Cancer

To say I hate Cancer is an understatement. Friends with Cancer, family with Cancer, kids with Cancer, babies with Cancer, truly a disease that show no discrimination on who gets it. You could be white, black, Christian, Atheist, male, female, good, bad, it just plain doesn't care. For some reason it always seems to be the good, the innocent, the pure of heart that get the disease. You don't often hear about the a-hole down the street biting it from Cancer. You hear about the 9 year old just starting life, the mother of 2 young kids, the grandparent watching their grand kids have kids. Needless to say, I hate Cancer. 

As much as I hate Cancer it has taught me to have a deeper faith, to see the joy in each moment, to savor life, to greater appreciate what I have, to be a better friend/daughter/wife/mother/person. It is tough to not ask why but tougher still to let the why go. It is so true that one walks by faith and not by sight. Cody and Holli most certainly walk by faith. 

It is crazy that in a world as technically advanced, medically advanced as ours we still struggle to find a cure for Cancer. It is nice to live in a world though with those that do not give up hope, continue to search, test, fail, search, test, and fail again but never give up hope that in the end their walking by faith will lead to a cure for the rest of us. 

In the end Cancer has made me walk by faith and with that faith I wait for the day when there is no Cancer that cannot be cured. I can only (delusionaly) hope this cure comes within the next year or so. With that, hold your friends and family close, let go of the grudges, breath the clean air, and enjoy this sweet ride of life for as long as you may have.

Jo

8

Originally it started out as 4. Jeff, Jason, Marcus and Cody have been friends since high school. What was 4 became 5, 6, 7 and eventually 8. The core 8, but it started with 4. You know how in Sex in the City Carrie, Samantha, Miranda, and Charlotte are the loves of each others lives, well these 4 will never admit it but they are similar. Our adventures are usually their show and they just let us 4 ladies tag along. Sure us girls like to take over and run things our way, but it is still the 4. The point I am getting at, is I cannot imagine life without the 4. Yet, somehow that is a very real possibility. One of the 4 was just diagnosed with Grade IV Glioblastoma. It is an ugly sounding word for an ugly disease. This however is not Cody's first go around with the word cancer. Shortly before I met my husband Cody had brain surgery to remove a tumor. This one was Grade III. Even with surgery, chemo, and radiation he was given the life span of 3 to 5 years. He defied the odds and made it almost 10 with no recurring tumor. During the last 10 years, with clean scans every 6 months to a year a person almost forgot that there was a possibility the cancer would return. It probably was my own wishful thinking or delusional thinking as some would probably say. Yet here we are and it has returned. The first time Cody faced this down he was 24, not married, and no kids. Still wouldn't have made losing him any easier. This go around he is 34, married, with 3 precious little souls that call him daddy. Besides, Cody, Husband, and Daddy he is also a Fighter and will give his all to fight this diagnosis ever step of the way. The rest of us will be in his corner the entire time! If you so choose you can follow his and my beautiful friend Holli's story at codyandholli.blogspot.com. The are truly amazing people and my life is much better, enriched, whatever you want to call it with them in it. Plus, they are Sawyer's Godparents. They really are the family one would choose and I am so glad we choose each other, or at least I choose Marcus. Here is to hopefully many more years with my chosen family because if I know Cody he is going to give Cancer a big middle finger and defy his odds once again. In the end it really is all up to God and if his army needs another fighter in it, so if you feel so inclined could you add them into your prayer circle or if you don't pray just wish them some good vibes? We all choose to believe what we believe but I can't imagine it will hurt that what ever higher being one may believe in that he/she knows how much Cody means to us!
                                        
                                                Marcus and Cody dancing at Cody's wedding.

                                        Cody and Holli in the Big Horns. Something was funny!

                                                        The 4 at Blackfox in the Hills.

                                                    Smoking cigars at Jeff and Em's Wedding.

                            An oldie but a goodie. The original picture of the 8. The first but certainly not the last.

                                           Jeff/Em, Cody/Holli, Jason/Heidi, and Marcus/Jo

Time

Time seems to move so fast these days and I cannot do anything to slow it down. Oh how I wish I could slow it down. My sweet baby girl will turn 1 in less than a month. When did that happen? And my sweet little boy will be going to preschool in a few short months. When did that happen? I know these times are supposed to come and go to make room for new times and it is all a big circle but I just wish I could slow it down and savor some of these times. Of course with the amazing times comes the not so amazing times. Does anyone else ever have those bad mommy days? The days were you feel like no matter what you do it is not good enough? You yelled too much, you got frustrated over the little things, you shook you head in despair. I hate those days and every time I have one I vow to do better but sure enough one will sneak up on me again. How do I stop them? 
I write to God for the wisdom to know how to stop them and maybe they are not meant to be stopped. Maybe it is a part of my journey as a mother and learning to be a better one, but man this journey makes me feel defeated some days. For some reason I have this picture in my head that my children are going to grow up and only have memories of me yelling. I am not sure if this stems from my own childhood or where it comes from but I don't want those to be the memories they have. I want them to have the memories of me rolling on the floor playing animals, picnic's in the park, running through sprinklers, sparklers on the 4th of July. Don't get me wrong, I do not live in a fools paradise and think all their memories are to be happy ones, or that I will never yell. In all actuality I think sometimes there is nothing you can do but yell. Sometimes it seems it is the only way my 3 year old will listen. I don't know if I am making any sense or just rambling at this time, but does anyone else struggle with the mom guilt of yelling? Like I feel like I am crushing their little souls when it happens :(. I will continue to write to God for the wisdom I know he will bestow on me but it sure would be nice to know I am not alone!
It is May now. Our family is going to be moving soon. We are in the process of building a new house and needless to say we are beyond excited. After picking the kiddo's up Sawyer asked me if we could go look at the new house. At this time it is only a poured foundation, but it is a start. We have to be out of our current house on May 28th and are moving into a temporary twin home until our house is completed. It will be a bitter sweet day to leave our current home. This is where we came home as a married couple, brought both our babies home to, made a life, a family. This house has so many warm memories attached. I can only hope that it will serve the new homeowners well. In the end it is just a house and the people in it our what make it a home but I get sort of sentimental and cheesy about these type of things. 
Anyhoo..I am tired and it has been a long day so short post for the evening. Oh, but recommendation..watch God's Not Dead..wasn't quite what I expected but a good message and decent movie none the less. 
Jo

Moments

It is March. March. I cannot believe where the time has gone. Just like that Marcus and I were in Mexico. Just like that I was on the plane home. Just like that I was thrown back into the routine of life. I can honestly say the routine of my life is my favorite. I love the morning bottle with Hanna while watching the news, Sawyer getting upset because his waffle will not stay on his fork, the coffee ring my husbands leaves on the counter, and the dog laying in the most inconvenient spots possible. These are the moments I love. I work the late shift this week and thoroughly dislike it. One of my most favorite things is picking up the kids from daycare and listening to Sawyer tell me about his day. Who he played with, what he had for lunch, if he had fun, did he go outside, etc. No matter how my day goes when I get to pick those two littles of mine up life seems to stop and nothing matters but being in that moment. 

Moments are a funny thing. As I get older I seem to continue to learn how precious moments are. I am not sure if it is just me or if this happens to every what used to be rational adult but the older I get the more afraid of everything I get. I will choose to believe that I am not the only person this happens to, mainly for my sanity. I suppose I should clarify when I say I am afraid of everything. I am afraid of very irrational things like my plane crashing, lightning striking my camper in a storm, walking with my kids and they slip through the railings of the bridge over the interstate. Like I said, I am not afraid of rational things. So a trip to Mexico without my babies and my irrational fear that my plane was going to crash was sort of a big deal with me. But with the grace of the good Lord and perhaps some assistance with Xanax I made it without incidence and calmly. Almost to the point where my husband might travel with me by plane again. Seriously, I think the plane thing is they just don't make sense to me how they stay up in the air! I know that it is physics and all that good stuff but I also know that the law of gravity says what goes up must come down. Anyway, the point is that even with these irrational fears it is the moments I am most afraid of missing. So with that I am doing my best to live in the moment and not let the fears rule them for me. Because of that I had wonderful moments in Mexico with my husband, my brother, my dad, my sister-in-law, and my extend step family. Because of that my in-laws got a wonderful week with their grandchildren. I am however happy to report I do not have time away from the littles until May so I am going to savor every single moment. Even the ones that involve time outs, tears, saying sorry, and frustration because even those moments are amazing. Remind me of that last sentence when one of these moments are upon me and I am thinking this is not so amazing! 

Without further ado..some moments from Mexico

                                                            Me and my love on the beach

                                                            Back in the USA
 

                                                               Marcus's big purchase
 

                                             A small slice of paradise                                          

                                                  Brother and Sister and the out-laws

                                             Congratulations Brock and Melissa! 03/05/2015


 

Off to the races! Life has been busy and so rewarding and with all that comes little time for blogging. That and I just wasn't totally in love with my blogging. Time to reset, I have recharged, and I am going to give this blogging thing another go. Mainly since I totally dropped the ball on the whole baby book thing it might be nice for my kids to have something that actually documented their early years. So, today marks the new blogger I have become, or the one I am going to strive to be. It is Valentines Day and I get to spend it with my loves. Generally in the past Marc and I have been snowmobiling but with a big trip to Mexico planned and paid for our dollars were slim. Not going to lie, I am okay with that. I like snowmobiling but it has certainly become something that I could for sure live without too. This year however it was spent watching my nieces do sports and quick hello's and see you later's with the family. Tomorrow is Monday and back to reality I suppose. The weekends just go too fast! I guess they go fast because they are fun, packed with activities and errands. Just Monday seems to sneak up on us way to quick. I wish I had the ability to stop time or bottle these moments. It seems as if I blink and they are gone. Just seeing the little adults my nieces and nephews are becoming gives me this huge reality check that these years where they get to be little, so innocent, needing you constantly are going to come to an end. Makes me truly sad some days. Yet I am excited for the future. To watch them grow and become these amazing human beings that I know they are meant to be. 

Marcus and I jet off to Mexico in two weeks for some sun, some fun, oh and the main event is a wedding! My step-brother Brock is getting married to a fabulous gal named Melissa. Should be an amazing time but I am going to miss my babies like crazy. I am sure though Grandma and Grandpa Hunter are more than ready to have us leave so they can have an entire week loving and spoiling our kids, furry child included. We get to go with my brother and sister-in-law, my dad and step-mom, the step-siblings, and a handful of their friends and other family. Marcus and I honeymooned in Mexico and had a wonderful time, however by like day 4 we were wishing we had some friends with. So we are excited to go, relax, enjoy the family, and celebrate Brock and Melissa's happy day. 

Hope this finds everyone well and stay tuned for more to come from the Hunter tales of life! Here are a few pics because no blog post should go without pictures.

The month of love

Oh my, I cannot believe it is February already! Where has the time gone? Hmm..what have we been doing lately? We have been trying to keep up with a very curious, active, talkative (totally from Marcus), little boy. Sawyer will turn 15 months on the 14th of this month. Cannot believe he is already over a year old! We had his first birthday party at our house and it was a full house. We had both sets of my parents, Marcus's parents, all the cousins, aunts/uncles, Grandma's, and our wonderful group of extended family! Needless to say, the night was a blur of cake, presents, laughter, reminiscing, family, and wine. We followed that weekend up by opening deer in which I got to sit with my hubby and experience the kill. I have to admit it was pretty neat. Marcus laughed at me the whole time because I was pretty worried other hunters were not going to see my orange! We also got to celebrate multiple birthdays, starting in October we have Aunt Missy, Aunt Cassy, Cousin Mason, Cousin Avery, and Cousin Beckett(extended framily). November we have Uncle Mike, Cousin Devin, Grandpa Dan and Sawyer. December we have Cousin Jake, Godmother Holli, Grandpa Bob, Grandma Nanon, and Cousin Chase(extended framily). January we have Cousin Cory's, and Aunt Heidi's(extended framily) and we follow up in February with Grandma Linda's, and Cousin Ella's. We get a break in March, but are pretty much back at from April to February again! Marcus and I managed to sneak in a snowmobile trip to the Black Hills in January. Good trail riding, hot tubing, and amazing friends. We had a blast, tough to come back to reality. Marcus has been staying busy at work, which of course is a good thing. Seems the housing market has picked up some, so the more the build, the more he wires. Year end is always a busy time for me, and I have never been so glad to see January end and February begin. No more tax notice questions! Well at least until 5498 season! Marcus and I are jetting back out to the Hills this Presidents Day weekend for snowmobile trip round two. Pretty excited for the vacation and maybe to try my luck in Deadwood! Other than that, not too much happening with us. Sawyer continues to amaze me every day. We like to walk into daycare and really enjoys his friends. We don't hardly even bat an eye when mom goes. We have a couple new babies in the nursery and he is always there to lend a helping hand. He likes to help me unload the dishwasher, and shut doors. He loves music and likes to dance. He will pretty much eat anything you put on his plate, but loves his fruit. He has really gotten more affection with Boomer and always hugs him, and then tries to poke his eye. We still love our pacifier, but considering we quit the bottle didn't think he(really me) could handle taking both away at the same time! We are starting to work on it though. We read books each night before bed, and like to brush our teeth...as long as mom and dad don't try to help. We are learning to go down stairs, since we have mastered the up. I cannot wait for summer to break out his wagon and other riding toys, as well as not having to put on a jacket, gloves, and a hat. This seems to be up on his I do not like list, as well as getting the nose wiped(still!), Boomer's tail(he is perfect height to get it in the head), when mom picks up his toys, and the vacuum cleaner. We love unrolling the toilet paper, our baths, animals, music, fruit, our sippy cups, balls, Boomer, and much more. I love how his love list is way longer than his dislike list! Hope this finds everyone well, and catch up with you again soon!
Jo

Been Awhile

Uffty, it has been awhile since I have blogged. It is a good thing this isn't my day job! One thing I have been discovering however, is how many day jobs it is for people. I hate to say it, but I have become immersed in the blogging world. I have found myself following a couple in-particular. http://rachelmariemartin.blogspot.com/, I love her blog. She is a mother of 7 and always has amazing things to say. I love that she is real and has the moments of frustration and after the moments of frustration the moments of feeling guilty about those moments of frustration. I have found that as my child gets older, and becomes more of a mover, more boisterous, more curious, my patience is becoming more thin. I hate that, here is this gorgeous little human being that is just trying to figure this big old world out, and here I am concerned about getting pizza dough rolled out. Reading her blog and realizing I am not the only one that has these moments of weaknesses and then feel guilty about them, makes me feel a little better. I am working on the patience thing and trying to remind myself that I really have nothing to complain about. That brings me to the next blog I seem to find myself reading. http://ohmydearone.blogspot.com/, talk about not needing to complain. This poor couple lost their little girl to SIDS. I cannot imagine the heartbreak and how they find the strength to go on. Reading this blog puts me in to check and really reminds me on an everyday basis that life is short and that there are a million things that can be worse than not getting pizza dough rolled out, dog hair on the floor, baby food in my face, and after reading this blog, I am thankful every day for baby food in my face. So, as I sit and blog about my uneventful, I can't help but think how lucky I am! Enough with the heavy...My little man is rockstarring life! He had tubes, and after having one more ear infection seems to be soo much better. He is starting to let go while standing a lot, so thinking some steps will be coming my way any day. He is always walking around furniture and seems to want to stand not sit. The bouncy has become ineffective and I need to make sure my eyes in the back of my head are open at all times! Some of his favorite things are, the dog water dish, the dogs bone, the dog, mom's shoes, the tv remote, the tv, his pacifier, his nicely folded clothes, his sippy cup, pizza, and mac & cheese. Some of his not favorite things, getting his nose wiped, getting his diaper changed, drying his head after a bath, when we take away the tv remote, mom's shoes, and the dog's bone away from him, and moving him from beating on the tv. He gets really excited when we get home and let Boomer out of his kennel. Boomer tends to be excited and jump up to lick, which gets Sawyer excited and he starts kicking his legs and giggling! Ah, I wish everyone could see it! Anyhoo...as we close out September, we have 1st birthdays to look forward to, Avery and Mason's birthdays, and trick or treating! Happy October all, hope the month is wonderful!
Jo

Summer Time

Ah, we have offically entered summer and camping season! Not to mention the other 10 things going on this summer! We started our camping season off in May at Lake Vermillion just outside of Sioux Falls. It was Sawyer's first camping trip and first beer with friend Beckett! A great time was had by all. Family came out Friday night to celebrate our friends birthday and the relaxation weekend was on from there. Memorial weekend Grandpa Bob and Grandma Linda game to visit, so on Friday it was dinner and nephew Cory's baseball game, Saturday was golf, which I really am horrible at, and then it was off to camp till Monday! This time we camped on some friends land. They have an amazing set up for camping and we love staying there. The next weekend, Sawyer and I made the trek to Huron for Cousin Amanda's wedding shower. It was a great shower and we can't wait for the wedding in July. I get to serve cheese cake, which with my chunky butt, do not need to be that close too! I guess I will have to practice will power..hmmm. The next weekend was my brother's 40th and lets just say I celebrated for him...not my proudest mommy moment, but I have learned and will not repeat! For Father's Day, we headed down to Yankton and there was a crew. We had 13 pads filled with family and friends. We were there from Thursday night to Monday, and couldn't have asked for a more gorgeous weekend for camping. The weather was amazing and certainly made the trip! Next year we plan on renting two circles, which will mean 18 pads! Let me know if you are interested in joining us! This last weekend we were in Mitchell for a wedding of some good friends of ours. Marcus was an usher and looked handsome in his tux...now I remember why I married him! Only kidding, I remember every day..it was an absolutely gorgeous weekend for a wedding and we had a ton of fun. We got to see some friends that we don't get to see very often but wish we did. Hopefully, with Mitchell not being to far away we can make some road trips to hang out! We are now getting ready to go camping for the 4th. Since I have been with Marcus, so for 6 years, each 4th we go to Lake Herman by Madison. His Grandparents come camping with us so it is always special to get to spend a whole weekend with them. Although, his Grandma's are tough Rummikub players and you got to watch them! We get to camp from Friday through Wednesday this year. I am excited to get to camp for such an extended period of time! After the 4th, we get to slow down for a couple weekends. We are home the weekend of the 6th, and on the 14th we will be celebrating Sawyer's baptism. I am excited to have family and friends be there to help bless our child. After that we are back on the road to Huron for Cousin Amanda's wedding, then Larson Fest, Yankton, Cities, Home, Home, Blackfox, Home, then Lake Vermillion...in case you lost count that puts into the third weekend in September! I keep saying eventually it will slow down, but I think it is just getting busier! I know that a time will come when weekends are spent at ball diamonds, or hockey rinks and I will miss all the trips so I suppose I should really be taking them all in now! Sawyer, is an amazing camper! He loves to be outside, swim, eat sand, go for walks, and sleeps soo good when camping! He could just sit and watch the bigger kids play and play. He got to go for a boat ride while in Yankton and I couldn't believe how content he was. He was soo quiet I actually thought something was wrong! Guess he just enjoys the water and the breeze! The summer has not been all fun and games. My grandpa had a heart attack and had to have heart surgery. He is doing really good, but I certainly didn't like him having surgery! My dad and step-mom are heading to Arizona and will be back for Sawyer's baptism and hopefully with my Grandpa in tow...considering it is like 110 in Arizona, 90 might be a nice change of temp for him! Well, I will get to the good stuff of pictures and such and will bore you with more ramblings later! Hope you are all well and drop a line, let me know how your summer is!
Jo

 

Half way mark

If you can believe it, we have made it to the 6 month mark. Surprisingly with only a few bumps along the way! Friday Sawyer went in for his 6 month appointment, which also meant mean mommy, another round of shots. My little tubby weighed in at 17.8 lbs! He also has managed to gain some length and is no longer in only like the 10th percentile, but has bumped to the 40th! He is 27 and 1/2 inches long. While he will still be no Michael Jordon, he is growing. I was hoping for a Phil Mickelson anyway! According to our Dr., he is perfect. We have been given the okay to start trying some table foods. Stuff he of course can gum up, mashed potato's, spaghetti, etc. I was advised that he will choke and that is how he learns that he needs to chew/gum the food up a little. I was told not to be nervous about the choking...hmmm. I have full faith and trust in my Dr. and I will give it a whirl, but I think I may still be a tad nervous! Sawyer does love his food though! He does however not enjoy green beans, those tend to just come rolling right out of the mouth! Sawyer seems to be flourishing at daycare! He is the youngest in his room so far, and I can see that he is well watched by some little mother hens in the room with him! The other day I went to pick him up and he was in the bouncer get some serious hugs by a little girl...it was super cute! He has become super interested in Boomer and has gotten pretty good at scooting himself towards where Boomer is. Boomer is a trooper and just lays there! This past weekend marked our first camping trip and other than a little wind and rain it was an excellent time! Sawyer did great, and is already a camping pro. Good thing since we have a few more trips lined up this year. Our friends Jason/Heidi/Coby/Chase, Jeff/Emily/Beckett, and Cousin CJ all headed to Lake Vermillion. It was Jason and Jeff's birthday...old men! So our families all joined in on the fun Friday night for dinner. Marcus and I were a little late getting to the campground due to unloading 2 and 1/2 tons of old shingles! Ugh...it was heavy and dirty..however our roof looks wonderful and now maybe we will quit getting roofing fliers in our door! The same weekend the guys roofed, Jason and I ran a 5k, and Heidi walked 3 miles with Coby and Chase for the Avera Breast Cancer. So, um, yeah, I did horrible, I mean embarrassingly horrible on the 5k. Sounds silly, but I am actually glad I did horrible, sort of lit a fire under my chubby butt! Boomer and Sawyer gave themselves...oh wait...me a jogging stroller for Mother's Day. Guess I need to start taking the hint! Mother's Day was really nice. My mom was supposed to come up, but had been battling the sickness and as much as I love her, she can keep the sickness. Instead, we went to dinner with my brother and family, Marcus's parents, Marcus's grandmother, and Marcus's aunt and uncle and cousin. It was a really good time, and I am glad we were all able to go together. With that being said...I am pooped from the weekend, and well to be brutally honest..I stink, so of to clean up and to bed I go. Pictures and more to come this week!
Loves,
Jo

4 well more like 5 months

Sawyer had his 4 month appointment back on March 16th...I am a little late in blogging! At that time he weighed in at 14.2 lbs, and 24 inches long. My doc so kindly told me my son would not be the center of the basketball team and he probably gets that from me. I beg to differ and think it comes from Uncle Mike! Sawyer has learned to roll over and this is his new favorite thing to do. He also finds it fun to roll on his tummy, get mad, and expect you to roll him back over so he can do it again. He can roll himself back over, but I am guessing this game is more fun to him. We pretty much have halted the swaddling at night since now he simply busts free and rolls on his side. We have started baby food, and so far carrots and bananas are our favorite. We don't mind sweet potatoes, squash, or apples. We spit green beans and peaches out. We are a pretty messy eater, but we are slowly getting the hang of things. We are very drolly which makes me think his teeth are moving around in there. None poking through, but I think they are just moving. We have been illness free in our house for a whole month, up last Sunday. Sunday Sawyer's eyes were draining sleep/eye bugger stuff and were puffy. Monday morning his eye was matted shut, but we wiped it clean and off to daycare we went. He seemed fine for the day and night. Tuesday I got a call from daycare around 4:00 that he had woken up from his nap and his eye was matted shut again. Marcus went and got him and I met them at acute care around 5. He is being treated for pink eye and needs to take antibiotic eye drops 3 times a day, 2 drops in each eye. Have fun Grandma! My brother, sister-in-law, Marcus and I are heading to Kansas City for the race this weekend, and my mom and step-dad are coming to watch all three kiddos. Our big hairy kid is going to Grandpa and Grandma Hunters to play for the weekend. I am sure all will have fun. Not too much to report at this time. Looks like I get to become a Manning fan and I am a little sad to see Tebow go. Tear...camping season is coming soon, and we are all excited! More to come!!!

 P.S. I am now 16.4 lbs!

In Sickness and in sickness

Where to start...oh maybe with the sickness! Well we returned from our wonderful trip to the Hills and I was healthy, but my son and husband were not. I stayed home that following Monday the 20th with Sawyer and took him to the doctor and sure enough, he had RSV. We didn't get to see our normal Dr. because he was booked so we saw another one in the same clinic. He listened to Sawyer's lungs and said they were clear so to keep him home from daycare for a couple more days and he should be ready to rock and roll by Thursday. As I was leaving home to head to the clinic Marcus was pulling up and said he felt awful and was going in to bed. He planned on staying home with Sawyer on Tuesday since I took Monday off and was planning on taking Wednesday off to stay home with him. So I went to work on Tuesday and left the two sickies at home. Wednesday morning as I was feeding Sawyer, Marcus got up and threw up and ended up being sick all day on Wednesday as well. Thursday I took Sawyer to daycare and Marcus stayed home one more day to recover. At about 11am I got a call from daycare while I was at work that Sawyer's breathing was really labored and he was struggling. I called Marcus and had him go pick him up. Our Dr. was full again so his nurse recommended taking him to acute care at 5pm. So after work I picked up my two boys and we headed up to acute care, which I am thinking everyone had the same idea! We were there from about 5:30 to 8:45pm, it was insane. Little man had a chest x-ray, which he is not a fan of, and blood drawn, which he also not a fan of. His chest still was clear and his blood count was good but his oxygen was at like 94. The Dr. we saw said that at 92 he was admitting them, so while we avoided the hospital, we did get sent home with a nebulizar, which he is also not a fan of. Is it just me or am I seeing a pattern of not liking things? Friday I stayed home with him while Marcus finally felt well enough to go to work. Friday night we had dinner with Marcus's family that was in town and just hung out. At about 1:30am Sawyer woke up and was pretty much inconsolable. He simply wanted to be held and walked around. I did get him to fall asleep from about 6 to 7am and at 8am we took him back to acute care. Another x-ray and blood drawing later, he now had some junk in his upper lung and his blood count was a little elevated which the Dr. was pretty sure was now bronchitis. We were to continue nebs and add in a steroid for three days to help open his airways and amoxicilin for 10 days. He at least takes the medicine fairly easy! He was able to return to daycare the next Monday and finally I got to get a full week of work in! Just for the record, my little man is a serious rockstar! Other than the Friday night fussiness you never would have thought the little man was sick. He was still smiley and talked like crazy! Well, what I have now come to learn as that once you have a child in daycare or school, they will bring everything home to you. I am, learning this the hard way. Monday the 5th I went to work and was starting to feel a little achy and my throat was starting to tingle. I called Marcus and had him pick Sawyer up so I could seriously just go home after work and lay on the couch. I hardly slept at all Monday night and woke up Tuesday morning around 5 and my throat and body hurt soo bad. I was running anywhere from a 100 to 102 fever all day. I stayed home from work on Tuesday hoping my fever would break that night. Well Wednesday I had no fever but seriously begged Marcus to cut my throat out it hurt so bad. It was on fire, and when I swallowed it was like swallowing shards of glass. I stayed home from work and went to the doctor. The nurse swapped my throat and was pretty confident I had strep considering I had white puss pockets allover. I have never really had strep before, but this seriously was the most pain I had been in since my C-section and at least for that I could take some major pain meds! When did I become such a wuss? Well, the short strep test came back negative so I had the pleasure of getting an influenza test. Ya, that is real fun. Now I know why Sawyer is not a fan of the nose sucker! Basically they drop saline in your nose and use this machine to suck it out and test your mucus. Well, that came back negative as well, so I was told to take it easy and just treat the symptoms with aspirin and cough drops. Easy for the Dr. to say right? I attempted to go to work on Thursday, but considering I could hardly talk and apparently sounded like I was crying I didn't last long. I went home about noon. Thursday night was probably the worse, and I was literally in tears all night my throat hurt so bad. I think I got maybe a total of 3 hours of sleep and I went to bed at like 9pm. I was hoping to be well enough to go to work today, but to no avail, I again stayed home. I tried calling the Dr. yesterday to see if I could get drugs even though my strep test was negative and they told me that it was most likely viral if my culture comes back negative and there is nothing that can be done other than to wait it out. Not the thing a lady in tears and who has been quarantined from her kid wants to here. I think I am finally starting to turn the corner considering I can now swallow without cringing, but I plan on taking it super easy this weekend and doing nothing. My husband went to the Dr. on Thursday and was told he has a major sinus infection that will take anywhere from 10 to 14 days to clear up. He at least gets drugs. So for now, Sawyer and Boomer are the healthy ones in our household. Might I just add, Mom and Dad are not quite up to the rockstar status Sawyer is. I have not been smiley or talkative. Hopefully in the next few days I can clean the sickness away and we will be on the path to full recovery! Keep your fingers crossed for all of us!

Jo

Snowmobiling

Well, I survived my first trip away from Sawyer. On Wednesday Feb. 15th Marcus, I and our friends Jason and Heidi left to go snowmobiling in the Hills. Grandma Nanon came to stay with Sawyer and even though I knew they would be just fine and have a lot of fun, the week up to leaving was horrible. On the actual day of leaving I was good, but the whole week of anticipation up to leaving was not good. We had a lot of fun on our trip with a few minor bumps along the way. Marcus started out his trip sick, and on Thursday I got to ride 26 miles before his clutch broke on his sled. In order for the trip to continue for him we needed to get the clutch fixed. I tried to tell him since it was his sled that was broken he could sit at Trailshead while we finish riding, but I bet you can all imagine how well that went over! So, there I sat. I ran into a buddy from work so chatted with him, and then my in-laws group showed up so I chatted with them. I probably only sat by myself for like 15 minutes. Marcus showed up and to Blackhawk we went. We were able to get his clutch fixed for a very reasonable price. So back to the cabin we went ready for the rest of the weekend sledding. Well, on Friday I woke up feeling great, but by the time we reached our destination I felt awful. It was that achy, upset stomach sick and I was pretty miserable. The rest of our group headed on to a different destination while Marcus and I headed back to the cabin. I still managed to put about a 100 miles on the sled on Friday, but the last 15 were not fun. The trails were rough (bumpy) and I was really sore and achy. Friday night I took her easy and Saturday felt a little better. The girls and I headed into Deadwood while the boys sledded. Took her pretty easy in Deadwood and came to realize gambling sober is not as much fun. Maybe it is because I have a sense of all the money I am losing! Sunday we packed up and hit the road to come home. Of course this is the day that I am starting to feel good again and at this point I really wish we had one more day in the hills. Good thing we were coming home though. My mom was starting to get ill as well. Must be something going around because Jason was also getting sick on the way home. Pretty much everyone in our group of snowmobilers was getting sick! I suppose that is what happens when you stick 8 people in a cabin and 4 out of the 8 are sick! Sawyer had been battling a pretty icky cold before we had left, but it was mainly stuffed up nose and no cough. Well today he has a pretty nasty cough, is wheezing a little when he breathes, and has a fun case of what I imagine is diarrhea. So, I am home with him today and we have a doctor's appointment this afternoon. I am going to feel really dumb if it is nothing, but with the coughing, wheezing, and massive cases of RSV going around, I figure better safe than sorry. He has not been running a fever and seems to still be in good spirits, but really sleepy as well. I will keep everyone posted as to what the verdict is, and hopefully this is the end of round one sickness in the Hunter household! Hopefully tomorrow it is back to reality (work) and Sawyer gets to visit his friends at daycare. 

Jo

Back to work

Well, January 30th came and I officially went back to work. I have to say I didn't do too bad. I got the kiddo up around 7 to get dressed and eat a little something, packed him up in his car seat and off to daycare we went. I thought there were going to be a lot of tears but I honestly did okay. With my survival kit in hand from the ladies at daycare (Kleenex, and some Hershey's hugs and kisses) I headed to the car and waited for the tears to come. What do you know, no tears! I couldn't believe it. Honestly day two was probably harder than day one. I told Marcus I agreed to go back to work, but not for how long...we never discussed day two! Well, here we are and it is week 2. Sawyer seems to be enjoying daycare and the wonderful ladies at Kidz World seem to be enjoying him. I am settling back into work nicely, and after 1 day, 900+ emails, two training classes, and review of release, I was back on the phone. For those of you that don't know what I do, I am technically classified as a Customer Service Rep for Precision Support. Precision is banking software, however I support much more than the software. I would say 50% of my job is helping with loan information, so I need to know a great deal on how loans work. This includes everything from insurance, collateral, escrow, FASB, interest methods and calculations, payment schedules, billing and payments, written off loans, etc. About 30% of my job is assisting with DDA/CDA information. About 10% of the time I get to balance GL's. Usually something gets posted incorrectly and I need to help the bank find their offage. December-May 5% of my job is Year End, mainly tax information such as correcting notices, preparing 5498's, IRA information, etc. In all actuality I would say 5% of my job is determining issues with the software, mainly error messages that may happen, something incorrect happened while working in Precision, etc. So, that being said work has been keeping me busy which makes my days go quick. It was definitely great to get back into a routine and equally as great to see all my friends at work on a regular basis. Speaking of routine, the last two nights Sawyer has been going down between 9-10 and sleeping till 6-6:30! I miss seeing my little man in the middle of the night, but 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep is totally wicked! I have started to slowly pick up the working out and aim to run at least the 5K Avera Breast Cancer Run. I ran the 10K last year, and mind you I was pregnant, but I don't know if my knee or hip can handle it again! Man I am getting old. This past weekend we took family pictures with Marcus's whole family, all 15 of us. We had 8 adults and 7 kids and no one had a meltdown! Not even the parents! The pictures turned out really nice, and we had a wonderful time! Next week we plan on going to the Hills snowmobiling, well if there is any snow. This means leaving Sawyer with Grandma Nanon starting Wednesday thru Sunday afternoon. I am not convinced I will make it very far down the road before I ask to be dropped back at home. I am sure that Grandma and Sawyer will have a wonderful time without mom and that Uncle Pat, Aunt Missy, and the cousins will be around as well, but I am still struggling with leaving him! One thing I am thankful for is that he is a little older than he originally would have been. In fact, not sure I would have gone if he would have been born in December! Keep your fingers crossed for me that I get in the vehicle Wednesday! Not much else to report at this time, but I will be back in a couple of weeks!

Jo 

2 Months

Today was Sawyer's 2 month appointment and he is doing great. He weighed in at 11 lbs 4 oz, and 22 inches long. Our friend Emily held him the other day and guessed 11 lbs 5 oz, man she is good! The Dr. said his growth is wonderful and he is doing amazing! We talked about making the switch to formula and it seems to be fairly easy. At this point babies don't have very much for taste buds so he will not notice a difference between breast milk and formula. I will probably notice a difference in that he will most likely sleep longer, may spit up a little more frequently, and his poops may be more solid. The Dr. assured me that moving him to formula is just fine and not to feel guilty. With planning to do formula at daycare regardless, I think I should have enough breast milk to get us through at least month 4. We are going to try giving him formula for his 8-10pm feeding to see if he will sleep a little longer at night. The Dr. said he is really close to rolling over as well. He placed him on his tummy and said with how he is holding his head up and with his feet coming off the ground all he will need to do is push off with one arm and he will be over. He did say it will take a little more for him to go from his back to his tummy. We also got our first round of shots today. Oh, how horrible. Here was my smiling happy baby and here I was holding his arms down so the nurses could poke his thighs. Oh the face and the tears! I got pretty lucky and he didn't cry too much. I did pretty good and didn't cry at all. After the appointment we went home to eat, then took a trip to visit Grandma and off to Target to get a few essentials. Figured we might want toilet paper in the house. We had a pretty busy weekend with a retirement party for a friends dad on Friday, watching the lack of Tim Tebow magic at Uncle Pat and Aunt Missy's, and summed it all up with the Baptism of our friends little guy. Our next appointment is in two months, and we get another round of shots. I think this time I will make Marcus go with me to hold his hands down.

Jo

Reality

Ugh, the reality that I have not won the lottery or have had a large donation of funds has become clear now that I have daycare booked. My first day back it work will be January 30th and as much as I am looking forward to adult conversation with actual discussion back, I will miss the lounging around in my pj's with the most adorable snuggle partner I have ever had. Sorry Marcus and Boomer, you both have been replaced. We were lucky enough to get a highly coveted spot into Peace Care. This is the daycare that my brother's kids have gone and having watched them go through the program fell in love. The daycare is at our church which is about two minutes from our house and five from my work. This is awesome because it will really take me no time to drop my kiddo off and when quitting time hits, I will get to him that much quicker. I can predict however that on January 30th that I will hate that daycare is so close because I am guessing 5 minutes will not nearly be enough for me to compose myself prior to my first day back. I am pretty sure I am going to cry the entire way to work and wouldn't be surprised if I have to pee a lot so I can avoid crying at work. Marcus is pretty sure that within the week, I will be back to loving going to work and everything will be grand. He is usually right and I am looking forward to some sort of routine. I am nervous that I only have two weeks to start working on not laying in bed till 7 or 8 and actually getting up in time to be ready for work. Currently Sawyer eats anywhere from 8-10pm and after that feeding we put him down. He usually wakes around 3am to eat and than back to bed for another 3-4 hours, so usually I am up at 6 or 7 to feed him again. My biggest mistake at this point is that I don't just get up. I am also in the process of trying to ween off pumping. My biggest hope is that in two weeks I can be done pumping and my kiddo sleeps a little longer so I am not night of the living dead at work. I am sure I will learn to function completely on 5-6 hours of sleep if need be though. I am mainly weening off pumping due to a snowmobile trip in February, of course that is if there is any snow. Little hard to pump every 4 hours when you are in the middle of nowhere. This was a decision I completely wrestled with and still do. Mainly because I feel I am quitting for a completely selfish reason, and that is to go on vacation, and I could absolutely go longer. One nice thing, is that I can imagine pumping at work is not very convenient so it will be nice to be done by then. Marcus is also excited for me to be done because he says it is stressful on me which makes it stressful on him. That, and I could actually sleep through him getting up for a feeding and not having to get up as well and pump! We have managed to freeze some milk and did ask the Dr. about intermixing formula and breast milk and he said that is fine. We at this point have decided to do formula at daycare and and breast milk at home until it is gone. We had to the Dr. on the 16th for our 2 month appointment. I am excited to see how much my peanut weighs, especially since he seems to be packing the lbs. on. I however am not excited for 2 month shots. I was clipping the little guys nails the other day and accidentally got the tip of his finger, oh the face and the tears were horrible so I can't imagine what I am going to get with shots! Anyhoo, I am sure I will send an update on Monday after our appointment!

Jo

New Years

Well 2011 is officially over and 2012 has begun. As I look forward to the upcoming year and all the amazing things that are to come, I can help but feel a little sad. 2011 was an awesome year and will be greatly missed. Some of the things that made 2011 awesome were, and in no particular order; being pregnant, Vegas with some beloved friends, spending the summer camping, the multiple birthdays celebrated, another wonderful year of marriage, good jobs, having friends and family happy and healthy, and of course welcoming Sawyer. Even though I am sad to see 2011 go, I am excited to see what 2012 brings. I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe New Years and are as excited about 2012 as I am.

Jo

6 Weeks

Today was my 6 week checkup and everything is good. The Dr. said I could go ahead and start walking/jogging and eventually running. This is a good thing considering I have at least 15lbs of baby weight left to lose. I am hoping to be back into shape and running well enough to run the Breast Cancer 10k again and hopefully beat my time from last year! My scar is healing nicely and I was told the redness will decrease. All in all, it takes about 6 months to completely heal, but I am well on my way! Sawyer did amazing for his first Christmas's. We started the celebrating with my Dad's side on the 17th. It was an extra special treat to have Sawyer's Great Grandpa Cory brave the weather and come back from Arizona. He honestly couldn't have asked for a nicer weekend to make the trip! My brother grilled steaks and that it was present opening chaos! It certainly was fun and I am already looking forward to next year when Sawyer can join his cousins in the mass unwrapping! Christmas Eve was spent with my Mother's side. She made our traditional dinner of dumpling soup and my brother and I proceeded to eat our weight in dumplings! Again, it was present opening chaos, but again enjoyable! Christmas Day morning Marcus, Sawyer, Boomer, and I made the trek to Huron. I was feeling incredibly confident in my packing skills until we arrived and I went to pump and realized that a portion of my pump was at home! Thinking that Walmart had to be open I figured I would just use formula, but of course it would be the one day Walmart closed. My cousin-in-law Amanda came to the rescue and found a pump I could use for the weekend, which was amazing! Again we had present opening chaos, but it was fun watching the kiddos open. Next year Sawyer will add to the mix and there will be 7 grandkids ripping gifts open! Dinner was prime rib and steaks for those of us not fans of prime rib. Enjoyed a couple glasses of wine and by 9:30pm we were pooped and headed to Uncle Kirk's to crawl into bed. This is the first time Marcus and I have spent the night in the same room as Sawyer and wow, my child moves and makes noise a lot! I kept thinking he was going to get up for the night but he was simply grunting in his sleep. He takes after daddy with his snoring! We headed home on Monday with luggage for all 6 of Sawyer's cousins. They are heading to Sioux Falls to stay with Grandpa and Grandma for the week! Hard to believe December is almost over, which makes me sad because next comes January and that means back to work. I am excited to go back to work because I enjoy my job, but I am also sad to not get to hang around with my baby all day. New Year's Eve we are heading to the Stampede game with Marcus's work and than hanging with some fabulous people. I am looking forward to ringing in the New Year with the loves of my life. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and has a wonderful start to 2012! Talk to you next year!

Jo

One Month

Little man had is one month checkup today and is doing great. He weighed in at 8lbs 4ozs. This put him in the 15th percentile. He has only gained an inch in length but the Dr. said he should hit a growth spurt around 6 weeks and gain some length. Overall though he is doing fantastic. We have a grunter on our hands, he definitely enjoys telling us all about it. He currently is drinking 2 and 1/2 ounces and eats every 3 to 4 hours, which is pretty awesome at night. My milk supply has been getting better and Marcus is happy to report he is a milk freezing machine. We are in the process of the ever so fun job of scouting daycares, which makes this momma sad. I can't believe how fast the time goes. It certainly is nice being on maternity leave over the holidays but with this, the time also seems to move quicker because there is so much to do. At this point, I believe my first day back to work would be January 30th, unless Marcus wins the lottery or someone decides to donate some funds for me to stay home! For the most part, Sawyer is pretty laid back. He does have his fussy times, which usually seem to be about 7 in the morning, and 5/6 at night. The Dr. said this is most likely because Marcus is leaving/coming home and Sawyer simply wants to be up and know what is going on. I am slowly, and I mean slowly, coming to grips with the reality that not everything is going to get done like it was prior to having a baby. Mainly, my house is not going to get dusted every week, my workouts will most likely not be at the same time every day, I will either need to get rid of the dog or learn to live with a little dog hair on my kids clothes. My guess on the last one, I will be learning to live with a little dog hair on my kids clothes. As most of you know, I really strive to be punctual, and I am starting to learn that I will need to leave a lot earlier to make it on time for things now, but hey, the kid is a good excuse for being late, right? I stress a lot about when I go back to work, the time management aspect. Getting myself ready for work, getting him ready for daycare, pumping, etc. Of course my husband just looks at me and shakes his head. He tells me to quit stressing and that it is not like he is going to lay in bed and let me do it all...what a wonderful man! Anyhoo, Sawyer is starting to smile a ton and recognize voices. We do tummy time, which he is pretty good at and doesn't get too mad about. He loves his little rain forest sound machine in his crib, we just need it to play a little longer. We usually have to hit the button a couple of times. This weekend we will be having our first Christmas with my Dad and Stepmom, and a special treat, Grandpa Cory flew in from Arizona! We also get to celebrate the birthday of one of Sawyers future best buddies, all in all, it will be a busy but awesome weekend. Hope this finds you all well and talk to you soon!

Jo

2 Weeks

I cannot believe how time flies. Just two weeks ago Marcus and I were just walking out of the hospital with Sawyer. It has been a great two weeks. I am adjusting to waking up in the night for feedings and pumpings. During the week I tend to do this on my own. Considering I get to lounge around all day with the babe and Marcus has to go to work, I don't like him having to get up during the night. On weekends though he is a huge help. He usually feeds the little man while I pump so we can head back to bed that much quicker. It usually takes me about an hour by myself so between feedings I get roughly 2 hours of sleep. Trust me, I am not complaining one bit! I am still having some frustration with my milk supply but it seems to be getting better. I think I just anticipated being able to produce more. While I feel I am adjusting nicely to new routines, I think Boomer is fairing just as well. He sniffs Sawyer while he is in his bouncy seat and certainly is interested in what is happening when we change him. It will be fun to watch these two grow up together. Sawyer and I went to lunch with our friends Emily and Beckett the other day. First trip out without daddy! I say we did pretty well, especially since little man slept the whole time. We also tried taking Boomer to the vet, now that one we didn't fair so well in. I thought I would be smart and take just my ID and checkcard in with me, well Boomer was so excited to be going somewhere that when I got him out of the vehicle my checkcard and ID fell on the ground. Of course I didn't notice this until I was in the vets office. Now trying to carry a car seat and wrangle in an 84lb lab is not the easiest! Thank goodness for the wonderful staff at the vets office. After receiving rabies and distemperament shots, Boomer and I were helped to the vehicle. Now, my checkcard and ID were on the ground and conveniently located under a vehicle. Down we went to retrieve them and in to pay. After that we decided it was in our best interest to go home! My infection of my incision is healing up nicely and I am feeling much better. I am much more mobile and have managed to significantly reduce my intake of ibuprofen. I am way less sore which I think helps things all around. I am becoming better at excepting the dust and dog hair and not letting it drive me crazy! Next week I think I will attempt to help with the laundry since my poor hubby has been stuck doing it for the last how many weeks, but for now I will take advantage of it! Off to the doctor's in two weeks for Sawyer's one month checkup, so if you don't hear from me until then I apologize! I need a laptop so I can sit and do this in the recliner!

Jo

Thanksgiving

Just to give you all a quick update on Sawyer. His first doctor's appointment was on Monday. He weighed in at 6 lbs, but considering he was 5lbs 15ozs when we brought him home our Dr. said we need to fatten him up! Trust me, I am working on it. We were able to get rid of the biliblanket the day after we came home. His bili went from 12.4 to 7.0 and our Dr. said his color was great. Other than needing to gain a little weight, he is doing great! Marcus and I were just wondering if he is always going to be this easy, if so, Marcus says we are having 15...I told him more like 3. This babe eats about every three hours and at night is really easy to get back to sleep. During the day he is up and willing to chill in his bouncy seat and just look around. Of course, he gets plenty of holding from mom. Hard to resist the little guy! On Monday at his appointment I was given a prescription to help stimulate my milk production. It has been pretty slow going, which is beyond frustrating. I am barely keeping up and basically only able to get enough to supply his current feedings with nothing to freeze for later. I am sure it will get better, or at least that is what Marcus keeps telling me. We stopped into the Dr.'s yesterday to get another weight and good news, we have gained a few ounces. He currently is at 6lbs 3ozs and everyone at my Dr.'s is smitten with him! Well, while Sawyer is being his usual rock-star self, I seem to not be finished! Wednesday night while cleaning up the kitchen a little, (I made a mess making pies!) I noticed a few drops of something here and there. Turns out my incision from my c-section was draining. Off to acute care we went. Turns out my my incision is infected. I was given a shot of antibiotic in the butt, a written prescription for another antibiotic, and told to sit with a heating pad 3 times a day for about 15/20 mins to continue to allow it to drain. I was told to consult with my Dr. on Friday to see if there is anything else they would like me to do. Ugh...what a pain, however since this is Thanksgiving and a Thanksgiving post here is what I am thankful for. I am thankful to not be spending this holiday on bed rest in the hospital but rather to be spending it with my family. I am thankful for the most wonderful, loving, willing to pick up my slack, handle my crazy emotional post pregnancy persona husband in the world. Don't know how I would do it without him. I am thankful for all the family I will not be spending the holiday with, but are still the best family! I am thankful for my besties and that they are the other loves of my life. I am thankful to have them and their families as my extended family. I am thankful for all the people unable to spend this holiday with their families because they are allowing me to spend the holiday with mine. I am thankful for an amazing Dr. and his staff and wish them all the happiest of Thanksgivings! I hope this finds everyone well and for those traveling have save travels. I hope everyone has a very Happy Thanksgiving and I will continue to keep you updated!
Love,
Jo