End of October

Lots of pictures to finish off the month so I will start with Halloween and then go in no particular order.

Since we couldn't celebrate Halloween the way I had planned in my head we made the best of a crappy situation and delighted all the nurses with a cute monkey...

This monkey even had a felt banana to complete his costume. The hat hit his big old IV that was on the top of his head. Which I was glad for. Then when we look back on these pictures years from now, we won't even remember we were in the hospital.

We left the hospital for a bit and took Carter trick or treating around the neighborhood. He had a lot of fun and no hesitations at all. He even said Trick or Treat this year.

He wore the same costume this year, that he wore last year. Per his request. Although last year he called himself a dinosaur and this year a dragon. So really they were different costumes if you take that into effect. He is really smart and aware of his food allergies and takes them very seriously(luckily). At the doors where they handed out chocolate candy or stuff he knew he couldn't eat, he would tell them (politely) "I can't eat that, it has yuckies in it." We had to teach him that it was ok to accept the candy, just say thank you and we would trade it out for something he could eat at home. He kind of accepted that plan but would look over his shoulder at eat house that gave out "yuckies." I'm amazed at how well he understands the his allergies. He isn't the least bit tempted to eat stuff. And if it's something he doesn't recognize he would ask us first if he could eat it.

After trick or treating we came back to the hospital to see our little monkey. We put his costume back on for more pictures and then roamed the halls. Just to get out of the room for a bit.

Daddy with his dragon and little monkey.

Our little family on Halloween.

Moving on from Halloween...

This was taken a day or two before Jax went to the hospital. I thought he looked so big laying on his scale. We have our own scale at home and weigh him frequently. It use to be everyday until once again my mental health couldn't handle that. Now I have promised Neil to only weigh him twice a week. Being short gut weight is very precious and sometimes hard to come by so it's a constant worry for me. But I'm happy to report that Jackson finally hit 13 pounds. And 13 pounds has never looked better. Hoping to see 14 lbs faster than 13 but we'll see.

Along with everyone else in Cache Valley we hit up the Pumpkin Walk. We invited cousins to come along and Carter loved being with someone other than boring old mom and dad. The best part for him was riding the bus up there. Here are Tyler, Carter and Kayla waiting for the bus.

Our family in front of the Angry Birds exhibit. Carter loves playing Angry Birds so he got a kick out of his display.

My favorite part...the head slots. Kayla, Carter and Tyler. Carter is never thrilled about getting his picture taken but he really enjoyed it tonight and was going from cartoon to cartoon posing it up.

I love this picture. He has no idea who this is but he sure make a pair of seashells and a tail look good doesn't he?!?!

Here is Carter's new trick. I don't like that he's learned this trick but I do find it hard to not laugh. He now goes and hides in his closet if he is doing something he knows he shouldn't. I found him this day with the Ipad (I had told him no games that morning so he just snuck it instead). The morning after Halloween I found him in here with 3 boxes of candy. The best part is that he's learned to hide but he gives himself away so easily. If I call out his name he immediately answers and I catch him red handed!

Onto the birthday bash........

Carter was so excited for my birthday and has been for weeks. He would randomly come up to me through out the weeks and give me a big hug and tell me "Happy Burt-day Mom." So sweet. He kept asking me what presents I wanted for my birthday and I tried to give him some ideas/hints that would be easy for him to pick out. Once I got done with my list he would say "Don't you want a green race car for your Burt-day?" Or "Don't you want an ambulance with doors that open and has a siren?" And I'd tell him that in fact I didn't want those things but he should write those things down on his list for Santa. He ended up picking me out some lime green slippers, which I actually hinted about. He chose the final pair all by himself and kept asking me "Don't you like your slippers Mom?"

We had been planning on baking a cake together and decorating it some way fun. We had planned on making a Mickey Mouse cake (guess whose idea that was...) but with being at the hospital all day that just didn't happen. Instead we had a round boring cake. But it was still delicious. Thank you to Duncan Hines who doesn't put milk powder in their cake mixes. I just used their cake mix(usually I have to make everything from scratch) and added egg substitutes instead of real eggs. Then I added a TB of applesauce to keep the moisture in. This cake was so moist and delicious. Vegan cooking is really starting to become my talent.....

On to Mr. Jax

When he wasn't fevering he was actually very happy while in the hospital. Except when they had to place that darn IV in his head or arm.

Here he is at the ER. Playing with his favorite toy. He has come a long way with his interest in toys. Before he knew nothing of toys and therefore, had no need for them. Now he knows just what to do with them and they go straight to his mouth. And he actually holds onto them and is really starting to use his hands. He wants to grab everything now, including my hair. He kept pulling the Heart Rate monitor(red thing on stomach) off his stomach. I love seeing him improve with things like that and catching up. He's a quick learning. Now on to mastering rolling....

Here's to a great November and celebrating all we are thankful for. Which is a lot!