It's A Boy!!!

So guess what everyone?!?! The Maples are going to be having a boy! How excited are we?! One of each-- it will be very fun, but it was easier this time because I didn't have much of a preference. I guess this is the first baby post on this blog since I tend to skip weeks at a time. Anyway, baby brother is due to make his enterance the day before Halloween...about a month after we move back to Utah! Crazy. I will post (don't hold me to that) ultrasound pictures after our "official" ultrasound on the 6th, we found out a little early due to a trip to the ER the other day, and we didn't get any pictures.

So as this pregnancy progresses, I have been having weird heart problems with palpitations and rapid heart rate and shortness of breath and things like that, and they are only getting worse. I am having difficulty showering or climbing stairs without sitting down for a break. Keeping up with Brooke has been a real challenge too! My OB referred me to a cardiologist, but they couldn't do any diagnostic testing for 4-5 weeks! I had to call into work a few times because I just couldn't handle it, but I could only call in so many times without a doctor's note (which they wouldn't give me until my testing was done). So, I went into work Monday night (Memorial Day) and by 10pm my heart rate was up to 130 and I couldn't catch my breath and I was dizzy and everything, so I had them put me on a heart monitor (since we have a plethora of them at work) and found out that my palpitations were PVC's (difficult to explain, but not a good sign) so I went home early. It got worse and I ended up in the emergency department by morning. I finally get to see the cardiologist on Monday for some tests and I'm not supposed to work until he clears me so I guess we'll see what happens with work...I'll keep you posted (again, don't hold me to that).

Birthday Fun and Birthday Drama!

So Saturday (the 26th) Brooke had her first birthday party! She had grandparents and aunts and uncles who traveled long distances to be there for her party and we were so happy everyone was able to come! We had pineapple kabobs and fresh fruit smoothies, which were delicious, and Brooke had her very own two layer chocolate cake that I made her to destroy. She was not sure what to think of the cake at first, but it eventually made it all over her face. I actually don't think she ate much of it at all. The sad thing was that she had chocolate all over her hands and got tired and started rubbing it in her eyes. Unfortunately, I was so caught up in the day that the only thing we got pictures of was the cake! She got very tired (she didn't take her nap that afternoon!) and had to lay down before the party was even over and before she even opened presents! Since it was just family everyone waited for an hour or so when she woke up and opened her presents. She got the dang cutest vans, clothes, a wagon to ride in, a forward facing car seat, toys, and and push toy that is supposed to help her learn to walk.

So now for the birthday drama: when she woke up from her nap and was opening presents I noticed that she felt really hot. Her temperature was hovering around 103, which is the highest it had been. We gave her Tylenol, a bath, and a cool walk outside, but nothing was really helping to get it down. By 10:30 that night it was getting higher and we couldn't keep it down. I was worried about convulsions and because she just wasn't quite herself so we took her to the ER. Luckily for us we got there the same time life flight arrived with a trauma victim. Needless to say, we weren't seen. We were able to get her temperature down which is all that I wanted and I was sure it was a virus so we left. By the morning it was up over 103 again and I just couldn't get it down again, even though we were giving her Tylenol and Motrin around the clock! We had to take her to the urgent care because it was Sunday and when they took her temperature it was 105! It was a terrifying thing as a mother to know that it was so out of control and that nothing I was doing was helping. I was terrified that she would have a seizure or that she would have lasting problems from a very high fever (that ended up lasting for 4 days straight). After cold washcloths for an hour and more medication, we got the fever down to 103.9...and they sent us home telling us it was an ear infection. I didn't believe it because other than the fever she had no symptoms and the doctor said "her ear is maybe starting to look red"-- but we searched all night to find a 24 hour pharmacy to get her antibiotics because I was hoping something would work. Two days later she was still around 103 and we wanted to follow up because nothing was working! We took her to the pediatrician (it's funny how pediatricians are really the only ones who know what is going on with your kids) and he said that it was not an ear infection but that it was roseola...a viral infection caused by a herpes virus that causes high fever and a rash. But she didn't have a rash. He told me "I guarantee you that she will break out in a rash today or tomorrow when her fever breaks"...sure enough, that is exactly what happened. He did put a straight catheter in her tiny little bladder to get a urine sample to make sure that it wasn't a bladder infection...but that made her very mad, and he wasn't even able to get anything. She screamed and grabbed herself every time she peed for the next 24 hours. I felt so bad for her. Once the fever broke, she was feeling back to her old self and is finally better! I am just so glad that it's over because it was getting scary!

Update

Oh my, so with work and being sick and taking care of Brooke who has reached a stage where she has very little patience, I have had no time to sit down and blog (or respond to anyone who has made a post, sorry). But here are some updates: Brooke had her very first cold and had to go to her first sick-baby doctor's visit. It was very pathetic but I'm glad she is almost 100% now. I hope the crying and screaming had more to do with her being sick than with me going to work or with her development. Mostly, I hope it's temporary.

I finally started my new calling: Sunbeam B teacher. Yes, there are so many sunbeams in our ward that they are split up into two classes with about 8 kids each. They are hilarious and teaching them has really helped me appreciate having a girl (not that I will never have boys, though). The girls are always so attentive and the boys, no matter what, want to talk about death and violence. The Holy Ghost protects us from dying in tornadoes that could swoop us up, we are thankful for the water because that's where the sharks live who can eat people, and we are thankful for the flowers and the bees because they sting people and kill people. These are just a few examples. At least for the most part they try to tie it into the lesson.

Brooke had her first Easter! And as bad as it sounds, I did not take a single picture, but there is good reason and I'm pretty sure my mom did so I will find some and post them. I worked Saturday night and had to speak in church on Sunday (I was so exhausted going straight from work to church and of course we had to speak on the one day when EVERYONE comes to church! It was very crowded). Afterward, we went to my parents house for an egg hunt and dinner and family activities, but I was getting very sick and crashed and slept all day, so I pretty much missed the whole thing. I guess it is ok though, because Brooke mostly just liked to crush the eggs in her hands anyway.

Andrew started his new job at Nevada Ready Mix. After we realized that no matter how hard we tried, it was a bad time to get hired in a dental lab, Andrew went with the best paying/best hours job he could get to help us save up some money. What we decided to do is save up as much money as possible and move BACK to Utah and attend a 9-10 month program so that he can learn to run his own dental lab and hopefully start up his own after that (which was the plan the whole time, we were just hoping we weren't going to have to pay for the program). So it will be sad to pick up and move again, but we are no strangers to moving after only living in a place a few months.

Spring Day!

So, I guess the official start of spring is a few weeks away still but the weather is really starting to warm up already! Yesterday was a beautiful day so we took Brooke to her very first park and she LOVED it. She really loved watching other kids and families and dogs. I really think that she believes she is just as big and cool as all those other kids. Here are some pictures of our adventure.

I Passed!

I just got a letter in the mail from the Nevada State Board of Nursing telling me that I PASSED the NCLEX! Woo-hoo! Hopefully I'll never have to take that again! I started orienting and I've finished my first full week on nights. Working nights isn't too bad, it's being tired and disoriented that's the hard part. Andrew has been doing great with Brooke at night even though she isn't always the easiest in the middle of the night. Now all we're waiting for is that first paycheck...

Ski Vacation!

We all got to go to Utah two weeks ago to see my sister and my dad and GO SKIING! This was way exciting because I haven't been skiing in two years and I have never missed a season since I could walk basically... the things we do for our kids. Poor Andrew had to go by himself last year. We had a good time but I was sure surprised how out of shape I was! Here are some pictures of Brooke with Grandpa, Aunt Jamie, and Mommy.