Baby 2 - Boy or Girl?

IT'S A BOY!!

We had our Level 2 ultrasound this morning and all looked good with the new little one. He was moving around like crazy. We did manage to see both his feet (crossed at the ankles like Eli does all the time), his hands, all the bone structure, organs, etc. We saw his heart pumping - very cool. All the checks for any abnormalities were good and looks like middle of the year, Eli will have a baby brother! I'm very excited to have two boys - God knew I couldn't deal with girl drama in our house so he made me a boy mom.

Today's picture:

Little people update - Eli + Baby 2

An update on the little people in our life:

Eli - He is doing GREAT now. You would never know he had been sick. We're so happy to have our sweet healthy happy boy back. He has been in the best mood all week and so loving. He has been chatting up a storm and, of course, trying to get into everything. He was very happy to be back at school and playing with his friends. His friends and teachers were also glad to see him back.

Baby 2 - Today I had a regular checkup and some bloodwork. I'm now 16-1/2 weeks. All looked good and we heard a strong heart beat. Doctor wouldn't make a guess as to whether it was a boy or girl - she said the heart beat wasn't too fast or slow, kinda hard to tell. Well, we'll find out FRIDAY MORNING what it is. We have our Level 2 ultrasound at 8am so we'll soon know if Eli is getting a brother or sister. I can't believe it's already time to find out. Of course, I'll post the answer with an ultrasound picture.

Dinner with a friend

Yesterday Eli's school had "Parent Appreciation" and made chili for all of us to take home for dinner. It was so nice and yummy. Eli & I took the opportunity to have dinner with Ryan & Carol after school. This allowed the boys to play together even longer - you'd never know they had spent the entire day together - and gave Tim some quiet time in the house. Eli & Ryan, as usual, had a great time running around like the crazy boys. Carol sent me this picture of the two of them at dinner. Just look how cute they are!!

Ryan loved the chili. Eli only cared about eating everything else off Ryan's plate.

House project update

Finally, an update on Eli's playroom - um, I mean our new bonus room. I posted some initial pictures last week. The guys got started last Wednesday and worked through the weekend. With pending rain, they're taking a break Wednesday but will be back at it hard Thursday. Here's the picture report so far...

1.24 - Saturday morning. Framing in the new front windows

1.24 - Saturday. Framing in the back wall and loading roof sheathing

1.25 - Sunday morning. Eli inspecting his new room with Daddy.

1.25 - Sunday. Front rafters complete.

1.25 - Sunday. Sheating on the roof.

1.25 - Sunday. Rear of house. Rafters are complete and sheathing almost complete when this was taken. They finished the sheathing before leaving that day.

1.26 - Monday morning. A quick shot before they started the day.

1.26 - Monday. Rear of the house.

1.27 - Tuesday. Gable end framed in. You can see our old roof line here and how much more space we'll - er, Eli will - have.

1.27 - Tuesday. Rear view with window framing and the gable end.

So as you can see, they're making good progress. Wednesday, our contractor will pick up the windows and take our plot plan to the Building Department (had to have a survey done last week - note to everyone: when you buy a house, always have the sellers give you one. We didn't.). Then Thursday and Friday, we expect windows to be installed and drywall stocked in the room. Once drywall is stocked, they'll close up the gable. Also, once windows are in, they can close up the front and back with siding. We also expect the roofer to be here Thurs/Fri and re-roof the entire house. So much going on!! It's pretty cool to walk out there and see what it's going to be like and we've already started trying to figure out what goes where. At this rate we expect they could be finished in another few weeks, maybe a month. Worst case 6 weeks. Then we'll paint the interior and do the carpeting so it'll be a little longer before Eli will actually get to use it. Also in this process, Tim's garage is getting an upgrade with a drywall ceiling (required by code under an occupied space) and while it's empty, we'll epoxy coat the floor and finish painting it. We'll post more pictures before the week is over.

Night and Day at home

Boy are we all glad to be home. Thanks again to everyone for the care and concern this week.

Eli had a great night last night. He slept 12 hours straight! The first full night of sleep in over 2 weeks. Tim & I can't remember the last one. Today has also been pretty good. We keep working on the eating and drinking. His appetite is not 100% back but it's on the way. The stubbornness and independent attitude are definitely on their way back! Although Eli is still kind of on home-quarantine, we made a run to Lowe's this morning to get out of the house and do some research for our house project (shingles, paint, carpet...fun stuff!). After lunch, he took a decent nap and then we went on a walk to the lake to feed the ducks. We went with his friend Ryan and Ryan's Mom, Carol. We wanted the boys to be able to say hi but also be cautious and not let them play too much together so Eli wouldn't make Ryan sick. They really enjoyed that time. That has pretty much been our day. Nice and simple AT HOME.

They're making great progress on our room addition. Will try to post some photos tomorrow and also write about the selection process for finish materials (who knew there was so much to choose?!). Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Bustin' out

Doctor just left and it looks like Eli is going to be discharged here soon. We're waiting for them to finish a few things up and we've got to pack our stuff. Eli just shed his hospital gown for "street clothes" and we're happy to be going home. He will still have to be on antibiotics for a little while to clear his ears but we're on our way back to good health!

An exhausting day

Eli has worn Tim & I out today - completely. He finally has some energy and has been up since 6:30am with NO NAP! Now he's to the fussy point of crying to keep himself awake. So an update: the RSV test came back negative (good news!) so it all points to pneumonia with dehydration. They capped his iv to see if he will eat and drink on his own. They're still monitoring his oxygen levels and his fever has pretty much been gone since this morning. The doctor came this afternoon and talked with us and if tonight goes well, we will probably go home tomorrow. No definite diagnosis yet and we may never get one but as long as Eli is getting better, we're happy. We're also very fortunate to have a wonderful support group of friends and family who have called, written and visited. Thank you all so much - we couldn't ask for more!

A balloon suprirse (with a bear) from Daddy's work

Balloons, a puppy dog and some tonkas from Mom's team at work

Eli's hospital toy stash - acquired mostly since arriving here!

Out for an evening walk with his iv pole - look at the cute gown!

Getting some exercise and happy to be out of the room

Picture update

Eli so pitiful yesterday. He has the iv in his left arm, an oxygen monitor on his right foot and the hospital security tag on his left foot. He hates all the cords and stuff on him. He kept setting the security tag off by messing with it.

Eli & Puppy Jim. Tim stopped and got Puppy Jim some scrubs so he could be at the hospital with Eli.

This morning - feeling better and sitting up on his own.

Yum, chocolate chip cookies for breakfast!

Hello Daddy - Eli uses my old Blackberry to "call" people.

Hanging out in the bed. It's definitely getting harder to control him and keep him from pulling his iv out. He is getting his strength back and wants to walk around.

Meanwhile....back at our house, the construction project has started.

Front view

Rear view

They will get the roof completely torn off, the new framing in place and "dried in" before stopping this week. Could be a long weekend!

Cookies for breakfast

Last night was a pretty rough night. Eli was restless here in the hospital and as soon as he'd fall asleep, they'd come in to check his temperature, listen to him or do something. Tim & I didn't sleep too well but that's to be expected. This morning he has had about an hour and a half of decent energy where he wasn't just laying on one of us. That brings me to the cookies. I was going through my trusty snack bag to see if I had anything he would eat and he went for the Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookies. He ate 2-1/2 cookies. So great to see him eating anything!!

Right now Eli is happily sitting up in bed watching 'Bob the Builder' finishing off a cookie. The doctor just came in and they're happy with his progress. Going to do a test for rsv to see if that's what it is. Also going to do some chest therapy (basically pounding his chest) to break up some of the mucus and junk. The compounding issue of dehydration seems to be getting better.

I do have some pictures but no way right now to upload them so maybe when I run home I'll get them posted. The good news is that we're making progress!!

Admitted

Today has been a very busy crazy day. Eli was admitted to the hospital at lunch. Tim took him back to the doctor because we just knew something was really wrong. He has lost a pound since Monday and has stopped really drinking anything. Very lethargic and doesn't even want to cry much. He was admitted to the pediatric wing of the hospital and so far they've done chest x-rays, taken a lot of blood to do blood work and he has an iv drip for fluids. After the bloodwork, they were going to add the antibiotic drip. Eli looks so pitiful and cute all at the same time in his little hospital gown. We're not sure how long we'll be there but it will be at least 48 hours. If I have wireless at the hospital, I'll be sure to post updates. Keep us in your prayers. The good news is that Eli is getting help and we hope he'll feel better very soon. Doctor will be back to see us at 5:30pm so we may get a diagnosis then.