The big 3-0!

We walked into Kade's room the other day to hear him cheering and yelling "all right!"  I wasn't fast enough with my camera to get him actually holding his fish by the mouth like daddy does. I believe Nate's dream of having his sons be fishing partners will indeed come true. One of Kade's most favorite ways to pass the time is to hang out in the garage in Nate's boat. He throws his toys in and climbs up. Kade constantly peeks in the boat's live well (the place the fish are stored) looking for his 'feeshies'.

My 3 cute men at the splash pad. I couldn't see Zane's cute face so I had Nate lift up his hat...ha ha he is darling and love his chubby cheeks. The Dr. has us thicken his bottles with 5 tablespoons of rice per feed, and even with all his barfing I think his chub comes from all that rice.

Sipping back on his pedialyte trying to prevent becoming dehydrated again.

I wish I was exaggerating when I say that Zane throws up this much most every time he eats. For those of you that are facebook friends of mine you may have seen some of my updates on our progress. Here is the sort version of what is going on with Zane pup. After testing was done the Dr.'s found out Zane has a dairy and soy allergy and this was the reason for his bloody stools and extreme fussiness. Different testing was done for his reflux (which is a different issue than the allergy) to determine that it is classified as severe reflux, basically about as bad as it gets in a baby. I pumped and dumbed for a while in hopes of returning back to nursing after I cleaned up my diet. 3 weeks of no dairy and he still couldn't handle my milk. I was completely devastated because I hate everything about bottles. I am all for moms making the choice which works best for them, whether that be nursing or bottles..but I am to irresponsible for bottles and hate washing them and having to remember to pack them along when we go out. The Dr.'s think that he has other allergies that we don't know about yet which is why they strongly recommend that I quite nursing. After trying a few different formulas with no sucess, we are now giving him a prescription formula called Ellecare that is hypo-allergenic amino acid based (and yes it costs an arm and 3 legs). It kinda works better, but still hard to tell because of the reflux. We see the GI specialist every few weeks and they try to get proper dosing with his meds to stay on top of it with his growth. We currently do 1 ml of Zantac at 6 a.m, 15 mg of prevacid at 11 a.m., 1 ml of Zantac at 3 p.m., and 1 ml of Zantac at 8 p.m., everyday. We have done lots of Dr. visits, I have tried every trick in the book and herbal remedy, but we now believe it looks like we are going to have to just wait it out and hope he out grows it. It is the hardest thing in the world to see your baby suffer and to wonder if you are doing the right things for your baby or not. I catch myslef questioning every decsion. We are just so grateful that he is growing so well and putting on the lbs. Zane wants to eat round the clock even though it makes him so sick after, while Kade still shuns most food like the plague...they will probably be wearing the same size clothes before we know it!

(this pic was in one of my previous blog posts, but had to re-post cause it goes along with story)

Funny story a few weeks ago: Nate and I packed up the boys to go to Canyon Lake. I am no boyscout and being prepared is not a strong point of mine. This trip I was bound and determined to make it a success. I actually brought each boy their own size diapers (don't ask how many times we have squeezed kade into Zane's diapers or wrapped Zane up in one of Kade's), both binkis, the monkey, toys, snacks, and Zane's formula (it freaks me out to forget this cause I can't run into a store to buy some if forgotten) I failed to remember to put his bottle back into the fishing bag after I fed him right before leaving. We were already out on the lake when he got hungry. Apparently babies don't take well to being fed from the cap of a water bottle.  The closest store is 45 min away and we would still have had to load up the boat which takes time. I spotted a cute little Hispanic family that had a baby and toddler playing on the shoreline. I had Nate take us over there in hopes they had an extra bottle they would let me buy from them. My luck, they didn't speak English so I had to whip out my 8th grade Spanish skills and made up sign language over Zane's bloody murder screams for food. They only had one bottle but they still offered for us to use it and give it back when we were done. I didn't know if I should laugh or cry at the situation. I was so desperate that I couldn't think about the fact I only had a water bottle to clean it with. I am also still forcing myself to forget the fact that I found dirt around the nipple and the cap after I had already fed him and was re-rinsing it. I am sure Zane will forgive me one day! Until then, I am thanking that family for saving the day.

Nate turned 30 on Friday!!!!!! We re-vamped his birthday plans after my bday in May. We had a good learning experience about our differences and communication in marriage. Nate and I have a lot of hobbies in common, but different personalities. I am the last to mind being center of attention, and it never hurts my feelings to be spoiled and fussed over. Meeting new people is one of my favorite things. Nate is a simple man, he prefers to be around people he already knows well and spending time with just our family or small groups. Being the sweet wife that I am, I voiced my frustration about my bday the day after it happened. It was a nice day...we shopped and he wanted me to pick something out myself, and we went to dinner with our family.  I blew the fact that I was in the process of planning Nate a big 30th bday part. It was going to be an 80's theme prom night with dancing, costumes, the whole works. I was comparing the effort I was putting into that party with what had been prepared for my day. After ranting and raving, I realized I was being a hypocrite and was getting mad at Nate for doing the same thing I was about to do to him. He planned a bday for me that he would like best...and I was planning one for him that I would like best. He prefers to pick something out together, while I prefer being surprised even if I don't like it. He prefers the laid back and small to my grand and extravagant. If any of you really know my husband well, would Nate Sager really like an 80's prom night?! ha ha...ahh no! I am sure he would attend a party like that if he wasn't the center of it all, and all the while he would be uncomfortable at first but do it because he knows I would love it. So long story short, Friday we spent a great bday together. Opened presents over a nice breakfast (I had to sneak a few surprises in) we went shopping together, a movie and dinner. On Saturday he had his "party" with Caleb and Mark out on the Lake. They spent the day and evening fishing and doin what they love rather than getting dressed up in cheesy costumes while pretending to like it. I couldn't help myself and had to pack the boys bday goodie bags with treats and fishing lures inside for their "party"...come on it was the big 3-0!

HAPPY 30th Nate!!!!!!!!!! I love you so much, let me count the ways:

* You are the best friend, hubby, daddy, runner, fisher, yard doer, trash taker outer, sports player, nurse worker a girl could ask for.

*You put up with me and on top of that you love me with all your heart.

*You love our boys, you are a great example to them, and will do anything and everything for them.

*You support me in all my goals and dreams.

*You do things that aren't in your comfort zone for me just because you know how much it means to me.

*You beat me at just about everything we do together...which drives me CRAZY because I am so competitive, but I love that you are good at so many things.

*You are the best husband a girl could ask for and I am blessed to call you mine forever.