the month of April

 When I look back on the month of April, it is a total and complete whirlwind. The first half was awesome, the second half not so much.  Here is our whirlwind month with a small whirlwind of pictures:

When Kaia was born, and the doctor told us she was a girl, my first thought was, "Matching Easter dresses!" (Actually, my first thought was, "REALLY?!" because I was 90% sure we were having a boy. But the matching dresses thought came really quickly afterwards. Anyway...) So, last year, for her first Easter, I couldn't resist taking pictures in those matching dresses. I didn't think it would become a tradition. But, when Melissa found these dresses for us this year, I had to have pictures again. The girls were great and I was pretty pleased with the way they turned out.

On the 4th of April the girls and I headed out to California for two weeks. We met Melissa and her girls in Chicago and were able to fly the long leg together. That is so much better than flying alone. We had none of this or this, thankfully, but it was still such a crazy-long day.

In California we celebrated my maternal grandmother's 90th(!) birthday, my dad's 70th birthday, and his retirement with a dinner out - sans kids! - with my grandmother, parents, and my siblings. None of us could remember being together like this. It seriously made me happy - genuinely happy - to be together like that. Dinner was followed by a photo-shoot (gone terribly, terribly wrong) but no pictures for the public.  (Think me, looking 6 months pregnant, though my baby is over a year old. That's all, folks.)

The siblings were all home for about 72 hours and then, sadly, they started to depart. We tried to make the best of our time with the ones who were there by cleaning out boxes in the attic, celebrating Easter, celebrating Jenifer's birthday, going on a hike (where Lara seriously rocked and I seriously did not), visiting with dear friends, and a little bit of eating (seriously, just a little - it was the last week of our Mouritsen Biggest Loser Challenge!).

Matthew, Melissa, Dalene at Chili's for Jen's Birthday

Zoey in Maren's Song Girl outfit - SO CUTE!

The Easter Bunny was generous this year...

Zoey being... Zoey (insert heart here).

The trip was seriously awesome. I love my family so, so much. They do SO MUCH for us and it just feels like home when we're together.

Recovering from the trip was not so fun. Crazy amounts of laundry, trying to get the house back together, super busy church stuff right after we arrived home, and adjusting to the time zone - ugh. Just when we thought we were back on track and could breathe a sigh of relief...

Kaia woke up one Sunday morning not being able to breathe. I called our weekend advice nurse, who listened to Kaia over the phone and said, "Am I speaking with Kaia's mother?" When I answered in the affirmative she said, "Honey, you need to hang up and call an ambulance immediately."

 

Sad, sad, sadness!

More sadness

Finally able to breathe, they disconnected her IV and let her wander her room a bit.  This picture of her diaper hanging out of her tiny hospital gown was the first time we laughed in days!

I won't share all the details. It was a scary, frustrating, exhausting few days. She was finally diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia and bronchitis. Two hospitals and two days (and NO SLEEP) later we were home, but our little Kaia is still having some breathing (and weight-gain!) issues. We're grateful she is okay - CHOP is a sad place to be - and, as always, grateful for good friends who reached out to us in so many ways.

A few days later we celebrated Brian's 35th Birthday but not one picture did we take. Too tired.

I'm still tired thinking about April, and it's over. I bet you're tired of reading about our April. Sorry. I'm done. The end.