to open up his lungs and bring the swelling down. That is what they do in Utah.

So Cooper and I get to the hospital after talking to the nice EMT/Firefighter on the way there. Cooper was doing a whole lot better on the way he was looking around and answering me where as when we were at the urgent care he was being pulled to and fro so fast neither of us knew which way was up.

They admit us into a room, hook up a tube with Oxygen and saline to put near his mouth and nose, get his little monitor on him for his Oxygen level and then we wait. We talked to three different doctors they eventually turn off the oxygen because he is doing fine, We watched Toy Story 3 and Finding Nemo, Cooper is laughing and playing. Finally at 1:00pm I call the nurse to see if they can come check on us because it has been past 4 hours and he was fine.

They came and discharged us, the crappy thing was since we were so lucky to have gotten a ride in the ambulance I had no car and I still had the keys to my car with me so Tank had to come out and pick us up. So Needless to say we left the house at 6:45am and got back at 4:00pm. Cooper is doing great. I am pretty sure the urgent care was just covering all their bases and all of that was not necessary at all. I am grateful that it was done because if it had been worse we would have needed all that and I really do think Cooper would have been just fine with the Steroid shot but I think with the IV and antibiotic he is doing better much faster.

But all in all it was a very long day for him just having Croup.

Happiest Week Ever!! (Very Long Post!!)

The time had finally come for our long awaited trip to Disney World. We have been planning for about a year and we were ready. Our flight was at 11:30am on Saturday Jan. 22nd. We checked in and got to the gate relatively smoothly with 6 people, 6 backpacks, and 2 strollers. The boys were so excited this was Cooper’s first plane ride and the first one Brock could remember. We were all in our seats ready to go and Cooper started coughing and then threw up all over his blanket and clothes. He had a bit of a cold so I figured he had just gagged when he was coughing nothing new here. The first flight was to Detroit and the boys did really well, Cooper didn’t get sick again. We deplaned, grabbed some dinner and I headed into the bathroom to try to rinse out and dry Cooper’s clothes. Luckily he got a snuggie for Christmas and I put him in that. Well wouldn’t ya know he coughed and gagged all over that too. So luckily I had a jacket and his pants were almost dried so I changed him into those clothes. We got on the plane headed to Orlando and he gagged again. So needless to say I was about done and I have a super sensitive smell so I was using all the wipes and hand sanitizer I had to get it smelling somewhat normal. But other than that the boys did really well! We got our bags and rental car and headed to our hotel.

Sunday Jan 23rd
We woke up and got ready for the day and headed over to Cracker Barrel for brunch. We had bought 7 day tickets so we decided to go to Hollywood Studios for the later part of the day to watch some shows and see Fantasmic! We were able to watch the parade and meet some of the Character. Caleb, Cole, and Brock all got autograph books for Christmas so they were eager to get them filled up. We saw Mater, Lightening, Mr. Incredible, Frozone, and Leo and Annie.

Monday Jan24th
We woke up and checked out of our Hotel, we had our timeshare for the rest of the week which was closer to Disney World. We headed over to the Magic Kingdom for a few hours before we had to go grocery shopping and check in to the timeshare. The boys got to ride a few rides and then we headed out. After the shopping was done and we had dinner, Tank, Caleb, Cole, and my brother Brandon all went to the Orlando Magic vs. Pistons Basketball game.

Tuesday Jan 25th
We got up early and headed over to the Pop Century Resort where the rest of the gang was staying. We got on their bus and headed over to the park. We had made these cool shirts to wear while we were there so since we had some time before the park opened, we took some pictures. It was so nice at the Magic Kingdom that day, there was hardly anyone there. The kids were able to go on every ride they wanted some multiple times and they got to see Mickey and Minnie. Cole was chosen to be part of the Jack Sparrow Show and he even got to sword fight with him. Then they called any of the other kids up who wanted to become honorary pirates up and Cooper and Brock joined Cole up on the stage. Right at the end of the day it started pouring rain!! We headed out to the bus stop and it took us an hour and 45 minutes to get back to our timeshare.

Wed Jan 26th
We went to Animal Kingdom today. It was really neat to see all the animals up close. The kids liked the expedition Everest ride. We saw the Finding Nemo show and The Lion King Show. The boys being total boys weren’t super excited about either show but I really liked them both.

Thursday Jan 27th
We went back to Hollywood Studios today. We had to make a mad dash to get fast passes for the Toy Story Mania ride. We went on Tower of Terror (even Brock), Rockin Roller Coaster, watched an awesome stunt show, the Little Mermaid, and Beauty and the Beast. Rachel was picked to be part of the Beauty and the Beast show. It was a lot of fun.

Friday Jan 28th
Today we went to Epcot Center. We rode Test Track, Mission Space, Soarin, and I took Cooper on Finding Nemo. We ate at the Steakhouse in Canada. It was really good food. Then we took a trip around the World at the World Showcase. They have a Kim Possible game the kids played. They loved it. They gave them a Kimunicator and they had to go to different countries and find clues to solve a mystery. It was really neat.

Sat Jan 29th
We headed to Magic Kingdom one more time. I was done by this point with rides but our friends the Sloan’s had moved to Florida since we had seen them last so they came down for the day to spend with all of us. It was good to see them. Then we headed for the airport, we had a late but much easier flight this time. We flew to Atlanta had a hour layover and then left at 10:00pm to fly back to Denver. By 10:30pm all the kids were asleep. They woke up long enough to make it out to the car and into their beds.
We had a great trip and we were so happy that we could spend it with family! Thanks for all our help with the kids so we could all enjoy everything together.

Happy Birthday Cole!!

Yesterday was Cole's 7th Birthday! The time has flown by so fast! He lucked out and because we have moved to the "North Pole" as my mom has called it and the weather has literally been below Zero degrees for the past 2 days. School was canceled. I will tell you what, these boys are never gonna get used to what it is like to go to school for an extended period of time. They go for like two weeks and then something comes up and they have a few days off. But it was nice to spend the day relaxing with the boys. Cole had requested to have Stromboli and an ice cream cake for his birthday. He is following in Caleb's footsteps and is getting his own special trip for his Birthday. Next Wednesday, Cole and Tank are flying to Vegas for a few days. He is getting the royal treatment. He is going to spend time with his grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins from both sides while he is there. He gets to go up to St. George (lucky) and then have a Party at Chuck E. Cheese on Friday in Vegas. So the two of them should have a blast.

As always... Here are my top 7 things I love about Cole!

1. He is such a cute kid, I love his facial expressions and how bashful he can be.

2. When he wants to, he can be super helpful and is such a big help.

3. I love how strong and brave he has gotten over the past few months with the move. He has really come a long way.

4. I love how much he loves his brothers.

5. I love that you love to read the scripture stories and read them to me and Dad.

6. I love to hear you read. You are an awesome reader!!

7. I love how nice you are to everyone around you.

We love you so much Cole!!!